Explore the vast range of titles available.

Advances in Environmental Accounting Managementaims to advance knowledge of the management of corporate environmental impacts. It aims to increase the awareness of management accounting practitioners, investors, and other stakeholders of the financial and social consequences of corporate environmental impacts.

PurposeThe objective of this study is to provide insights into insiders' perspectives on environmental accounting disclosures, which is relatively under-investigated. Based on insights from key managers, we provide information on company decisions and practices related to the data disclosed in annual reports. More specifically, we explore how regulation guidance affects and shapes disclosure strategies.Design/methodology/approachDrawing on the normativity framework, our research design involves a multiple-case study focusing on eight French listed firms in sensitive industries. We primarily build our investigation on the analysis of annual reports. Semi-structured interviews with 20 key managers belonging to these same firms provide interpretative explanations of the disclosed (and un-disclosed) figures.FindingsOur main findings show that the disclosure of environmental accounting information (EAI) is still in its infancy. Weak definitions and poor guidance in regulations explain the limitations in disclosure and induce interpretative strategies depending on the type of data to be disclosed in the companies' annual reports. We document that separate logics drive environmental expenditure and environmental liability disclosures in many respects.Practical implicationsThis study should be useful for regulators because environmental accounting standards are currently subject to change and helpful for users because of the careful consideration of disclosures.Originality/valueOur research is timely and adds to the growing body of research on regulation. We document how a common regulation may lead to interpretative strategies by different actors and networks of actors, thereby contributing to shaping EAI norms.

Analysis and Comparison of Sustainability Competencies Internationally: The CGMA MapSummary of Content Analysis; Interviews and Supporting Documentation; Where Does CPA Canada Stand?; Discussion, Conclusions, and Future Research; Future Direction; Notes; Acknowledgments; References; Interview Questions; 'Comply or Explain' If You Do Not Disclose Environmental Accounting Information: Does New French Regulation Work?; Introduction; Research Framework; French Regulations and Environmental Accounting Disclosures; Research Methodology; Sample Selection; Data and Analysis Method; Empirical Results

In 2001, France became one of the few countries to require corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting through its Nouvelles Régulations Économiques #2001-420 (NRE). However, initial compliance with the statute was low, a factor implying the law lacked normativity. In this exploratory study, we attempt to determine whether there is movement toward normativity by examining the change in CSR disclosure from 2004 in comparison to 2010 for a sample of 81 publicly traded French firms. We measure both the space and the quality of CSR disclosures, including in the latter a measure based on informational quality attributes as discussed by the International Accounting Standards Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and the Global Reporting Initiative. We find significant increases in the space allocated to CSR disclosure, as well as some evidence of increased quality; although the informational quality of the disclosures remains quite low and fewer firms are including negative performance information in their reports. Finally, we document that differences in disclosure space and quality in 2004 appeared to be associated with legitimacy-based variables and that those relations remain largely unchanged in 2010. As such, it appears that the NRE's goals of increased transparency remain unmet.

À partir d’informations relevant du reporting climat, cette recherche explore la notion de connectivité entre le reporting financier et extra-financier. À l’aide des propositions de l’EFRAG (2021), nous proposons une définition de la connectivité et élaborons un score de communication qui lui est associé. Une étude exploratoire des pratiques des firmes de l’indice CAC40ESG et CAC40 est ensuite conduite, à partir des scores mesurés et textes qui leurs sont associés. Les résultats mettent en évidence une faiblesse générale de la connectivité et une forte dispersion des profils de publication, y compris au sein de l’indice ESG. Cette hétérogénéité en matière d’indicateurs de performance (KPI) pose des questions sur les difficultés opérationnelles de construction de normes de reporting RSE pour les acteurs de marché. Based on climate reporting information, this study explores the notion of connectivity between financial and non-financial reporting. Using the EFRAG (2021a and b) proposals, we offer a definition of connectivity and develop a communication score associated with it. An exploratory study of the practices of firms in the CAC 40 ESG and CAC 40 indexes is then conducted, based on the measured scores and associated texts. The results highlight a general weakness in connectivity and a strong dispersion of publication profiles, including within the ESG index. This heterogeneity in terms of key performance indicators (KPIs) raises questions about the operational difficulties of building CSR reporting standards for market actors.

PurposeSince the withdrawal of IFRIC 3 in 2005, there has been a regulatory freeze in accounting for emission rights that contrasts with the international momentum of climate-related financial disclosures. This paper explores how different narratives and institutional dynamics explain the failure to produce guidance on accounting for emission rights.Design/methodology/approachThis paper mobilises the notion of field-configuring events to examine a sequence of six events between 2003 and 2016, including four public consultations and two dialogues between standard setters. The paper presents a qualitative analysis of documents produced in this space that investigates how different practices and narratives configured the field's positions, agenda, and meaning systems.FindingsAccounting for emission rights was gradually decoupled from climate change and carbon markets, relegated to the research pipeline, and forgotten. The obstacles that the IASB and EFRAG found in presenting themselves as central in the recurring events, the excess of representations, and the increasingly technical and abstract debates eroded the 2003 momentum for regulation, making the different initiatives to revitalise the project vulnerable and open to scrutiny. Lukes (2021) refers to nondecision-making to express that some issues are suffocated before they are expressed.Originality/valueThe regulation of accounting for emission rights, an area that has received scant attention in the literature, provides some insights into the different narrative mechanisms that, materialising in specific times and spaces, draw regulatory attention to particular accounting issues, which are problematised and, eventually, forgotten. This study also illustrates that identifying interests is problematic as actors shift from alternative positions over a long period. The case examined also raises some doubts about the previous effectiveness of international standard setters in dealing with matters of connectivity between the environment and finance, as is the case for accounting for emissions rights.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine whether different levels of assurance statements of environmental disclosures affect investment choices in the French context where environmental assurance was voluntary until 2012 and became regulated and mandatory since then.Design/methodology/approachThe authors conducted an experiment during the voluntary context – which represents the vast majority of countries – on a sample of 108 financial analysts.FindingsEnvironmental disclosure has a positive impact on investment recommendations. More surprisingly, financial analysts are less likely to give recommendations in favor of a company that displays environmental disclosure with low-level assurance than for a company with no assurance statement at all.Research limitations/implicationsWhen assurance is voluntary and there are at least two levels, this study results suggest that firms should avoid selecting the lowest level of assurance because it negatively affects investor decisions. From this perspective, firms should devote sufficient effort and resources to obtain at least Level 2 environmental disclosure assurance.Practical implicationsGiven the recommendations made by financial analysts, the authors could expect that firms may prefer to engage in a higher level of assurance or to provide no assurance rather than minimize their financial efforts and resources to select a lower level of voluntary assurance regarding environmental disclosure.Social implicationsThis study has implications for the voluntary assurance practices of environmental disclosure and can provide support to regulators to promote higher standards in environmental assurance. It documents the relevance to increase the level of requested assurance for environmental disclosure.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors’ knowledge, very few studies have examined the additional effect of assurance on environmental disclosure in investors’ decisions. The experiment is conducted with financial analysts in the context of voluntary assurance.

À partir d’informations relevant du reporting climat, cette recherche explore la notion de connectivité entre le reporting financier et extra-financier. À l’aide des propositions de l’EFRAG (2021), nous proposons une définition de la connectivité et élaborons un score de communication qui lui est associé. Une étude exploratoire des pratiques des firmes de l’indice CAC40ESG et CAC40 est ensuite conduite, à partir des scores mesurés et textes qui leurs sont associés. Les résultats mettent en évidence une faiblesse générale de la connectivité et une forte dispersion des profils de publication, y compris au sein de l’indice ESG. Cette hétérogénéité en matière d’indicateurs de performance (KPI) pose des questions sur les difficultés opérationnelles de construction de normes de reporting RSE pour les acteurs de marché. Based on climate reporting information, this study explores the notion of connectivity between financial and non-financial reporting. Using the EFRAG (2021) proposals, we offer a definition of connectivity and develop a communication score associated with it. An exploratory study of the practices of firms in the CAC 40 ESG and CAC 40 indexes is then conducted, based on the measured scores and associated texts. The results highlight a general weakness in connectivity and a strong dispersion of publication profiles, including within the ESG index. This heterogeneity in terms of key performance indicators (KPIs) raises questions about the operational difficulties of building CSR reporting standards for market players.

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine whether different levels of assurance statements of environmental disclosures affect investment choices in the French context where environmental assurance was voluntary until 2012 and became regulated and mandatory since then. Design/methodology/approach The authors conducted an experiment during the voluntary context – which represents the vast majority of countries – on a sample of 108 financial analysts. Findings Environmental disclosure has a positive impact on investment recommendations. More surprisingly, financial analysts are less likely to give recommendations in favor of a company that displays environmental disclosure with low-level assurance than for a company with no assurance statement at all. Research limitations/implications When assurance is voluntary and there are at least two levels, this study results suggest that firms should avoid selecting the lowest level of assurance because it negatively affects investor decisions. From this perspective, firms should devote sufficient effort and resources to obtain at least Level 2 environmental disclosure assurance. Practical implications Given the recommendations made by financial analysts, the authors could expect that firms may prefer to engage in a higher level of assurance or to provide no assurance rather than minimize their financial efforts and resources to select a lower level of voluntary assurance regarding environmental disclosure. Social implications This study has implications for the voluntary assurance practices of environmental disclosure and can provide support to regulators to promote higher standards in environmental assurance. It documents the relevance to increase the level of requested assurance for environmental disclosure. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, very few studies have examined the additional effect of assurance on environmental disclosure in investors’ decisions. The experiment is conducted with financial analysts in the context of voluntary assurance.