The Nexus Between Corporate Social Responsibility Performance and Audit Fee: The Malaysian Evidence

This study examines the relationship between CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) performance and audit fee based on Malaysian market. Through on 51 Malaysian public listed firms over the period of 2012 to 2020, the result shows that CSR performance and audit fee has positive relationship. The evidence may indicate either 1) firms’ management utilizes CSR to extract personal benefits or as a tool to ‘greenwash’ corporate image; or 2) ethical firms demand credible financial reports and are therefore willing to incur higher audit fees for quality audit. The outcome of this study is expected to give insights to policy makers about the need to revise the sustainability reporting framework in Malaysia.