Financial Accounting Theory Craig Deegan

Chapter 9 Extended systems of accountingthe incorporation of social and environmental factors within external reporting Slides written by Craig Deegan and Michaela Rankin
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Learning objectives
In this chapter you will be introduced to
various perspectives of the responsibilities of business explanations of the relationship between organisational responsibility and organisational accountability various theoretical perspectives that can explain why organisations might voluntarily elect to provide publicly available information about their social and environmental performance

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Learning objectives (cont.)

some recent initiatives in social and environmental accounting the concept of sustainable development and how organisations are reporting their progress towards the goal of sustainable development the relationship between sustainability and eco-efficiency and eco-justice issues some of the limitations of traditional financial accounting in enabling users of reports to assess a reporting entitys social and environmental performance

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Introduction
In recent years there has been increasing discussion about sustainable development and triple bottom line (TBL) reporting
TBL reporting is reporting that provides information about the economic, environmental and social performance of an entity

Represents a departure from sole economic focus that was traditional in external reporting A review of the Global Reporting Initiatives Sustainability Reporting Guidelines provides insight into the types of social, environmental and economic information that could be disclosed in a sustainability report
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Introduction (cont.)
The terms sustainability reporting and TBL reporting are often considered to be synonymous Strictly speaking, however, sustainability reporting would require more than just TBL reporting and it would question three separate bottom lines given sustainability would require social, economic and environmental aspects to be considered together Sustainability reporting would also address specifically how current activities are impacting the abilities of future generations to satisfy their own needs. Current TBL reports do not address such issues

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Responsibilities of business
Moves to provide information about social and environmental performance, whether through sustainability or TBL reports, implies management of these organisations consider they have an accountability for social and environmental performance, as well as economic performance
not a view held universally

Increasing community pressures for organisations to make a commitment to sustainable business practices, and corporate reporting is tending to respond to this pressure

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Responsibilities of business (cont.)

If sustainability becomes part of the expectations held by society, it mustconsistent with legitimacy theorybecome a business goal Providing information about social and environmental performance will increase the trust a community has in the organisation

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Sustainability
Brundtland Report placed sustainability on the business worldwide agenda Sustainable development defined as development that meets the needs of the present world without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs (World Commission on Environment and Development, 1987) Inter-generational and intra-generational equity central to the agenda

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Sustainability (cont.)
Should organisations be responsible for the sustainability of their business practices? Will they embrace this responsibility in the absence of specific legislation?

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How does an entity determine its responsibilities?

What do its relevant stakeholders consider business responsibilities to be? Based on personal judgement of the management involved as to who are the relevant stakeholders Has implications for the information disclosed Perceived responsibility and accountability go hand in hand

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Accountability
The duty to provide an account (not necessarily financial) or reckoning of those actions for which one is held responsible Two responsibilities or duties
responsibility to undertake certain actions responsibility to provide an account of those actions

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To whom is business responsible?

Many organisations making public statements that responsibilities extend beyond shareholders to encompass communities in which they operate and society as a whole If sustainability embraced then responsibility also owed to future generations If an organisation accepts a responsibility for the sustainability of its business practices, then it should produce an account of its responsibilities it should provide a sustainability report

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Stages of sustainability reporting

Stage 1: Why report?
relates to managements motivations

Stage 2: To whom to reportwho are the stakeholders?

tied to motivationsif motivations are based on managerial reasoning then disclosures could be aimed at powerful stakeholders

Stage 3: What to report?

involves dialogue with identified stakeholders

Stage 4: What format for the disclosures?

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Stage 1: Why report?

Different accounting theories will provide alternative explanations about why an entity might decide to report social and environmental information

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Theories to explain why report? social and environmental disclosure

Legitimacy Theory and social contract
disclosures linked to providing evidence that entity is complying with the expectations of society

Stakeholder Theory
disclosure depends on expectations of powerful stakeholders if the managerial perspective of stakeholder theory is embraced

Accountability Model
an acceptance of a responsibility to report

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Theories to explain why report? social and environmental disclosure (cont.)

Institutional Theory
organisations will adopt particular practices because of institutional pressures

Positive Accounting Theory

disclosure depends on positive wealth implications
consider submission of the Business Council of Australia

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Why report? and its links to views about the responsibility of business
Consider the views of Milton Friedmanreporting is not about responsibilities; rather, it is about enhancing business profitability A broader view of business responsibilities would accept that regardless of the impacts of profitability, stakeholders have a right to know about the social and environmental implications of an organisation Where do we think corporations sit in terms of the above views?

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Differing views of business responsibility

Friedman
rejected the view that corporate managers have any moral obligations responsibility to increase profits as long as stays within the rules this view often held by the mediaapplauds profitable organisations

Alternative view
organisations earn their right to operate in the community artificial entities that society chooses to create organisations do not have an inherent right to resources consequently accountable to society for how it operates societal expectations may exceed profitability

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Stage 2: To whom to report?

If managers overwhelmingly motivated by the desire to increase shareholder value then reporting will be aimed primarily at satisfying the expectations of powerful stakeholders If we adopt a broader ethical perspective then disclosures would be aimed at stakeholders impacted by the operations of the entitybut still cannot address all information needs, so some prioritisation will be necessary It is emphasised that the decision to whom to report to is directly related to the previous issue of why report?

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Stage 3: What to report?

First of all, establish that there is a demand for information Identify information needs through dialogue with stakeholders Negotiate a consensus among competing stakeholder needs and expectations

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Stage 4: How to report?

Conventional financial accounting does not appear to provide a foundation for social and environmental disclosures Triple bottom line reporting is an alternative, although it is not the same as sustainability reporting. A true sustainability report would consider such issues as the carrying capacity of the eco-system, impacts on future generations and so forth An attempt can also be made to place a cost on the externalities of business
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How to report? Limitations of traditional financial accounting

For the following reasons, financial accounting is not seen as a useful vehicle for promoting social and environmental disclosures Financial accounting focuses primarily on the information needs of those involved in resource allocation decisions. By contrast, sustainability concerns all stakeholders The notion of materiality tends to preclude the reporting of social and environmental information, given the difficulty in quantifying costs

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How to report? Limitations of traditional financial accounting (cont.)

Reporting entities frequently discount liabilities to present value, which tends to make future cleanup expenditures appear trivial Financial accounting adopts an entity assumption where the entity is treated as distinct from its owners and other stakeholders
transactions not directly impacting the entity are ignored ignores externalities caused by the reporting entity, some relating to social and environmental implications of the entitys operations sustainability and the entity assumption are mutually exclusive
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How to report? Limitations of traditional financial accounting (cont.)

Expenses are defined to exclude the recognition of any impacts on resources not controlled by the entity Externalities caused by the entity cannot be reliably measured, and so typically are not recognised given the recognition criteria provided in such documents as the IASB Framework

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How to report? Triple Bottom Line Reporting

Triple bottom line reporting refers to the disclosure of information about the social, economic and environmental performance of an entity But is the bottom line metaphor appropriate can social and economic impacts be measured through a bottom line? Seems to indicate that we must manage all the bottom lines in a similar mannerappropriate? Seems to suggest that social, economic and environmental performance are separate to one anothernot really the case in practice
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How to report? Relevance of measures such as GDP

Performance of governments is related to outputs of systems of national accounts
e.g. gross domestic product (GDP)

Does not consider issues of resource efficiencies or equities with how resources are distributed Experiments taking place to green GDP

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How to report? The Global Reporting Initiative

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) established 1997 The GRI Sustainability Reporting Guidelines is the most comprehensive framework for how to report that is currently available Third versionG3released in 2006 Made up of various core and additional performance indicators Not mandatory and hence many organisations are selective about what information they select for disclosure Apart from the GRI, a number of other organisations have produced reporting guidelines
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Social auditing
Purpose of social auditing is for an organisation to assess its performance in relation to societys requirements and expectations Results form the basis of an entitys publicly released social accounts, which in themselves are often incorporated into a triple bottom line or sustainability report Consider the Body Shops social impact report which is based on their social audit

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Social Auditing Standards

Released in 1998 by the Council on Economic Priorities (US body)
SA8000 focuses on issues associated with human rights, health and safety, and equal opportunities

In 1999 ISEA launched standard AA1000

concerned with the processes of setting up and operating social and ethical accounting and auditing systems

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Monetising environmental costs and benefits

As we have already discussed, financial accounting typically ignores environmental impacts, therefore experimental approaches to fullcost profit calculation are being developed Market prices do not reflect the scarcity of resources involved or harm resources cause Perception that all costs associated should be reflected in the price of the good

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Monetising environmental costs and benefits (cont.)

If done comprehensively this would involve some life-cycle analysis
consideration of the inputs and outputs from raw material acquisition to disposal

Often referred to as true prices

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Baxter International
Approach most conservative of those considered Ignores any externalities caused by the business, and only includes costs and benefits directly related to cash flows Attempts to demonstrate that by explicitly considering the environment, actual cost savings can be made Still applies the usual entity assumption

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BSO/Origin
Place a notional value on the environmental costs imposed on society This value is then deducted from profits (calculated using financial accounting methods) to determine a measure referred to as sustainable operating income Although consider many externalities, ignores many eco-justice considerations required to pursue sustainability

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Landcare Ltd
Seeks to determine the notional costs that would be incurred if the organisation was to have zero environmental impact Sustainable cost: the amount which must be spent to put the biosphere at the end of the accounting period back into the state it was at the beginning Sustainable cost calculation involves two elements
costs required to ensure inputs have no adverse environmental impacts costs required to remedy any environmental impacts that arise

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Watercare services
Identifies the additional costs that would need to be incurred if the organisation was to meet the social and environmental standards that it believes are appropriate

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Concluding comments
Social and environmental reporting is a rapidly evolving area Only 15 years ago, almost no companies were producing social and/or environmental reports Now many large listed companies are providing such reports As concerns for social justice and environmental protection increase we can expect this form of reporting to continually evolve

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