Twenty‐five years of social and environmental accounting research

Abstract

and Rob Gray were very helpful and are gratefully acknowledged.Twenty-five years of research 483 favour of evolution rather than revolution, which some readers may construe as placing limitations on the review:…it must be stated that this book is based upon existing socio-economic conditions of a managed mixed economy and is evolutionary rather than revolutionary in orientation. The position argued is that a more socially responsible accounting may be justified and should be implemented, not to radically change society but to modify and improve our present system, by including measurement and reporting relationships which are currently excluded (Mathews, 1993, p. 6).However, a deliberate effort has been made to balance any predisposition towards evolution by a deliberate inclusion of some radical sources of literature. Definitions of social and environmental accountingSocial and environmental accounting has been defined by Gray et al. (1987, p. ix) as:…the process of communicating the social and environmental effects of organizations' economic actions to particular interest groups within society and to society at large. As such it involves extending the accountability of organizations (particularly companies), beyond the traditional role of providing a financial account to the owners of capital, in particular, shareholders. Such an extension is predicated upon the assumption that companies do have wider responsibilities than simply to make money for their shareholders.And by Mathews (1993, p. 64) as:Voluntary disclosures of information, both qualitative and quantitative made by organizations to inform or influence a range of audiences. The quantitative disclosures may be in financial or non-financial terms.And also by Gray et al. (1993, p .6) who defined environmental accounting in the following terms:…it can be taken as covering all areas of accounting that may be affected by the business response to environmental issues, including new areas of eco-accounting.Definitions applicable to SEAL do not appear to be problematic, despite some differences, especially where authors cannot decide whether disclosures are expected to be voluntary, or in compliance with legal or quasi-legal requirements, or whether disclosure must be quantitative or financial, to be regarded as a part of the accounting process. The definition which implicitly governs this survey of the literature is broad, as provided by Mathews and Perera (1995, p. 364):At the very least, social accounting means an extension of disclosure into non-traditional areas such as providing information about employees, products, community service and the prevention or reduction of pollution. However, the term "social accounting" is also used to describe a comprehensive form of accounting which takes into account externalities...Public sector organisations may also be evaluated in this way, although most writers on the subject of social accounting appear to be concerned with private sector organisations.

Taking Stock of Accounting Ethics Scholarship: A Review of the Journal Literature

“…Hence is not difficult to find, and it has already been subject to systematic review (e.g. Gray et al, 1995;Gray, 2001;Mathews, 1997;Power and Laughlin, 1992). Consistent with this decision, it is notable that Collins (2000, p. 22, p. 28) separately identifies 'accounting' and 'social accounting' in the index to his business ethics review article.…”

The Role of Analogy in the Institutionalization of Sustainability Reporting

“…In the late 1970's nearly 90% of the Fortune 500 published socially oriented information in their annual reports, but the average space devoted to the topic was a mere half page, and the main concerns were employment and product related information (Mathews 1997). By the 1980's, however, corporate interest in social reporting stagnated, and the focus of non-financial reporting began shifting to environmental issues (Gray et al 1995;Mathews 1997). Companies started publishing separate environmental reports in 1989 (Kolk 2004), and this trend intensified in the 1990's, particularly in Europe and North America (Mathews 1997;Wheeler and Elkington 2001).…”

“…By the 1980's, however, corporate interest in social reporting stagnated, and the focus of non-financial reporting began shifting to environmental issues (Gray et al 1995;Mathews 1997). Companies started publishing separate environmental reports in 1989 (Kolk 2004), and this trend intensified in the 1990's, particularly in Europe and North America (Mathews 1997;Wheeler and Elkington 2001). In 1993, about 70 companies published environmental reports (Elkington, Emerson and Beloe 2006) and by 1996 this number had jumped to 300-400 (Wheeler and Elkington 2001).…”

Value Added: Technique for Corporate Performance Measurement under Social Perspective

“…During the 1980s and 1990s theoretical perspectives regarding the publication of social and environmental information developed to counter the narrow focus of the decision usefulness paradigm, which was focused on the provision of financial information mainly for creditors and shareholders. Researchers in this area have suggested theories such as legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory and political economy theory to explain and motivate the voluntary reporting of social and environmental information (Mathews, 1997;Gray et al, 1996;Deegan, 2013). These theories extend the normal and ethical duty of individuals and organizations beyond mere self-interest.…”