Management Control - Audit

January 15th, 2024

Is the Global Convergence of Sustainability Reporting Possible?

Companies are increasingly encouraged, or obliged, to report on their sustainability efforts. However, there is little harmonization across the many sustainability standard-setting organizations. In their latest study, Accounting Professors Hervé Stolowy and Luc Paugam of HEC Paris set out to create a picture of the status of sustainability reporting standards today, and what they really mean. Three key findings: Lack of standards harmonization: A significant lack of harmonization in sustainability reporting standards pose challenges for consistent communication of companies' sustainability efforts. Diverse objectives: Standard-setting organizations have diverse objectives, complicating efforts to establish a globally standardized approach to sustainability reporting. Carbon emissions disclosure: One exception may be carbon emissions disclosure, with convergence in the greenhouse gas emission protocol being adopted by most organizations.

By Hervé Stolowy , Luc Paugam

Management Control - Audit

July 21st, 2023

Lean Startup: Why Do So Many New Startups Follow the Same Development Philosophy?

When we think of startups, we think of fresh, ideas-led businesses that seek to break the mold in how they do things or in what they produce. But when it comes to their business practices and values, it seems that, rather than being pioneers of innovation, many startups adhere to very similar ways of doing things: following the Lean Startup philosophy. A recent study from researchers in management accounting and control Sebastian D. Becker of HEC Paris and Christoph Endenich of ESSEC Business School shows why this is the case.

By Sebastian Becker

Management Control - Audit

January 27th, 2020

Understanding and Improving e-Government Website Usage

Administrations invest significant time and money into the development of e-government websites. Ultimately, the reward is cost savings and greater efficiency for governments, but this depends on the public’s initial adoption and continued use of the sites. A new research paper investigates the factors that influence people’s usage of e-government sites and offers tips to improve service quality.

By Shirish Srivastava

Management Control - Audit

September 30th, 2019

Auditors Offering Both CSR Assurance and Financial Auditing Could be Best Option

With shareholders and stakeholders becoming more and more concerned with firms’ corporate social responsibility (CSR), audit firms now provide CSR assurance services for sustainability reports. As such, firms wonder whether it is more beneficial to use a financial audit firm that also provides CSR assurance, or to hire a different CSR assurance provider than the financial auditor. Researchers explain why the first option is the best option for firms.

By Luc Paugam

Management Control - Audit

May 01st, 2019

Sustainability Indices: Do Investors Actually Care?

In the face of social, environmental, and financial disruptions, more attention is being paid to corporate social responsibility (CSR) policies, and sustainability benchmarks have multiplied. But does a firm's listing in a CSR index really matter to investors? HEC researchers investigated how important inclusion in the leading global CSR benchmark, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) World, is to investors.

By Rodolphe Durand , Luc Paugam , Hervé Stolowy

Management Control - Audit

April 16th, 2019

The Protection of Whistleblowers: What Does the Law Say in France and in the US

Should whistleblowers be compensated or prosecuted? In their latest research, professors from HEC Paris Nicole Stolowy and Luc Paugam, together with Lawyer Aude Londero, shed light on the different realities faced by whistleblowers depending on jurisdictions, in France and in the United-States.

By Nicole Stolowy , Luc Paugam

Management Control - Audit

October 24th, 2018

CEO Pay and Philanthropy: When Good Intentions Attract Bad Attention

In giving large compensation to CEOs, some companies receive criticism in the media, while others escape attention. Recent research shows that the companies under the most scrutiny are often those who engage in activities that media and other stakeholders perceive as contradictory, such as CEO overcompensation and corporate philanthropy.

By Georg Wernicke

Management Control - Audit

August 28th, 2018

How Storytelling Can Increase Support for Whistleblowers

Whistleblowers are often condemned by society, but they can be key to uncovering scandal. Hervé Stolowy, Luc Paugam and co-researchers Yves Gendron and Jodie Moll uncover how whistleblowers can tell their stories to better promote the positive aspects of their role for society and increase their legitimacy.

By Hervé Stolowy , Luc Paugam

Management Control - Audit

July 19th, 2018

How E-Government Curbs Corruption

Shirish Srivastava and co-researchers report that e-government prevents corruption in national institutions and service systems. They set out to learn: what can be done to enhance this unintended benefit and further curb corruption in nations?

By Shirish Srivastava

©photon_photo e-government HEC Paris Shirish Srivastava

Management Control - Audit

June 18th, 2018

Thinking Through Cannabis Markets

The relationship between cannabis and society is a long and deeply contested one. Throughout history, cannabis has been associated with everything from health, leisure, and pop culture to criminal and immoral behavior. But beyond the simple debate about whether cannabis is good or bad, the study of cannabis markets needs interdisciplinarity, to know what is required to construct an effective and fair contested market.

By Dane Pflueger , Daniel Martinez Ahloy

HEC Paris Professor Daniel Martinez and Dane Pflueger talking in a room to researchers