Bibliographie sélective OHADA

Le point de gravité fixant mutuellement Nation et Citoyen est le sol. Sur ce sol est institué un droit, celui de la propriété foncière privée, un lien juridique primordial unissant Citoyen et Nation. Au cours de l'histoire ce point de fixation qu'est la propriété foncière devient également économique, l'État fondant une grande partie de ses recettes fiscales sur le propriétaire et son patrimoine immobilier. Dans une société moderne où la propriété est intriquée avec son rendement économique, cette propriété se mue en un placement économique subissant désormais une fiscalité punitive, voire confiscatoire. La fiscalité immobilière montre cette appropriation par l'État d'une grande partie des fruits de la propriété privée ; transformant cet objet en un simple droit d'occupation, voire un droit de garde, chargé d'obligations sans plus de droits réels. D’un droit réel à un droit personnel la fiscalité immobilière, par le jeu de l'impôt sur les revenus et de celui sur le patrimoine, transforme ce droit en une obligation fiscale. Dans cette relation nécessairement léonine entre propriétaire immobilier et État, ce dernier propose des régimes de faveur encourageant à investir dans l'immobilier. Ces incitations emprisonnent dans une relation de longue durée l'investisseur, puis l'investissement réalisé, l'État modifie en cours de relations les clauses de ces régimes à son plus grand profit. Or, le contribuable s'engageant dans cette relation n'est pas informé que ces règles peuvent changer d'une manière unilatérale, sans préavis et rétroactivement. Ce modus operandi est particulièrement illustré par la location meublée, la location para-hôtelière, l'impôt sur la fortune immobilière et la transmission de ces biens et activités via le pacte Dutreil. Ce dispositif Dutreil, donné comme un pacte, ne garantit aucune sécurité lors de son exécution ; d'autant que rédigé par une seule partie, le contribuable, l'autre, l'État, n'intervient qu'a posteriori pour éventuellement le remettre en cause

This reprint covers 27 papers published in the Special Issue entitled Corporate Finance, Governance, and Social Responsibility, which examines several topics related to corporate finance, financial modeling, corporate governance, and corporate social responsibility. Corporate finance-related articles (Anton and Afloarei Nucu, 2021; Bae et al., 2023; Kedzior et al., 2020; Lts and Lukason, 2022; Miglo, 2020; Mihail et al., 2021; Mota and Moreira, 2023; Tsolas, 2021; Tudose et al., 2021; and Wen et al., 2021) focus on the drivers of the capital structure and firm performance, the effect of working capital management on profitability, and the link between derivative use and profitability. Regarding financial modeling, stock market volatility was explored during COVID-19 (Gherghina et al., 2021). Corporate governance studies (Aluchna and Kuszewski, 2020; Ararat et al., 2021; Ding and Chea, 2021; Kjrland et al., 2020; Loureno et al., 2021; Lukason and Camacho-Miano, 2020; Maier and Yurtoglu, 2022; Mihail and Dumitrescu, 2021; Mihail et al., 2022; Mihail and Micu, 2021; and Pourmansouri et al., 2022) examine the effect of corporate governance compliance practices, board attributes, or employee stock option plans on bankruptcy risk, performance, firm value, or earnings management. Regarding CSR (Bozos et al., 2022; Rossi et al., 2021; Saeed and Sroufe, 2021; Singh and Hong, 2023; and Tseng and Shih, 2022), the research focuses on how CSR affects financial performance, risk management, or analyst profits estimates.

L’influence des international financial reporting standard (IFRS) est très remarquable actuellement dans le monde. L’adoption de certaines normes IFRS et la présentation des états financiers selon les dispositifs de ces normes par les entreprises cotées dans l’espace OHADA depuis la révision de 2017 en est un exemple. L’objet de cette étude est d’analyser théoriquement l’incidence de l’adoption des normes IFRS sur la qualité de l’information financière publiée. L’analyse de la revue de littérature nous permet de constater que les résultats des recherches antérieures ne convergent pas. Certains travaux de recherche affirment que les normes IFRS confèrent la qualité aux chiffres comptables publiés alors que d’autres rejettent cette affirmation. Ainsi, le fait d’adopter un référentiel de qualité à l’instar des IFRS, ne garantit pas forcément la qualité des chiffres comptables publiés. Toutefois, elle peut renforcer la crédibilité aux comptes.

Artificial intelligence with its fifth industrial revolution is fast griping the African continent. The emergence and adoption of artificial intelligence applications and systems is fast becoming a normal trend in emerging markets landscape across Africa. This paper is borne out of the need to identify challenges that professional grapple with in their quest to surmount the challenges posed by the realities of artificial intelligence applications in Africa. The study adopted the thematic style in presenting the challenges as well as the prospects of artificial intelligence applications for the accounting professional in emerging market. Some of the challenges of artificial intelligence application identified in this study include: complex algorithms, reduced investment, and software failure, lack of political will and limitations amongst others. On the other hand, opportunities of artificial intelligence in emerging market include transportation automation, technological cyborgs and robotic companions amongst others. From the findings, accounting professional are advised to strive harder in order to beat competition by delivering quality services to her clients through harnessing opportunities for rebranding, reengineering and radically improving the business and investment decisions which is the ultimate purpose of the profession. More so, they are encouraged to develop a novel set of proficiency revolving around data in the profession

Far from delimiting or fencing off, as the etymology of the verb “to define” would have us do, the definition of sustainability as it emerges from the directive is destined to spread to an exponential number of neighbouring lands. Sustainability is spreading to affect governance factors, and is now pollinating a growing number of companies, particularly SMEs and non-EU companies. Moreover, while a hasty reading of Article 2 of the CSRD might lead to conclude that sustainability can be summed up in a list of five factors, sustainability above all questions the contribution of the company, and the law governing it, to the sustainable development of societies. Indeed, it penetrates the companies, through the channel of “corporate sustainability”, seeking to ensure that environmental, social, human rights and governance issues are levers in decision-making within the companies, thus inviting them to act, beyond communicating. This renewal of sustainability is reinforced by a redefinition of the obligations imposed on companies: the fields covered by the required information are multiplied, the “comply or explain” principle is largely abandoned, and assurance on sustainability information becomes compulsory. La directive (UE) 2022/2464 en ce qui concerne la publication d’informations en matière de durabilité par les entreprises, ci-après dite « directive CSRD » (pour Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive), réforme la directive 2014/95 (dite NFRD pour Non Financial Reporting Directive), laquelle avait instauré le premier cadre de reporting extra-financier de l’Union européenne. La directive CSRD opère un changement terminologique en renommant les informations précédemment désignées par la directive NFRD comme « non financières » en « informations en matière de durabilité ». Or, un changement terminologique peut advenir sans pour autant observer un glissement sémantique qui opèrerait une évolution dans le sens et la signification des termes employés. A contrario, un changement sémantique peut aboutir sans qu’une substitution de terme n’accompagne l’évolution. Dès lors, le changement terminologique opéré par la directive CSRD s’accompagne-t-il d’un changement sémantique ? Par ailleurs, constitue-t-il un changement formel ou substantiel ? Autrement dit, le changement de mot permet-il une plus ample considération et une meilleure gestion des maux ? La question se pose dans la mesure où cette terminologie n’est en réalité pas inédite. La directive NFRD évoquait effectivement déjà « les informations sur la durabilité ». Par la suite, les lignes directrices de la Commission européenne sur l’information non financière de 2017 fixant une méthodologie pour la communication desdites informations ainsi que celles de 2019 sur les informations en rapport avec le climat2 avaient repris la formule. L’expression n’apparaît qu’au stade des considérants de la directive NFRD, et qu’à une seule reprise dans les lignes directrices précitées. Le terme était néanmoins présent et, surtout, il était employé comme synonyme de « non financière ». Partant, deux présuppositions en découlent : l’adoption du terme par la directive CSRD ne revêtirait qu’une modification formelle et le changement terminologique ne serait pas soutenu par une évolution sémantique. La présente contribution met à l’épreuve ces deux présuppositions en concluant que l’évolution ne se réduit pas à un simple changement de terme. Loin de borner ou clôturer, comme l’étymologie du verbe « définir » l’invite pourtant à le faire3 , la définition de la durabilité telle qu’elle ressort de la directive a plutôt vocation à se répandre sur un nombre exponentiel de terres avoisinantes. La durabilité se déploie pour toucher les facteurs de gouvernance et pollinise désormais un nombre croissant d’entreprises, notamment les PME et les entreprises de pays tiers. Par ailleurs, si une lecture hâtive de l’article 2 de la directive CSRD pourrait conclure que la durabilité se résume à l’énumération de cinq facteurs, la durabilité interroge surtout la contribution de l’entreprise et du droit l’encadrant au développement durable des sociétés. Elle pénètre en effet les murs de l’entreprise par le canal de la « durabilité de l’entreprise », en cherchant à ce que les thématiques environnementales, sociales, de droits de l’homme et de gouvernance soient des leviers dans la prise de décision à l’intérieur de l’entreprise les invitant ainsi à agir, au-delà de communiquer. Ce renouvellement de la durabilité est renforcé par une redéfinition des obligations à l’égard des entreprises : les champs couverts par l’information exigée sont multipliés, le « comply or explain » majoritairement abandonné, et l’assurance sur les informations en matière de durabilité devient obligatoire. Pour de plus amples informations, le présent article est disponible intégralement en français à la Revue trimestrielle de droit financier, sous la référence suivante : insérer ici la référence exacte quand elle sera disponible.

L’extension des obligations d’information en matière de durabilité aux entreprises de pays tiers est présentée comme l’un des principaux apports de la directive CSRD, permettant de saisir les impacts sociaux et environnementaux du groupe transnational de sociétés. L’effectivité de la directive à l’égard de ces groupes semble toutefois relative. D’un côté, la directive saisit le groupe comme unité au travers de la filiale européenne en l’obligeant à publier une information couvrant le groupe entier. Mais d’un autre côté, elle laisse une large place à l’autonomie de la filiale en retenant une limitation de l’obligation au stade de l’exécution : si la société mère ne lui fournit pas l’information, la filiale peut se contenter de publier une information partielle accompagnée du refus de la société mère. La directive se contente donc d’exercer une contrainte réputationnelle sur le groupe transnational. Ce manque d’effectivité invite à réfléchir à des moyens d’y remédier, dont le principal semble être une restriction de l’accès au marché européen en l’absence d’une information consolidée suffisante en matière de durabilité. Parallèlement, la directive CSRD pourrait se trouver renforcée par la multiplication des obligations « ascendantes » en matière de durabilité, invitant le groupe transnational à rationnaliser la publication d’information afin de satisfaire les exigences des différents systèmes auxquels il est soumis. The extension of the sustainability reporting obligations to non-EU companies is presented as one of the CSRD’s major contributions, making it possible to grasp the social and environmental impacts of transnational corporate groups. However, the effectiveness of the Directive with regard to these groups seems relative. On the one hand, the Directive captures the group as a unit through the European subsidiary, binding it to publish consolidated information at a global level. On the other hand, it leaves room for the subsidiary’s autonomy, by limiting the obligation at the performance stage: if the parent company fails to provide the information, the subsidiary can simply publish a partial information, accompanied by the parent company’s refusal. The Directive therefore imposes a merely reputational constraint on the transnational group. This lack of effectiveness calls for remedies, the main one being restricting access to the European market in the absence of sufficient consolidated sustainability information. At the same time, the CSRD could be strengthened by the multiplication of “bottom-up” sustainability obligations, inviting the transnational group to rationalize the publication of information in order to meet the requirements of the various systems to which it is subject.

The principle of independence of legal persons within corporate groups means that the rights and obligations of each company in the group are assessed individually, without taking account of the fact that they belong to the group. However, in terms of reporting obligations, the CSRD directive provides for a derogatory system of “consolidated sustainability reporting” for groups of companies. In essence, this requires the dominant company to provide sustainability information on behalf of all group companies under its control. This logic is not new, and has its origins in the system of consolidated accounts which, in terms of financial reporting, obliges the parent company to communicate on the financial position and results of group companies as if they were a single entity. This substantial approach to accounting law, which aims to communicate information that is useful for economic decision making, seeks to reflect the reality of transactions, beyond their legal form. From this point of view, the group is considered to be a single entity, due to the dominant company’s power of control over the resources of its subsidiaries. This logic has permeated company law, and the obligation to draw up consolidated financial statements is enshrined both in European Union directives and in the French Commercial Code. The legal basis for this is the control of the dominant company, i.e. the power of the parent company to impose its views on its subsidiaries at shareholders’ meetings, and to exert influence over the management of its subsidiaries. The consolidated reporting regime had been extended to non-financial information since the NFRD directive in 2014, at European level, and since the law of July 12, 2010, in domestic law. It is set out in Article 29 bis of the CSRD Directive, with a few changes. Consolidated sustainability information reveals an extension of the consolidation logic. Indeed, consolidated sustainability reporting requires the publication of strategic and qualitative information that goes far beyond the scope of financial data required for consolidated accounts. Moreover, unlike the obligation to draw up consolidated financial statements, the system provides for an exemption from the obligation to provide information, on an individual basis, at the level of each subsidiary, so that the obligation only weighs on the head company of the group. We have thus moved from a purely informative and descriptive consolidation logic to the obligation for the head company of the group to report on the environmental and social consequences of the activity of the companies in the group. As a result, the consolidation of information within groups obliges, to a certain extent, the head companies to assume the risks generated by the activity of all the companies included in the scope of consolidation and, above all, the measures implemented to deal with them. Stakeholders of the parent company or of one of the group’s subsidiaries will theoretically be able to have an overall view of the activities of the companies in the group, without the head company being able to conceal activities with harmful social and environmental consequences within a subsidiary. This is all the more true given that the scope of consolidation is broadly understood, since the consolidation thresholds are calculated and added up at the level of all the companies in the group, on the one hand, and that the CSRD directive provides for the inclusion of non-European parent companies which carry out an activity in the European Union through a subsidiary or branch, on the other. However, this observation must be tempered by the conditions under which the information obligation is implemented. Although the CSRD requires that information be traceable, this is hardly sufficient to ensure that the consolidated sustainability report remains comprehensive. The provision of global data on the environmental and social risks generated by the activities of group companies leaves considerable scope for concealing individual data, specific to the sustainability impacts of each subsidiary, and encourages deceptive transparency. It therefore seems essential to require that subsidiaries be exempted from the requirement to provide detailed information on a subsidiary-by-subsidiary basis, to ensure that the consolidated reporting system is not just a tool for optimizing information within groups.

Adoptée après la mise en application des textes relatifs à la finance durable, mais avant la proposition de directive sur le devoir de vigilance, la CSRD vient parfaire l’édifice législatif sur lequel l’Europe construit sa stratégie en matière de durabilité dans le prolongement du Green Deal. Elle est porteuse d’avancées majeures puisqu’elle renforce les exigences entourant le reporting de durabilité, mais reste laconique sur la phase pourtant cruciale d’élaboration de l’information préalablement à la publication. Cet article tente d’esquisser, à l’aune de l’obligation de s’informer pour informer, un régime afin d’encadrer ce travail préalable. Si cette piste soulève davantage de questions qu’elle n’apporte de réponses, elle permet au moins de mettre en lumière la manière dont la substance et le périmètre de l’information influent sur le comportement que l’on peut attendre de la part des entreprises assujetties. Adopted after the implementation of the texts relating to sustainable finance, but before the proposal for a directive on due diligence, the CSRD completes the legislative edifice on which the European Union is building its sustainability strategy in the wake of the Green Deal. It represents a major step forward, as it strengthens the requirements for sustainability reporting, but remains silent on the crucial phase of preparing information prior to publication. This article attempts to sketch out, in the light of the obligation to obtain information in order to inform others, a framework for this preliminary work. While this approach raises more questions than it answers, it does at least shed light on the way in which the substance and scope of the required information influence the behaviour that can be expected from the undertakings subject to the CSRD.

تمثل البنوك التجارية الجزائرية المعبر الرئيسي للوساطة المالية والمصرفية في الاقتصاد الوطني، إذ تساهم بشكل كبير في أغلب المعاملات الاقتصادية داخل وخارج الوطن، وبالتالي فهي تساهم بعدة أدوار مهمة في التنمية الاقتصادية واستدامتها عبر الأجيال، قام ت الحكومة بإنشاء فروع ونواف ذ إسلامية للمعاملات المالية الإسلامية على مستوى هذه البنوك وطرح منتجات مصرفية إسلامية قرر ساعد على جذب المتعاملين بالسوق الموازية لضخ أموالهم بالبنوك الوطنية واستخدامها بصيغ تطبق احكام الشريعة الإسلامية، تعمل الصيرفة الإسلامية على نبذ الربا وتعزيز التكافل الاجتماعي والعدالة. إن استخدام مثل هذه الخدمات يهدف إلى تحقيق المشاركة في الأرباح والخسائر بين البنوك والزبائن. وفي دراستنا تبين لنا مدى تبني البنوك التقليدية الجزائرية للمعاملات المالية الإسلامية من خلال فتح نوافذ إسلامية تعمل وفق الشريعة الإسلامية لتحقيق رضا وإستقطاب الزبائن Algerian commercial banks represent the main catalyst for financial and banking intermediation in the national economy. They to contribute significantly the majority of economic transactions within and outside the country. Consequently, they play several crucial roles in economic development and its sustainability across generations. The government has established branches and windows for Islamic financial transactions in these banks and introduced Islamic banking products. This decision has helped attract participants in the parallel market to channel their funds into national banks and utilize them in accordance with Islamic law principles. Islamic banking aims to eliminate usury (riba) and promote social solidarity and justice. The use of such services aims to achieve profit and loss sharing between banks and customers. Our study has revealed the extent to which Algerian traditional banks have embraced Islamic financial transactions by opening Islamic windows that operate in accordance with Islamic law, aiming to achieve customer satisfaction and attract clients

لقد تطرّقنا في موضوع دراستنا على تحدّيات فرض الضّرائب على معاملات التّجارة الإلكترونية باعتبار موضوع التّجارة الإلكترونية من المواضيع الهامّة التي تلقى اهتماما كبيرا من قبل الكثير من الباحثين لما لها من انعكاسات على اقتصاديات دول العالم المتقدّمة والنّامية، حيث تعدّ إحدى النّظم الحديثة في إتمام وتنفيذ المعاملات التّجارية عبر شبكات الأنترنت. ولقد أسفرت دراستنا الميدانية في المركز الجواري للضّرائب دائرة السّوقر التي واجهت عدّة صعوبات لإخضاع المعاملات الإلكترونية بسب غياب قوانين والتّشريعات المتعلّقة بتنظيم الضّريبة الإلكترونية وغياب رقمنة القطاع وصعوبات تقنية تطبيق هذا النّوع من الضّرائب. هذا ما أوجب على الجزائر بذل مجهوداتها من أجل دعم وإرساء البنية التحتية للاتّصالات ومسايرة التّقدّم التّكنولوجي في العالم وتسليط الضّوء على القوانين والتّشريعات الجبائية الخاصّة بهذه التّجارة وسَنّها والعمل بها على أرض الواقع. In the subject of our study, we have addressed the challenges of imposing taxes on electronic commerce transactions, considering the issue of electronic commerce as one of the important topics that receive great attention by many researchers because of its implications for the economies of the developed and developing countries of the world, as it is one of the modern systems in the completion and implementation of commercial transactions. Via internet networks. Our field study resulted in the neighborhood tax center, in Sougueur Department, which faced several difficulties in subjecting electronic transactions due to the absence of laws and legislation related to the organization of electronic taxation, the absence of digitization of the sector, and the technical difficulties of applying this type of taxation. This is what required Algeria to exert its efforts to support and establish the telecommunications infrastructure, keep pace with the technological progress in the world, shed light on the laws and fiscal legislation related to this trade, enact them and implement them on the ground.

L’avènement du système comptable OHADA est une innovation de grande envergure dans l’organisation de la profession comptable dont l’importance pour les gestionnaires des plus petites entreprises de l’informel ne souffre d’aucune contestation. Aujourd’hui, mieux qu’hier, il s’avère impossible de s’en passer dans la mesure où ce nouveau système de gestion constitue une panacée aux maux qui rongent l’organisation comptable dans les entreprises, d’où l’adaptation au changement est plus que nécessaire.

The paper aims to review the relation between Corporate Governance, Risk Management and Performance. We reviewed these variables and develop a Theoretical and Analytics framework. First introduction (study background, Problem Statement, Research Objectives and research questions). Second literature review (A) financial performance such as ROA, ROE, EPS and Tobin’s Q, (B) Corporate Governance as Board of Directors, Board Composition, CEO Duality and Board Size (C) Risk Management. Third, we discussed Underpinning Theories such as, Agency Theory and Institutional Theory. Fourth, we developed a Theoretical Framework where we illustrated (A) Corporate Governance and Financial Performance, (B) Risk Management and Financial Performance (C) Compliance with Accounting Standards and Financial Performance. Finally, we developed a comprehensive reviewing based on above variables.

This study aims to understand the accounting effects of the Corona pandemic in more depth and clarity, where the study explores the accounting choices during the pandemic period and the impact of the firm's strategic orientation and its social responsibility performance on those choices. Using data from non-financial Saudi companies, the accounting choices divided into aggressive accounting strategy and conservative accounting strategy, and regression models used to examine the study hypotheses. The results of the study provide a clearer and in-depth vision about the nature of accounting practices during the pandemic and indicated that business strategy affects accounting choices, while corporate social responsibility does not affect. The results can imply useful information for the market regulators that help them in controlling and stabilizing the market, as well as for professional accounting organizations to help them issue guidelines for accounting work during crises.

Esta dissertação analisa a evolução do sistema contabilístico da Guiné-Bissau, nomeadamente o processo de convergência do Sistema de Contabilidade da Organização para Harmonização do Direito dos Negócios em África (SYSCOHADA) com as normas internacionais de relato financeiro (NIRF). Pretende-se perceber em que medida os laços políticos e culturais influenciaram este processo de convergência no país, e ainda as ligações entre as dimensões culturais, sociais, económicas e financeiras, assim como as respetivas influências na fiscalidade, no ensino e na formação profissional, na organização da profissão contabilística, com base na classificação dos sistemas contabilísticos de Nobes (1998). A Guiné-Bissau é um país membro da Organização para Harmonização dos Negócios em África (OHADA), entidade responsável por edificar e oficializar as normas contabilísticas, que são aprovados através de ato uniforme que envolve dezassete países africanos, o que explica que seja influenciado ou influencie outros países membros daquela organização. Esta investigação contribui para a literatura no domínio da contabilidade e relato financeiro no continente africano, em geral, área ainda pouco explorada e pouco conhecida da comunidade académica, e da Guiné-Bissau, em particular, país independente desde 1973, depois de um período de vários séculos de existência como antiga colónia portuguesa.

O objetivo do trabalho foi identificar tendências de investigações científicas, publicadas no período de 2008 a 2020, sobre a aplicação das International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) nos países africanos. Por meio de uma revisão da literatura, foram analisados, em particular, os tópicos abordados, motivos e teorias aplicadas nos estudos. As fontes de recolha de dados foram as bases de dados da Emerald Insiht e Sience Direct. A amostra consiste em 31 artigos extraídos das revistas internacionais de contabilidade que publicaram sobre a adoção, compliance e consequências das IFRS no continente africano. Ainda que tenham ocorrido numerosas variações na aplicação dos normativos internacionais, principalmente relacionados à conformidade, a maioria dos países africanos tem adotado às normas IFRS. No entanto, mesmo que a maioria tenha prolongado a implementação das IFRS, os resultados apontam que a adoção das mesmas gera criação de vantagens competitivas e integração para os mercados globais. Concluiu-se que: (i) a regulamentação institucional limita a aplicação das IFRS na África; (ii) as práticas contábeis são influenciadas pelos ambientes externos e internos da organização institucional; (iii) elas devem ser baseadas em decisões racionais e nas crenças das instituições. Por fim, os achados apontam as influências culturais como justificativas da forma escalonada de como os países do mundo, não somente africanos, vem adotando às normas IFRS.

This thesis investigates the relationship between cross-country mandatory environmental, social and governance (ESG) regulations and firm-level outcomes, such as ESG performance, corporate finance, and investment, for both developing and developed countries. ESG performance is initially examined to determine whether mandatory ESG regulations affect it and to what extent. Second, the study investigates the impact of mandatory ESG on corporate finance and investment. Lastly, the study explores whether mandatory ESG regulations affect firm-level outcomes based on countries' governance and economic systems, and industries. The study uses a large sample of 69,010 firm-years across 73 countries, over the period 2005 – 2020 to address the foregoing issues. In addressing the impact of mandatory ESG regulations on ESG performance, the study employs a difference-in-differences (DiD) design. The DiD technique can isolate the effect of regulatory shocks to firm-level outcomes. According to the DiD analysis conducted, cross-country mandatory ESG improves firm-level ESG performance in developed countries, but not in developing countries. The study also concludes that mandatory ESG regulations have a positive impact only on ESG components in developed countries and have a more dominant impact on environmental (E) component. The findings are robust to a range of checks and test cases, including a triple DiD design set-up and propensity score-matched sample. The study employs an investment Euler equation framework and generalised method of moments (GMM) estimators to explore how mandatory ESG impacts corporate finance and investment. Euler frameworks account for the dynamic nature of investment, whereas GMMs account for endogenous dynamics in dynamic models. The study demonstrates that mandatory ESG increases corporate investment by increasing firms' access to external funds. The findings are robust to a battery of tests, including a triple DiD design set-up, propensity score-matched sample and the parallel trends assumption. Using an investment Euler equation framework and the GMM estimators, the study explores whether the impact of mandatory ESG on corporate finance and investment is dependent on a country's governance and economic system. When mandatory ESG is affected by country factors such as governance systems and economic well-being, the effect of mandatory ESG on investment via internal finance channel persists, according to the study. However, while consistent results are found in developed countries, inconsistent results are found in developing countries. According to the study, oil, gas, and mining firms are likely to respond effectively to mandatory ESG regulations because of increased scrutiny and pressure. Overall, the findings from the study imply that cross-country mandatory ESG has had a positive impact on corporate ESG performance, finance, and investment. For firms located in developed countries, these findings hold consistently, while for those located in developing countries, the opposite holds true. Also, the study reveals that firms in the oil, gas, and mining industries effectively respond to regulatory requirements. As a result, this study provides policy makers and accountants with an understanding of how mandatory ESG impacts firm ESG activities and performance, which is crucial for regulatory reforms.