Corporate social reporting in the Republic of Ireland: an analysis from 1991 to 1995

This paper reports on the results of a five year study of the corporate social reporting (CSR) practices of listed companies in the Republic of Ireland. CSR has a long history of both practice and research in western Europe but this is the first detailed study of its kind in Ireland. The results show that disclosure levels in Ireland were quite low throughout the five year period with larger companies tending to disclose more information. Mandatory disclosures relating to human resources information tended to predominate with only a limited number of companies reporting detailed voluntary information on a consistent basis. The increasing trends in environmental disclosure in western European surveys were not evident in the sample. Although different average volumes of disclosure were found between different industry sectors, these were only statistically significant in the first three years of the study

Shifting the focus of sustainability accounting from impacts to risks and dependencies : Researching the transformative potential of TCFD reporting

Purpose This paper problematizes TCFD (Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures) reporting in a way that demonstrates areas where academic research can contribute towards realizing the transformative potential of this unique form of sustainability accounting in its early stages of development. Design/methodology/approach The paper proposes a number of research agendas for impactful interdisciplinary research into new forms of corporate reporting of sustainability risks, opportunities and dependencies. Findings There are several major challenges that both reporting corporations and investors need to address in realizing the potential of TCFD style risks, opportunities and dependencies reporting. Key among these is developing new practices of climate-related scenario analysis and reporting. Practical implications There is potential for many different academic research studies to provide solid evidence in helping improve the practical impact of TCFD style sustainability reporting. These impacts may assist in moving corporate policies and actions towards zero carbon. Originality/value This is the first agenda-setting paper that addresses the need for, and opportunities of, academic research into TCFD reporting and its potential to transform corporate accounting and reporting of sustainability

The nature of knowledge sharing in NGO accounting and accountability processes

This paper presents a case study examining how accounting and accountability processes facilitate the sharing of different forms of knowledge in non-governmental organisation (NGO) contexts. The paper derives its primary insights from in-depth interviews with thirty NGO fieldworkers working and delivering development aid in Northern Ghana, Africa. We demonstrate how fieldworkers value both explicit, codifieable knowledge (referred to as ‘operational knowledge’) and contextualised, tacit knowledge (referred to as ‘situational knowledge’). The sharing of situational knowledge in support of operational knowledge by fieldworkers within NGO-funder accounting and accountability processes is perceived as crucial for optimising the use of development aid. However, despite funder encouragement, fieldworkers refrain from sharing situational knowledge within these processes. This is influenced by the perceived coercive nature of the accounting and accountability processes. These processes offer fieldworkers limited flexibility and create uncertainty by failing to inform them of the consequences arising from sharing operational and situational knowledge. The findings develop prior work highlighting the tensions between global control and local flexibility in NGO-funder accounting and accountability processes. We show how the value attached to different types of knowledge influences how these tensions play out. The findings also challenge prior work suggesting that NGO fieldworkers attach little relevance to operational knowledge required by funders in accounting and accountability reports. Our analysis implies a need to develop more enabling NGO-funder accounting and accountability processes to enhance the effectiveness of development aid assistance. We argue that this will require greater fieldworker involvement in the development of performance measures, more frequent face-to-face funder-fieldworker interaction, and more timely feedback from funders to fieldworkers on how knowledge shared within accounting and accountability processes is used

Fostering rigour in accounting for social sustainability

This paper illuminates how a journal and its editor can initiate and foster a stream of high quality and influential research in a novel area. It does this by analysing Accounting, Organizations and Society's (AOS's) and Anthony Hopwood's nurturing of research into key aspects of accounting for social sustainability for several decades before this research area became established. Our discussion unveils how the initiation of unique research areas may initially involve the publication of risky papers driven primarily by passion. Through the steering of a journal editor, subsequent work can proceed to combine this passion with academic rigour and produce research insights that can benefit society by positively influencing policy and practice. It is this attention to rigour that we argue needs to be central to future research in accounting for social sustainability (and accounting for sustainability more broadly) if it is to continue producing purposeful knowledge. We offer several substantive directions for future research aimed at producing such knowledge. © 2015 Elsevier Ltd

Accounting for sustainability and climate change: Special section overview

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The future of accountancy – beyond the numbers.

The pace of change continues to increase through rapid developments in technology which are likely to transform ways of working in the accounting profession. Whilst some of this change is likely to be evolutionary rather than revolutionary, much of the mundane ‘number-crunching’ and data processing currently undertaken by accountants will be automated over the next few years. This should not be regarded as a threat, but more of an opportunity to embrace the softer skills and more value-added work such as consultancy; advising clients and businesses on how to derive more value from their business models. This will require a change of skillset and an appreciation of the wider issues impacting business ‘beyond the numbers’.N/

The Evolution of the EM Distribution in the Core of an Active Region

We study the spatial distribution and evolution of the slope of the Emission Measure between 1 and 3~MK in the core active region NOAA~11193, first when it appeared near the central meridian and then again when it re-appeared after a solar rotation. We use observations recorded by the Extreme-ultraviolet Imaging Spectrometer (EIS) aboard Hinode, with a new radiometric calibration. We also use observations from the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA) aboard Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO). We present the first spatially resolved maps of the EM slope in the 1--3~MK range within the core of the AR using several methods, both approximate and from the Differential Emission Measure (DEM). A significant variation of the slope is found at different spatial locations within the active region. We selected two regions that were not affected too much by any line-of-sight lower temperature emission. We found that the EM had a power law of the form EM~$\propto T^{b}$, with b = 4.4$\pm0.4$, and 4.6$\pm0.4$, during the first and second appearance of the active region, respectively. During the second rotation, line-of-sight effects become more important, although difficult to estimate. We found that the use of the ground calibration for Hinode/EIS and the approximate method to derive the Emission Measure, used in previous publications, produce an underestimation of the slopes. The EM distribution in active region cores is generally found to be consistent with high frequency heating, and stays more or less the same during the evolution of the active region.Comment: 15 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Astronomy and Astrophysic

Corporate reporting and accounting for externalities

Externalities comprise economic, social and/or environmental impacts arising from the activities of an entity that are borne by others, at least in the short term. As they do not feedback directly into immediate financial consequences for the entity, they tend to be outside the remit of financial reporting. A dispersed academic accounting literature on externalities has hitherto developed separately from concerns about what information is appropriate to report on corporate performance. This paper develops insights into accounting for, and reporting of, externalities that are intended to improve the use of externalities information in breaking down silos between the traditionally discrete domains of financial reporting and sustainability reporting, and between silos within sustainability reporting. Challenges in such use of externalities information are explored, including difficulties inherent in quantification of externalities. The paper also highlights ways in which externalities can progressively become internalized, thereby bringing them more readily within the domain of economically-focused financial reporting practices. An agenda for further research to help enhance the accounting for, and reporting of, externalities is also proposed.PostprintPeer reviewe

Annexing new audit spaces:challenges and adaptations

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to examine attempts at jurisdictional expansion in the audit field. Specifically, the authors critically analyse the professional implications of "new audit spaces", that is, novel auditing and assurance services that have emerged at intersections between audit and other fields such as the environment, the public sector, sport and education. The purpose is two-fold. First, to better understand the dynamics of new audit spaces, and second, to highlight the major challenges and adaptations prompted by these dynamics. Design/methodology/approach - Drawing on Bourdieu’s theory of practice, the authors highlight and problematise four issues central to the construction of new audit spaces: independence; reporting; professional accreditation; and the nature of the audit role. Findings - The audit profession has experienced mixed success in seeking to annex new audit spaces; in some instances, practices initially located at the margins of auditing have moved towards its centre, while elsewhere projects have been abandoned, colonised by others or remain in flux. In these ventures, the accounting profession is brought into competition with other bodies of expertise and modes of practice. In new audit spaces, core elements of auditing, as conventionally conceived, are transmogrified as they travel. Originality/value - This analysis calls into question some of the "sacred cows" of auditing and challenges the transferability of the capitals and habitus of the accounting profession in other domains. Future research avenues are suggested