Purpose This paper aims to examine the reporting on sustainability and the level of compliance with international best practice, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), aimed at improving communicative value to users. Design/methodology/approach Using a qualitative approach, comprising interviews with senior managers and analysis of disclosures in annual reports of Thai-listed companies, this paper contributes to the literature by providing evidence from an emerging market setting. Findings This study finds that sustainability reporting and integrated reporting perspectives of sampling companies are aiming to satisfy information needs to stakeholders and value creation to external users. Sustainability disclosures are related to some aspect of integrated reporting (IR) principles but not all. Research limitations/implications The findings of this study are based on the results from interviews and annual reports of five business sectors, and may therefore, not reflect the sustainability reporting practices and/or annual reports of other Thai-listed companies. Also, there is limited reporting on future outlook. Practical implications The findings suggest that while sustainability and IR is being adopted very widely, in many countries, there is much variation in reporting practice especially in our emerging country context adopting a “comply or explain” approach. Social implications For the Thai-listed companies, IR systems could be in their early stages and still have long way to go. The results can greatly encourage Thai-listed firms to incorporate integrated information in annual reports based on international standards thus building trust in capital markets and wider society. Originality/value The findings contribute to the literature on sustainability reporting and on the level of compliance with international best practice such as GRI by providing empirical analysis of non-financial disclosures within publicly available reporting in Thailand.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to identify an effective management accounting system using sustainability accounting concepts for environmental and social cost measurement to add shareholder value. Suggestions from literature show that there is a need for a conceptual framework for environmental management accounting (EMA) and social management accounting (SMA) practices to be developed. This study therefore designs a conceptual model for a sustainability management accounting system (SMAS) combining EMA and SMA practices to create more accurate cost information of environment and social impacts. A SMAS also expands on activity based costing (ABC) application to help in the cost analysis and allocation of environment and social impacts. By applying a SMAS, companies generate more accurate cost information thus fully costing products for internal management decision and reporting purposes. Design/methodology/approach -This study used mixed methods combining quantitative and qualitative research approaches to collect and analyse data to triangulate findings. Findings -The results of the study indicate that companies are intending to change to new management accounting practices while looking for ways to improve cost identification and measurement of environment and social impacts. Research limitations/implications -This study is limited to Australian non-service manufacturing companies. As a SMAS is a new holistic management accounting approach, it provides companies with a way to create economic, environmental, and social value both immediately and in the future. Originality/value -This study designs a SMAS conceptual model to contribute to the literature. By having a SMAS, companies could create more accurate cost information while fully costing products to effectively enhance management decisions on cost savings and greenhouse gas emission reductions.

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This study evaluates the achievement of environmental sustainability reports produced of Thai construction companies under the mandatory reporting regime and concerns about environmental impacts of the construction industry in Thailand, as it was necessitated emphasis on business practices and eco-efficiency. Data was collected through a review of annual reports of sixty-five construction companies listed on the Thailand Stock Exchange. Environmental improvement activities identified in the reports are analysed and the quality of the disclosures were evaluated against the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) framework and qualitative characteristics used as a benchmark to assess traditional financial reports. The results indicate that while the mandatory reporting regime on the Thai construction sector has fostered the quantity of disclosures in annual reports, wide variations still exist in the information disclosed in the reports owing to management's considerable reporting discretion. The reporting practices show room for improvement with respect to enhancing informativeness of environmental disclosures and achievement of environmental improvement to stakeholders