Date: March 4, 2026 (Wednesday)
Time: 14:00 - 15:00
Venue: T1-302-R1
Language: English

Abstract: ESG  decoupling has become a growing obstacle to society, yet effective  countermeasures remain underexplored. This study investigates whether  China’s AI-powered tax administration system, the Golden Tax Project  Phase III (GTP III), mitigates ESG decoupling. We posit that GTP III  enhances tax authorities’ capacity to monitor firms’ ESG performance  through the verification of firm-submitted invoices for tax purposes,  some of which are ESG-related. In addition, GTP III could generate  positive spillover effects on the quality of ESG-related information in  financial statements, enabling external stakeholders to better detect  and curb ESG decoupling. Using a staggered difference-in-differences  design, we find that GTP III significantly reduces ESG decoupling. The  effect is more pronounced among firms operating in poorer information  environments. This study contributes to the literature by identifying  AI-powered tax systems as a novel governance mechanism to curb ESG  decoupling and by extending tax enforcement research into the ESG  domain.

Biography:  Dr. Yanlei Zhang is an Associate Professor of Financial Accounting at  Copenhagen Business School, Denmark, and a Research Fellow at the Danish  Finance Institute. His research focuses on financial analysis, ESG, and  the digital economy. His work has been published in leading academic  journals, including the Journal of Banking and Finance, Journal of  Business Ethics, Journal of Accounting and Public Policy, and The  International Journal of Accounting, among others.