The Effects of Corporate Social Responsibility Assurance and the Choice of Assurer on Stock Price Crash Risk: Evidence From China

The aim of this study is to investigate the impact of corporate social responsibility (CSR) assurance and the choice of CSR assurer on stock price crash risk. Using a sample of 10,237 firm-year observations from Chinese firms between 2011 and 2022, we find that CSR assurance reduces crash risk and moderates the negative relationship between CSR reporting and crash risk. The effect of CSR assurance does not significantly differ between firms with voluntary and mandatory CSR reports. Additionally, we find that accounting firms as CSR assurers mitigate crash risk and moderate the adverse ‘CSR reporting and crash risk’ relationship, with the mitigating effect being more pronounced when the assurer is a Big Four firm compared to a non-Big Four firm. Our heterogeneity analysis reveals that institutional monitoring and ownership types are key factors influencing these findings. The results remain robust to endogeneity concerns, alternative measures of crash risk and CSR reporting, the exclusions of specific sample periods and the inclusion of firm fixed effects. This study contributes to the literature by highlighting the role of CSR assurance and the choice of assurer in reducing stock price volatility.