This study examines whether financial experts on audit committees relate to SDG disclosure levels. Methodology: This research analyzes 9,900 firm-year observations from 1,650 companies across 21 European countries between 2019 and 2024, using fixed-effects regression and System GMM to address endogeneity, confirming the robustness of the findings.Key Findings: The results reveal a positive correlation between FE on audit committees and the level of SDG disclosure. This indicates that FE contribute to facilitating more inclusive SDG reporting by virtue of their increased oversight power and awareness of stakeholders’ needs. The study contributes to the development of theories of agency, stakeholders, and legitimacy in the context of SDG disclosure and AC financial expertise. Conclusions: Embedding financial expertise within audit committees strengthens the governance mechanisms that underpin credible SDG reporting among European firms, supporting agency, stakeholder, and legitimacy perspectives on non-financial disclosure. Recommendations: The study makes a practical contribution for regulators, Firms, and investors by highlighting the importance of AC composition in strengthening corporate sustainability transparency in the European context. Furthermore, the study has policy relevance by supporting the FE.

Title

An-Najah University Journal for Research - B (Humanities)

Publisher

An-Najah National University

Publisher Country

Palestine

Indexing

Scopus

Impact Factor

None

Publication Type

Both (Printed and Online)

Volume

--

Year

2026

Pages

--