The Changing Regulatory Landscape : Implications for Corporate Disclosure, Financial Discipline, and Auditor Reporting

The dissertation consists of three essays that delve into the effects of regulatory changes in three different contexts. The first essay uses the Australian setting, where two governmental bodies implemented regulations pertaining to the disclosure of the financial impact of climate risks in financial reports. The essay investigates the relationship between auditor expertise and the quality of climate risk disclosures, revealing that companies audited by auditors possessing relevant expertise are more likely to provide higher-quality climate risk disclosures. The second essay explores the impact of a regulatory change aimed at enhancing the financial performance of European football clubs and addressing the soft budget constraint problem within the industry. The findings indicate that, following the issuance of the regulation in 2009, football club profitability improved, but losses persisted. Moreover, the owners continued to inject equity, and the financial position of football clubs remained weak. Consequently, while the regulation led to some financial performance enhancement, it did not completely resolve the soft budget constraint problem. The third essay examines the consequences of a new regulation extending audit reports to include the disclosure of critical audit matters (CAMs). Specifically, the focus is on whether this regulation has influenced the value relevance of intangible assets. The results reveal that intangible assets are more value-relevant in firms where auditors have disclosed CAMs related to intangible assets. In summary, the three essays collectively suggest that the effectiveness of regulatory changes is contingent on various factors. Furthermore, successful implementation of cross-national regulations requires careful consideration of differences in enforcement mechanisms across jurisdictions.