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Purpose -Increased awareness regarding environmental issues has encouraged organisations to use environmental management accounting (EMA), which has been said to deliver many benefits to users, including an increase in innovation. There is, however, little evidence to consubstantiate this claim and thus this paper aims to investigate the issue. It also seeks to examine the role of strategy with EMA use and innovation. Design/methodology/approach -The paper uses a survey designed and administered to management accountants and financial controllers in large Australian businesses. Findings -The analysis suggests that EMA use has a positive association with process innovation, but not with product innovation. It also finds that the effect of strategy on innovation was driven by the level of commitment to research and development. However, no statistically significant relationship between strategy and EMA use was found. The key driver of EMA use was industry.Research limitations/implications -The small sample size is the most important limitation of this study and affected the statistical power of the analysis conducted. The results need to be interpreted with caution. Practical implications -The study suggests that EMA use is associated with process innovation, implying that economic benefits may be realised by using this technique, while simultaneously enhancing environmental performance. Originality/value -This is the first study to provide cross-sectional evidence of the relationship between strategy, EMA use and innovation. It is also the first to propose a research instrument to measure EMA use as a multi-item construct.

Purpose – Drawing upon the theory of planned behaviour (TPB), the purpose of this paper is to examine the influence of managers’ attitude and other psychological factors on sustainability reporting (SR). In doing so, this paper aims to respond to calls for the use of previously untried theoretical approaches on the SR literature. Design/methodology/approach – The study uses a survey of top and middle-level managers of listed and non-listed companies in Sri Lanka. Data were analysed using a Partial Least Squares path model. Findings – The findings indicate that managers’ attitude towards SR, belief about stakeholder pressure, and their capacity to control SR behaviour influence their intention to engage in SR and, indirectly, actual corporate SR behaviour (in the context of listed companies). However, whilst managers of non-listed companies exhibit the intention to engage in SR, the lack of a relationship between intention and behaviour suggests that companies face barriers towards SR due to lack of actual control over the SR process. Religion, in the case of non-listed companies, and education, in the case of listed companies, has some degree of influence over managers’ beliefs. Research limitations/implications – The use of self-reported SR behaviour is a limitation but necessary to maintain anonymity of respondents. The low levels of self-reported SR correspond with past evidence on actual SR in developing countries. Practical implications – The results show that managers’ psychological factors are important in determining SR behaviour in companies. Specifically, this highlights the possible roles that regulators, professional bodies and companies can play in improving educational and cultural influences towards improving the level of SR. Originality/value – This is the first study to apply the TPB to understand SR behaviour by integrating psychological factors relating to managers’ belief, attitudes and perceptions.

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Prior accounting education literature documents that students typically associate accounting subjects with negative perceptions, but there are also recent suggestions that the stereotype of the accountant has positive associations. These perceptions of accounting are likely to affect students’ attitudes towards learning and, consequently, influence their performance. We examine the relationship between students’ perceptions and students’ performance. The present study involved undergraduate and graduate students enrolled in management accounting subjects. Our findings indicate that students’ performance is negatively affected by the negative perceptions of accounting that students bring to the subject. Our findings also suggest that positive perceptions of accounting held by students at the end of the semester have a positive impact on students’ performance.