Accounting, Accountability and Society (eBook)

Trends and Perspectives in Reporting, Management and Governance for Sustainability

Mara Del Baldo, Jesse Dillard, Maria-Gabriella Baldarelli, Massimo Ciambotti (Herausgeber)

eBook Download: PDF

2020 | 1st ed. 2020
XV, 280 Seiten
Springer International Publishing (Verlag)
978-3-030-41142-8 (ISBN)

Infos

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.

 

Mara Del Baldo is an associate professor of financial accounting, economics of sustainability and accountability at Urbino University, Italy. Her main research interests include entrepreneurship and small business, CSR and business ethics, financial and integrated reporting, social and environmental accounting and reporting,  gender accounting and accounting history. She is a member of several Italian and international scientific associations (AIDEA, SIDREA and SISR; the European Council for Small Business;  the GBS - Italian Group for Social Reporting; the OIBR-Italian Institute for Business Reporting;  the European Business Ethics Network; the SPES Institute (Spirituality in Economics and Society, Leuven), the Global Corporate Governance Institute, USA and the CSEAR, Center for Social and Environmental Accounting Research). She serves as a board member and a reviewer of several international journals. 

Jesse Dillard served on the faculties of Ohio State University, University of New Mexico, University of Central Florida, Portland State University (USA)and Queen's University Belfast, Northern Ireland. In addition to being an Emeritus Professor at Portland State University, USA, he holds appointments at Victoria University in Wellington, New Zealand, and the University of Central Florida. His teaching and research interests include the ethical and public interest implications of administrative and information technologies particularly as they affect social and environmental sustainability and accountability. He is currently a member of the governing board for the Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research, University of St Andrews, Scotland.

 

Maria-Gabriella Baldarelli is an Associate Professor of accounting, at the University of Bologna, Italy. She is a CAST board member and was a SIDREA board member until 2018. She was a Visiting Professor at the University of Elbasan, Albania; State University of Tirana, Albania; La Trobe University Melbourne, Australia; University of Pula, Croatia; University of Vlore, Albania; the New Bulgarian University of Sofia, Bulgaria,; University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; University of Diocese of Buia, Cameroon. Her research interests include accountability and gambling enterprises, CSR, ethical, social and environmental accounting and accountability, gender accounting and accounting history.

 

Massimo Ciambotti is a Full Professor of management accounting in the Department of Economics, Society and Politics and Vice-Rector of Urbino University, Italy. He was the Dean of the Faculty of Economics at the same university in the period 2009-2012 and President of Association for the Study of Small Firms (ASPI). His teaching and research experience ranges from cross-cultural management to business information systems to strategy and management control to cover the field of knowledge management and intellectual capital. Moreover, he has worked in these areas as a private consultant, especially in the world of small- and medium-sized firms.

Inhalt

Foreword 1 6
Foreword 2 8
Contents 10
Editors and Contributors 12
Sustainability Accounting and Accountability 17
Accounting and Accountability Tools and Practices for Environmental Issues: A Narrative Historical Academic Debate 18
1 Introduction 18
2 The Early Debate 19
3 Meta Debate 21
4 The Growing Relevance of Environmental Issues in the Global Landscape of A4S 25
5 Unresolved Questions: How to Account for Climate Changes? Toward Partially Mandatory Integrated Reports 28
6 Final Remarks 31
Literature 32
The Management Process Underpinning the Non-financial Reporting: A Case Study of a Listed Italian Company 34
1 Introduction 34
2 Literature Review 35
3 An Overview on the Italian Legislative Decree n. 254/2016 40
4 Methodology 41
4.1 Research Method, Case Selection, Data Collection, and Analysis 41
4.2 The Research Context 43
5 Findings 43
6 Discussion and Conclusions 48
Literature 52
A Sociotechnical Analysis of Accounting for Employee Health and Safety: Evidence from a Multiple Case Study 58
1 Introduction 58
2 Literature Review and Analytical Framework 60
3 Research Methodology 62
3.1 Data Collection and Analysis 63
4 Comparative Analysis 63
5 Discussion and Conclusion 69
Literature 72
Ethics, Social Responsibility and Tax Aggressiveness. Can a Code of Ethics Absolve a Company? 75
1 Introduction 75
2 Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility and Tax Behaviour. A Literature Review 76
3 Method, Case Selection and Data Collection 80
4 The Dolce & Gabbana Group: A Brief Description
5 The Dispute: Main Steps 82
6 Discussion 84
7 Conclusions 87
Literature 89
Accounting for Sustainability—Could Cost Accounting Be the Right Tool? 94
1 Introduction 94
2 What We Mean for Sustainability 95
3 (Full-Cost) Accounting and Sustainability: The Rationale Behind 97
4 Methodology 98
5 (Full-Cost) Accounting and Sustainability: Theoretical Studies and Empirical Applications 98
6 Considering Conclusions 101
Literature 102
CSR and External Communication 105
Mandatory Disclosure of Non-financial Information: A Structured Literature Review 106
1 Introduction 106
2 The Structured Literature Review Method 108
3 The SLR on Mandatory Disclosure of Non-financial Information 111
4 Insights and Critiques 120
4.1 Jurisdiction 121
4.2 Organizational Focus 123
4.3 Country of Research 123
4.4 Focus of < MDNFI>
4.5 Academic, Practitioners, Consultants, and Regulators 125
4.6 Research Methods 127
4.7 < MDNFI>
5 Future Research Directions 127
6 Conclusion 130
Appendix: < MDNFI>
Searching for Social and Environmental Accountability in Integrated Reporting: A Stewardship Approach 140
1 Introduction 140
2 A Picture of the Last 30 Years: From Economic Theories to the Stewardship Theory 142
2.1 Theoretical Framework: A Stewardship Approach 144
3 Methodology 146
4 Findings 148
4.1 The Emergence of Integrated Reporting in Sustainability Reporting Practices 148
4.2 Business-Centric View Versus Stakeholders Engagement 150
4.3 Management Discretion and the “Greenwashing” Mechanism 151
4.4 Education and Business Culture as a Future Agenda 152
5 Conclusions in the Light of the Stewardship Theory 152
6 An Agenda for Further Research on < IR>
Appendix 1 155
References 155
CSR and Greenwashing: A Matter of Perception in the Search of Legitimacy 161
1 Introduction 161
2 Misleading Corporate Communication: Towards a Definition of Greenwashing 163
3 The Search for Legitimacy: The Role of Greenwashing, Credibility and Perception 166
4 Conclusions 171
Literature 172
Social/Critical/Emancipatory Accounting Research: Its Failure and Prospects for Redemption 177
1 Introduction 177
2 Importance and Contribution 178
3 Social, Critical, and Emancipatory Accounting Research 178
4 The Ultimate Objective of Social, Critical, and Emancipatory Accounting Research 180
5 The Failure of Social, Critical, and Emancipatory Accounting Research in Achieving Its Ultimate Objective 182
5.1 The Wrong Enemy 185
5.2 The Wrong Battleground 187
5.3 The Wrong Weapons 187
6 US Securities Laws and the Financial Accounting Standards Board 189
6.1 US Securities Laws 189
6.2 The Financial Accounting Standards Board 191
7 Prospects for Redemption 192
8 Conclusion 194
Literature 194
Empirical Analysis of CSR Reports 198
Are HEIs’ Intellectual Capital Disclosures Consistent with the Sustainability Integrated Reporting Trend? 199
1 Introduction 199
2 Literature Review 201
2.1 An Emphasis on the Role of Universities 201
2.2 Highlighting IC in Universities 202
2.3 Connecting the Dots Between IC and IR 205
3 Theoretical Model 206
4 Research Design 210
4.1 Sample Selection 210
4.2 Methodology 212
5 Results and Discussion 215
6 Conclusions 219
Appendix 221
Literature 227
Can Graphs in Sustainability Reports Actually Manage Impressions? An Analysis from the Investors’ Perspective 232
1 Introduction 232
2 Literature Review: Visuals as Impression Management Tools in Accounting and Accountability, The Role of Graphs 234
3 Methodological Design 238
3.1 Sample and Data Selection 238
3.2 Research Methodology 239
4 Findings and Discussion 241
4.1 Descriptive Statistics and Correlation Matrix 241
4.2 Regression Model and Discussion 242
5 Conclusions 244
Literature 246
What Drives the Level of Non-financial Assurance in PIEs? Empirical Evidence on the European Firms Listed on Forbes 2000 251
1 Introduction 251
2 Theoretical Framework 252
3 Research Methodology 256
3.1 Data Collection and Sample Description 256
3.2 Model Specification 258
4 Results 260
5 Conclusions 264
Literature 267
Review and Reflections 272
1 Introduction 272
2 Review and Synthesis 273
3 Reflections 277
4 Summary 283
Literature 284
14 Correction to: Ethics, Social Responsibility and Tax Aggressiveness. Can a Code of Ethics Absolve a Company? 286

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 31.3.2020
• Reihe/Serie: CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance
• Reihe/Serie: CSR, Sustainability, Ethics & Governance
• Zusatzinfo: XV, 280 p. 20 illus., 11 illus. in color.
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Philosophie ► Allgemeines / Lexika
• Themenwelt: Wirtschaft ► Betriebswirtschaft / Management ► Unternehmensführung / Management
• Schlagworte: Assurance on Sustainability Disclosure • Case Studies • Corporate Social Responsibility • Critical and Emancipatory Accounting • CSR and Tax Avoidance • ESG Information • Greenwashing • Integrated Reporting • Non-Financial Reporting
• ISBN-10: 3-030-41142-7 / 3030411427
• ISBN-13: 978-3-030-41142-8 / 9783030411428