How Auditor Professional Mood Affects ESG Reporting Quality in Vietnamese Firms: The Moderating Role of CEO Duality and Audit Committee Independence

Manuscript type: Research paperResearch aims: The study explores the impact mechanism of auditormood (via auditor professional burnout – AUPB) on ESG reportingquality. The study also investigates whether this relationship is influencedby the moderating mechanism of audit committee (AC) independence andchief executive officers (CEO) duality.Design/Methodology/Approach: The study uses data from ThomsonReuters Asset4 to collect a sample size of 164 Vietnamese firms duringthe period 2020-2024 (820 firm-year observations). A system-generalisedmethod of moments regression estimation approach is taken.Research findings: First, AUPB has a positive impact on ESG reportingquality. Second, CEO duality weakens the positive influence of AUPB onthe quality of ESG reporting. Third, AC independence strengthens therelationship between AUPB and ESG reporting quality.Theoretical contribution/Originality: The study contributes to agencytheory by expanding the understanding of how the interaction betweenexternal monitoring mechanisms and internal monitoring mechanismsaffects ESG reporting quality.Practitioner/Policy implication: Auditors need to exert more effort inauditing to enhance the quality of ESG reporting. Audit firms shouldcreate conditions for auditors to feel most comfortable when working.Client firms should reduce CEO duality as well as increase independentAC to improve management and monitoring capacity to improve ESGreporting quality. Agency theory,Research limitation: Focusing only on an emerging economy likeVietnam may limit the generalisability of the findings.