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The accountant will have a central role in saving the planet … really? A reflection on ‘green accounting and green eyeshades twenty years later’

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  • Deegan, Craig

Abstract

There is widespread but not universal acceptance that organisations should provide ‘accounts’ of not only their financial performance, but also of their social and environmental performance. There have also been various suggestions across time that traditional financial reporting frameworks, albeit with some modification, have relevance to calls for greater corporate accountability. This paper seeks to dismiss such suggestions. For the accounting profession to be able to meaningfully contribute to extending accountability beyond investors, lenders, and creditors (and it undoubtedly serves these interests well) it will need to abandon many core accounting conventions and principles – something that is deemed unlikely to occur – at least in the readers’ lifetime. This paper also highlights the apparent absurdity of using market-based mechanisms (such as cap-and-trade systems for pollutants) to solve social and environmental problems that were effectively caused by ‘the market’. Having questioned the role of the accounting profession in contributing to broad-based corporate accountability, the paper concludes by questioning the role of accounting and business educators in instilling some form of personal social responsibility in the minds of students.

Suggested Citation

  • Deegan, Craig, 2013. "The accountant will have a central role in saving the planet … really? A reflection on ‘green accounting and green eyeshades twenty years later’," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 448-458.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:crpeac:v:24:y:2013:i:6:p:448-458
    DOI: 10.1016/j.cpa.2013.04.004
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Spence, Crawford & Chabrak, Nihel & Pucci, Richard, 2013. "Doxic sunglasses: A response to “Green accounting and Green Eyeshades: Twenty years later”," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 469-473.
    2. Sophia Ji & Craig Deegan, 2011. "Accounting for Contaminated Sites: How Transparent are Australian Companies?," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 21(2), pages 131-153, June.
    3. Gray, Rob, 2013. "Back to basics: What do we mean by environmental (and social) accounting and what is it for?—A reaction to Thornton," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 459-468.
    4. Thornton, Daniel B., 2013. "Green accounting and green eyeshades twenty years later," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 438-442.
    5. Thornton, Daniel B., 2013. "Green accounting and green eyeshades twenty years later rejoinder to critics," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 474-476.
    6. Cho, Charles H. & Patten, Dennis M., 2013. "Green accounting: Reflections from a CSR and environmental disclosure perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 443-447.
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    1. Rambaud, Alexandre & Richard, Jacques, 2015. "The “Triple Depreciation Line” instead of the “Triple Bottom Line”: Towards a genuine integrated reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 92-116.
    2. Cuckston, Thomas, 2018. "Creating financial value for tropical forests by disentangling people from nature," Accounting forum, Elsevier, vol. 42(3), pages 219-234.
    3. Deegan, Craig, 2017. "Twenty five years of social and environmental accounting research within Critical Perspectives of Accounting: Hits, misses and ways forward," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 65-87.
    4. Bebbington, Jan & Russell, Shona & Thomson, Ian, 2017. "Accounting and sustainable development: Reflections and propositions," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 48(C), pages 21-34.
    5. Clément Feger & Laurent Mermet, 2017. "A blueprint towards accounting for the management of ecosystems," Post-Print hal-01930913, HAL.
    6. Murphy, Tim & O’Connell, Vincent, 2017. "Challenging the dominance of formalism in accounting education: An analysis of the potential of stewardship in light of the evolution of legal education," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 44(C), pages 1-29.
    7. Morales, Jérémy & Sponem, Samuel, 2017. "You too can have a critical perspective! 25 years of Critical Perspectives on Accounting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 43(C), pages 149-166.
    8. Cho, Charles H. & Patten, Dennis M., 2013. "Green accounting: Reflections from a CSR and environmental disclosure perspective," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 443-447.
    9. Komang Adi Kurniawan Saputra & Daniel T. H. Manurung & Lia Rachmawati & Eka Siskawati & Franklin Kharisma Genta, 2021. "Combining the Concept of Green Accounting with the Regulation of Prohibition of Disposable Plastic Use," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 11(4), pages 84-90.
    10. Citra Sukmadilaga & Srihadi Winarningsih & Ivan Yudianto & Tri Utami Lestari & Erlane K. Ghani, 2023. "Does Green Accounting Affect Firm Value? Evidence from ASEAN Countries," International Journal of Energy Economics and Policy, Econjournals, vol. 13(2), pages 509-515, March.
    11. Spence, Crawford & Chabrak, Nihel & Pucci, Richard, 2013. "Doxic sunglasses: A response to “Green accounting and Green Eyeshades: Twenty years later”," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 469-473.
    12. Gray, Rob, 2013. "Back to basics: What do we mean by environmental (and social) accounting and what is it for?—A reaction to Thornton," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 24(6), pages 459-468.
    13. Most. Mukta Khatun & & Md. Sagar Hossain, 2023. "Critical Accounting Theory: Unveiling Power Dynamics and Enhancing Accountability - An Empirical Study on Existing Literature," International Journal of Science and Business, IJSAB International, vol. 25(1), pages 106-116.
    14. Pesci, Caterina & Costa, Ericka & Andreaus, Michele, 2020. "Using accountability to shape the common good," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 67.
    15. Parfitt, Claire, 2024. "A foundation for ‘ethical capital’: The Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and Integrated Reporting," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 98(C).
    16. Senkl, Daniela & Cooper, Christine, 2023. "On valuing (m)other nature in times of climate crises – A reflection on the non and nom of accounting for (m)other nature," CRITICAL PERSPECTIVES ON ACCOUNTING, Elsevier, vol. 91(C).

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