Jenna J Burke, Rani Hoitash, Udi Hoitash
Journal of Business Ethics,Vol. 154, Issue 4, Pages: 1161-1186.
This paper explores an increasingly prevalent element of board-level commitment to sustainability. We propose a theoretical framework under which the existence and associated actions of board-level sustainability committees are motivated by shared value creation, where the interests of a diverse group of stakeholders are satisfied and sufficient profit is achieved. Using hand-collected data, we find that sustainability committees are heterogeneous in focus and vary in their effectiveness. Specifically, we disaggregate the sustainability committee construct based on stakeholder group focus (i.e., community, employee, environment, and consumer/supplier) and find that associations between sustainability committees and performance outcomes are stronger when committees focused on a specific stakeholder group are paired with relevant performance outcomes. We generally find that sustainability

Jenna Burke, Rani Hoitash, Udi Hoitash
The CPA Journal,Vol. 89, Issue 2, Pages: 13-14.
The research, forthcoming in Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory, is enabled by a new rule from the PCAOB that requires CPA firms to disclose the name of the partner in charge of each public company audit. Gender, Education, and Social Connections Although an estimated 50% of CPA firm employees are female, reported data shows that women make up only 17% of public company audit partners (Exhibit 1). Whether Form AP will have a longterm impact on the performance of audits or the retention of auditors remains to be seen, but this first year of data provides a baseline for investors and others interested in understanding more about who leads the audits of public companies and whether this population will change over time. Jenna Burke, PhD, CPA, is an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Denver.

Jenna J Burke, Rani Hoitash, Udi Hoitash
Auditing: A Journal of Practice and Theory,
This paper investigates the overall impact of and the information made available by the recent audit partner disclosure requirement in the U.S. After a contentious comment period, the PCAOB released Rule 3211, which requires registered public accounting firms to disclose the name of the audit partner for every audit report it issues. In the first year of adoption, we find a significant increase in audit quality and audit fees and a significant decrease in audit delay. Furthermore, we collect information on partner gender, busyness, education, and social connections to explore whether these newly observable characteristics are associated with audit outcomes. We find that several of these characteristics are associated with variations in audit fees and audit delay, but no evidence of an association with audit quality. Overall, our findings suggest that the disclosure of partner name in Form AP enhances the audit information

Jenna J Burke, Rani Hoitash, Udi Hoitash
Journal of Business Ethics,Pages: 1-26.

This paper explores an increasingly prevalent element of board-level commitment to sustainability. We propose a theoretical framework under which the existence and associated actions of board-level sustainability committees are motivated by shared value creation, where the interests of a diverse group of stakeholders are satisfied and sufficient profit is achieved. Using hand-collected data, we find that sustainability committees are heterogeneous in focus and vary in their effectiveness. Specifically, we disaggregate the …
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Jenna J Burke, Cynthia E Clark
Business Horizons,Vol. 59, Issue 3, Pages: 273-283.

Integrated reporting, a new development in the reporting landscape, seeks to concisely communicate a firm’s value through a more holistic picture that integrates financial and non-financial information. This practice is in its infancy in the United States and Europe, with many firms unsure of what integrated reporting is, what its benefits are, and even how to set it up. Drawing upon transcripts from 19 unstructured panel interviews at a global symposium on the subject, we discuss the business case for integrated reporting, as well …
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Jenna Burke, Cynthia Clark
Shareholder Empowerment (Book Chapter),Pages: 137-154.
Today’s corporate environment, and the interactions among its participants, are increasingly complex and dynamic. The market has responded with expansive regulations, listing rules, and bylaws aimed at empowering shareholders. With this empowerment, shareholders can now voice their discontent and demand necessary corrections. Notably, corporate constituents have not only more information, but also more ways to access it (e.g., formal reporting, public filings, Twitter, blogs, e-mails, listservs, etc.), creating both greater transparency and greater scrutiny of organizational behaviors.