Sustainability Accounting And Accountability

This exciting book is one of the first textbooks in the fast growing area of sustainability accounting. Contributed to, and edited by an impressive array of internationally renowned authorities, it focuses on the use of sustainability accounting both as an external accountability mechanism (external reporting) and as a tool for helping managers assess and manage the social and environmental impacts of their operations (management accounting). Using real-life examples and case studies to emphasize the links between the conceptual basis and issues in practice, this outstanding book addresses the growing interest among both practitioners and academics in social, environmental and ethical accountability, as interpreted through the lens of sustainable development.

Explains how the "techniques of sustainability accounting and accountability have the potential to be powerful tools in the management, planning, control and accountability of organizations for their social and environmental impacts." - page 3.

Sustainability accounting and accountability is fundamental in the pursuit of low-carbon and less unsustainable societies. Highlighting that accounting, organisations and economic systems are intertwined with sustainability, the book discusses how sustainability accounting and accountability broaden the spectrum of information used in organisational decision-making and in evaluating organisational success. The authors show how sustainability accounting can prove to be transformative, but only if critical questions are sufficiently addressed. This new and completely rewritten edition provides a comprehensive overview of sustainability accounting and accountability. Relevant global context and key concepts are outlined providing the reader with the conceptual resources to engage with the topic. Drawing on the most recent research and topical practical insights, the book discusses a wide variety of sustainability accounting and accountability topics, including management accounting and organisational decision-making, sustainability reporting frameworks and practices, as well as ESG-investments, financial markets and risk management. The book also highlights the role accounting has with key sustainability issues through dedicated chapters on climate, water, biodiversity, human rights and economic inequality. Each chapter is supplemented with practical examples and academic reading lists to allow in-depth engagement with the key questions. Sustainability Accounting and Accountability walks the reader through a spectrum of themes which are essential for all accountants and organisations. It helps the reader to understand why our traditional accounting techniques and systems are not sufficient for navigating the contemporary sustainability challenges our societies are facing. This key book will be an essential resource for undergraduate and postgraduate instructors and students, as an entry point to sustainability accounting and accountability, as well as being a vital book for researchers.

The management and balancing of social, environmental and economic sustainability is one of the most complex and urgent challenges facing both private and public sector organizations today; with these challenges of sustainability posing many risks to, and many opportunities for, advancing the aims and performance of organizations. Accounting and accountability processes and practices provide key tools to help organizations to more effectively identify and manage the risks and opportunities of sustainability. Popular features from the first edition are retained, whilst recent developments in theory and practice are accounted for. New substantive chapters on water resource accounting, carbon accounting, and decision making have been introduced and the book continues to benefit from a host of expert contributors from around the world, including Jesse Dillard, Rob Gray, Craig Deegan. This comprehensive and authoritative textbook will continue to be a key resource for students of accounting and sustainability, as well as being a vital tool for researchers.

This book addresses the growing interest among policymakers, practitioners and academics in the evolution and the future implications of social, environmental and sustainability accounting. To do so, it examines the conceptual and practical application of accountability at multiple levels and contexts, and presents a range of case studies focusing on salient issues, perspectives and the potential of multidimensional accounting and reporting regimes. Intended for a diverse audience, the book allows readers to gain a better understanding of the topics, encourages dialogue and debate, and stimulates innovation in scholarship, policy and practice.

The management and balancing of social, environmental and economic sustainability is one of the most complex and urgent challenges facing both private and public sector organizations today; with these challenges of sustainability posing many risks to, and many opportunities for, advancing the aims and performance of organizations. Accounting and accountability processes and practices provide key tools to help organizations to more effectively identify and manage the risks and opportunities of sustainability. Popular features from the first edition are retained, whilst recent developments in theory and practice are accounted for. New substantive chapters on water resource accounting, carbon accounting, and decision making have been introduced and the book continues to benefit from a host of expert contributors from around the world, including Jesse Dillard, Rob Gray, Craig Deegan. This comprehensive and authoritative textbook will continue to be a key resource for students of accounting and sustainability, as well as being a vital tool for researchers.

Sustainability Accounting and Integrated Reporting deals with organizations’ assessment, articulation and disclosure of their social and environmental impact on various groups in society. There is increasingly an understanding that financial information does not sufficiently discharge organizational accountability to members of society who are demanding an account of the social and environmental impacts of companies’ and other organizations’ activities. As a result, organizations report ever more social and environmental information, and there are simultaneous movements towards providing the information in an integrated fashion, showing how social and environmental activities influence each other, members of society and the financial aims of the organization. The book Sustainability Accounting and Integrated Reporting provides a broad and comprehensive review of the field, focusing on the interconnection between different elements of these topics, often dealt with in isolation. The book examines the accounting involved in the collection and analysis of data, control processes over the data, how information is reported to external parties, and the assurance of the information being reported. The book thereby provides an overview useful to practitioners (including sustainability managers, consultants, members of the accounting profession, and other assurance providers), academics, and students.

This book proposes effective means for sustainable development through ethical accounting and reporting of the use of social and environmental resources.