Environmental Cost Accounting Implications on Timber Company Productivity in Cameroon

Abstract

Cameroon like many countries in the world pursues the achievement of sustainable development, positive relationship with the community, and effective and efficient environmental conservation activities. Organisations are expected to identify and incorporate costs of safeguarding the environment into their financial statements. The objective of this study was to identify the implications of some environmental costs prevention variables on the productivity of timber production companies in Cameroon. Specifically, it examined the effect of cost accounting for pollution prevention, global environmental conservation, and resource recycle on the output of timber companies. Through a survey, data was collected and analysed using the Ordinary Least Square (OLS) estimation technique. The empirical results revealed that it is cost-saving and profitable to carry out cost accounting for pollution prevention, contribution to global environmental conservation, and resource recycling by environmental stakeholders. An increase in the cost accounting for any of these independent variables significantly improves the productivity of timber companies, since a more work-friendly environment is created for optimum production than if these costs were not accounted for. All environmental stakeholders should be adequately sensitised by the government and professional accounting bodies on the benefits accruing from incorporating realistic values of natural resources and the costs of environmental conservation in their financial records and statements. The government in its effort to make a realistic assessment of the income of the country should ensure that accountability is given for both operational contributions and operational impact on the environment.

Environmental Costs and Financial Performance in Nigeria's Selected Extractive Industry

“…It is based on costs and its effect examination. It allocates to environmental exploitation entities the costs of their impacts on the environment (Mukah, 2021).…”