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Social audits help customers to assess the ESG performance of their suppliers to ensure that they are working with sustainable suppliers. This study investigates the impact of mandatory ESG disclosure on firms’ employment of social audits in terms of SMETA audits. We find that firms are more likely to employ SMETA audits subsequent to the mandatory ESG disclosure regulation, consistent with a complementary effect of mandatory ESG disclosure on SMETA audits. This effect is stronger for firms with lower levels of ESG performance or ESG disclosure prior to the regulation and firms facing higher pressure from customers. We further find that firms which employ SMETA audits following mandatory ESG disclosure establish more new contracts with customers and experience sales growth. Overall, our study provides novel evidence on the impact of mandatory ESG disclosure on social audits and sheds light on the role of ESG disclosure regulation in promoting supply chain sustainability. For registration, please contact Ms Heidi Lam at heidilam@cuhk.edu.hk. Date & Time 30 January 2024 Room 1028, 10/F., Cheng Yu Tung Building, CUHK Business School Speaker(s) Prof. Xiangang Xin |