The Pros And Cons Of Social And Environmental Accounting

Words: 2215
Pages: 9
Open Document
| |

1. Introduction

Recent years have saw that listed firms, especially the large organisations, voluntarily disclose their Social and Environmental issues in their annual reports. As a result, a question was come up with by researchers: why managers would choose to undertake the voluntary activities?

Although there is no consensus being reached about what perspective theories should be used to explain the Social and Environmental Accounting, and moreover critique voices are from the works of Marx or by the deep-green or feminist literatures (Deegan, 2002), to some extent, systems-oriented theory and Positive Accounting Theory can list some hints.

This …show more content…
3.1 The Ethical Branch of Stakeholder Theory

Under this normative perspective, all stakeholders have the rights to be treated fairly by the organisations. That is, as Hasnas (1998, P.32) said “firms are not a mechanism for increasing the stockholders’ financial returns, but as a vehicle for coordinating stakeholder interests”.

The broader ethical perspective states that all stakeholders have a right to be informed of the information by the firms about how they are affecting them. With respect of “right to information”, “accountability model” was come up with by Gray, Owen and Adam (1996). As it means by accountability model, reporting should be “responsibility” driven rather than “demand” driven (1996.P. 38). Using the accountability model to explain corporate social reporting, Gray, Owen and Maunders (1991, p. 15) argue that:

“…the role of corporate social reporting is to provide society-at-large (the principle) with information about the extent to which the organisation has met the responsibilities imposed upon it”.

That is, the social reporting is to inform the society about how well the firms have fulfilled the responsibilities.

3.2 The Managerial Branch of Stakeholder Theory

The managerial perspective of stakeholder theory tends to be more “organisation-centred” (Gray, Owen and Adams, 1996). That is, the organisations will pay more attention to the powerful stakeholders, for example,
Show More

Related Documents: The Pros And Cons Of Social And Environmental Accounting

Accounting Theory and Practice Essay

UNIVERSITI TENAGA NASIONAL COLLEGE OF BUSINESS MANAGEMENT AND ACCOUNTING DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING SUBJECT: ACCOUNTING THEORY AND PRACTICE PREPARE FOR: DR.NORHAYATI MAT HUSIN PREPARE BY: NUR FADZILAH BT NORIZAN (AC086628) NUR IZYAN BT MOHD ISHAK (AC086934) NURUL AQILAH BT ZAMRI (AC085167) THILAGA SEGARAN (AC086628) BACHELOR IN ACCOUNTING (HONS) CASE 1: WASTE MANAGEMENT a) Define the matching principle and explain…

Words 2268 - Pages 10

Accounting Theory And Practice Final May 2014 Essay

THE ROLE OF FAIR VALUE ACCOUNTING IN THE FINANCIAL CRISIS2007-2010 Word Count:2185 11007741 CONTENTS INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................................................................... 2 BACKGROUND ......................................................................................................................................... 2 ISSUES AND ALLEGATIONS ......................................................................…

Words 3561 - Pages 15

Reflection: Ethics and Conceptual Framework Essay

the responsibility and practices exercised by the boards of directors and senior management of an organization in order to achieve the strategic objective and manage the risks raised during the operation. The two aims of the corporate governance are conformance and performance. The topic from week 2 to week 5 and the topic from week 7 to week 9 are involved in this part. Week 2 & 3 topic talks about the influence of regulatory environment, political agenda on accounting practice and the relevant conceptual…

Words 1308 - Pages 6

The Methodology of Early Accounting Theorists Essay

GAFFIKIN The Methodology of Early Accounting Theorists If, as Watts and Zimmerman (1986) suggest, a utiique methodological foundation is the hallmark of a mature discipline, accounting fails to qualify. In this article, methodological arguments of accounting theorists in the first part of this century are examined. 'Pattern Modeling' is suggested as a basis for methodological appraisal. The conclusion reached is that the major theoretical works in accounting were methodologically unsophisticated…

Words 6716 - Pages 27

Essay about Hopwood, A.

improvements in accounting thoughts, understanding of organisational forms and development of new accounting practices, there have been a revolution in accounting. Anthony G. Hopwood, a pioneer in this field, has conducted new directions and theories in organisational and social contexts since early 1980s. This critique will firstly outline Hopwood's ideas. Salem's findings will then be discussed and lastly, a conclusion will be drawn in relation to the application of Hopwood's theories in a contemporary…

Words 974 - Pages 4

399 Tutorial 5 Essay

ACCG 399: Accounting in Context Accounting’s Positivistic Tendencies: Overlaying a Social Science With Pure Scientific Rationale Tutorial 5 - Week 6 This written Comprehensive Professional Portfolio is comprised of individual and group tasks which are to be completed within tutorials and will require further work and writing up outside of the classroom. These set of tutorial activities extending till the end of the session, are intended to take you through a learning journey of exploration…

Words 2063 - Pages 9

Assessment Tasks: Advanced Financial Accounting (ACC3AFA)

Financial Accounting (ACC3AFA) Summer Semester, 2014 The following question is to be used for BOTH the following assessment tasks: Group Report Group Presentation Due Date: Week 4 Week 12 Mark Allocation: 30 Marks (10% of final grade) 30 Marks (10% of final grade) Rationale: These assessment tasks require students to critically evaluate the theories of financial accounting. They give the students the opportunity to demonstrate their level of understanding of the conceptual background to accounting practice…

Words 640 - Pages 3

Intermediate Accounting Course Syllabus

ACCT 301 Intermediate Accounting I Course Description This is an intensive course in accounting theory and practice. The course attempts to strike a balance between procedural explanations of currently applied accounting practices and the theoretical framework upon which those practices are based. Alternatives to current practice are also introduced. Rationale Accounting students who seek professional success in their careers need to understand both theory and practice in order to meet the challenges…

Words 872 - Pages 4

Accounting: Sociology and Uncertainty Avoidance Essay

GRAY Towards a Theory of Cultural Influence on the Development of Accounting Systems Internationally Research has shown that accounting follows different patterns in different parts of the world. There have been claims that national systems are determined by environmental factors. In this context, cultural factors have not been fully considered. This paper proposes four hypotheses on the relationship between identified cultural characteristics and the development of accounting systems, the…

Words 6146 - Pages 25

‘Why Financial Reports Can Never Really Be Considered Neutral (Free from Bias) or Objective. Essay

Many scholars have discussed the theory that financial reporting is biased and subjective, using numerous examples as evidence to support their theories. This report will highlight just a few of the arguments to support the theory…

Words 2931 - Pages 12