Purpose This study seeks to identify how professional accountants in France are educated in sustainability; we examine the French accounting programs in regard to sustainability accounting education recommendations. Design/methodology/approach We analyze a variety of documents to ascertain what comprises the typical accounting education program in France. Additionally, we conduct five interviews of various stakeholders to understand the importance of sustainability accounting and education in the French context. Findings We note an interesting paradox in the French context: while the government requires the reporting and auditing of corporate sustainability information, we find that sustainability is not greatly present in the government-funded French accounting education program. We determine that the government’s power in setting the education agenda combined with its budget restrictions and ability to defer responsibility to other parties has resulted in this paradox in the French setting. Practical implications This research draws attention to the consequences of society ignoring sustainability education for professional accountants. Social implications This paper contributes to the discussion on how to educate responsible professional accountants and the implications for the planet if accountants are not trained in sustainability. Originality/value This research contributes to the important domain of sustainability accounting education. We also explore additional implications for the accounting profession and the general public.

Previous research documents the importance of board of directors’ characteristics in affecting corporate social responsibility (CSR) performance. We extend this literature by focusing on one attribute of the members of the board of directors, their place of residence and its impact on CSR performance (CSRP), which has not been previously investigated. This dimension is important since there is an increasing trend in nominating directors who live far from corporate headquarters. We rely on stakeholder theory and image motivation to explain this relationship. Using a sample of Canadian firms from 2009 to 2017, we find that geographical diversity among the board of directors has a positive impact on some dimensions of CSR. In addition, our results show that the improvement in CSRP is not value destructive. Our results extend the literature on demographic characteristics of directors and its impact on directors’ decision‐making about CSR.

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Purpose This paper aims to examine how the use of environmental, social and governance (ESG) incentives intersects with top management power and various corporate governance mechanisms to affect excess annual cash bonus compensation. Design/methodology/approach The authors use a novel artificial intelligence (AI) technique to obtain data about ESG incentives use by firms in the S&P 500. The authors test the hypotheses with an endogenous treatment-regression and a contrast test. Findings When the top management team has power and uses ESG incentives, there is a 32% reduction in excess annual cash bonuses implying ESG incentives are an effective corporate governance tool. However, nuanced analyses reveal that when powerful management teams with ESG incentives are from environmentally sensitive industries, have a corporate social responsibility (CSR) committee or have long-term view institutional shareholders, they derive excess bonuses. Practical implications Stakeholders will better understand management’s motivations for the inclusion of ESG incentives in executive compensation contracts and be able to identify situations which require closer scrutiny. Social implications Given the increased popularity of ESG incentives, society, regulators, boards of directors and management teams will be interested in better understanding when these incentives might be effective and when they might be abused. Originality/value To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study is the first to examine the use of ESG incentives in relation to excess pay. The authors contribute to both the CSR and executive compensation literatures. The work also uses a new methodological technique using AI to gather difficult-to-obtain data, opening new avenues for research.

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