Does accountability audit of natural resource promote corporate environmental performance? An external supervision perspective

By taking the pilot policy of Accountability Audit of Natural Resource (AANR) as a quasi-natural experiment, this paper examines the impacts of AANR on corporate environmental performance (CEP). The moderating effects of media supervision and the rule of law are also examined from an external supervision perspective. The results indicate that AANR significantly promotes CEP. Media supervision significantly weakens the promotion effects of AANR on CEP, and a higher level of rule of law significantly enhances the promotion effects of AANR on CEP. On further analysis, the impacts of AANR on CEP are found significant in coastal regions and in heavily polluting enterprises.