Sustainability reporting practices and assurance challenges in the European Union: The impact of CSRD enforcement [before doctoral defense]

Kivonat, rövid leírás

Sustainability reporting has become a central corporate reporting and accountability issue because environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters increasingly affect companies’ risk profiles, access to finance, strategic resilience, and stakeholder relationships. At the same time, conventional financial statements do not fully capture climate-related, environmental, social, and governance-related risks and opportunities. Corporate sustainability reporting is intended to address this information gap, but its decision usefulness depends on the quality, comparability, and credibility of the disclosed information (Christensen et al., 2024; Eccles et al., 2014; Amran & Ooi, 2014). The European Union has progressively formalised this area through the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), the EU Taxonomy and sustainable-finance disclosure rules. The framework links corporate reporting with double materiality, value-chain considerations, and external assurance (Directive 2014/95/EU, 2014; Directive (EU) 2022/2464, 2022; European Commission, 2021; EFRAG, 2023; Deloitte, 2024). In Hungary, EU requirements are complemented by the domestic ESG Act, ESG certification requirements, and prudential ESG expectations for credit institutions (Ásványi et al., 2024; European Banking Authority, 2025; Hegedűs et al., 2023). The central challenge is that ESG information is not automatically reliable simply because it is published or rated. ESG rating agencies use different methodologies, data sources, and weights (Berg et al., 2022; Christensen et al., 2022; Capizzi et al., 2021). Companies may rely on selective or narrative disclosures and forward-looking information, such as transition plans and value-chain estimates, which can be difficult to verify (Boiral, 2013; Biondi et al., 2020). Greenwashing and information asymmetry, therefore, remain material concerns. External assurance may help reduce these concerns by strengthening data collection, documentation, internal controls, and independent assurance (Alsahali & Malagueño, 2021; Channuntapipat, 2021; Farooq & de Villiers, 2020). The dissertation investigates the evolution of sustainability reporting and assurance at several analytical levels. It examines the conceptual fragmentation of ESG-related research, the organizational challenges experienced by Hungarian public-interest entities (PIEs), regional assurance-maturity patterns in Central and Eastern Europe, and the association between the first external assurance engagement, ESG ratings, and financial indicators among EU-listed companies.