Paradise Lost: Accounting Narratives Without Numbers

Abela, Mario

doi:10.1515/ael-2019-0035

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…It would repair the separation and would start taking reporting towards serving accountability needs. At present there is lack of coherence between the narrative and the numbers and they can present two almost diametrically opposed views of the entity (Abela, 2020). This is not a unique phenomenon; the rise of alternative performance measures (APMs) has resulted in a sharp divide between results under IFRS/United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (US GAAP) and company determined APMs.…”

Section: Installation Of Something “New”mentioning

confidence: 99%

“A new direction? The “mainstreaming” of sustainability reporting”

Abela

2022

SAMPJ

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Purpose The purpose of this paper is to analyse the current developments to “mainstream” and standardise sustainability reporting and the consequences of those changes. Those changes give rise to the colonisation of sustainability reporting through the adoption of financial reporting concepts. Design/methodology/approach This research draws on critical theory, particularly the work of Foucault, to understand the dynamics of accounting change. This approach provides an alternative to the current narrative that the concepts that underpin reporting are universal and timeless. Findings It is suggested that if the aim of mandatory sustainability reporting is to promote companies adopting sustainable business models, then it must properly reflect the context of the company. Both transactive and relationship information is critical to providing an account that can be used to judge the performance of the corporation beyond its production of short-term net positive cash flows. Practical implications The design of standard setting arrangements for sustainability reporting needs to recognise that it may be unhelpful to simply adopt financial reporting concepts for the purposes of directing corporate behaviour towards sustainable development. Social implications Continuing to adopt a view of the corporation as a nexus of contracts with no clear accountability to stakeholders is likely to stymie efforts to deal with the environmental and social crisis facing people and planet. Originality/value Whilst other works have considered the development of sustainability reporting, to the best of the author’s knowledge, this is the first study to consider the impacts of “mainstreaming” it within mandatory corporate reporting.

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Section: Installation Of Something “New”mentioning

confidence: 99%

“A new direction? The “mainstreaming” of sustainability reporting”

Abela

2022

SAMPJ

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“…Kinderman [72] investigated the link between corporate social-responsibility performance and supranational-law support regarding disclosures in the Nordic countries. Next, Lipton [77] discussed the importance of stakeholder-oriented disclosure, while Saleem et al [76] examined the evolution of French corporate-governance law, including exposures using the collaboration approach. Mangen et al [73] explored the content disclosed under mandatory and voluntary disclosures in the marijuana industry in Canada.…”

Section: Disclosure Approachesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Out of 62 articles, only two are grouped under this theme, despite its importance, which shows that this theme is underexplored [79]. From 2014 to early 2021, the literature that discussed this theme started in 2020, when Lipton [77] examined the feasibility of a stakeholder-oriented disclosure approach. Next, Cosma et al [79] studied stakeholder engagement in European banks to determine the impacts of regulations on stakeholder engagement, and expanded the study by Lipton [77] as they looked into another angle relating to stakeholders' engagement.…”

Section: Stakeholders' Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…From 2014 to early 2021, the literature that discussed this theme started in 2020, when Lipton [77] examined the feasibility of a stakeholder-oriented disclosure approach. Next, Cosma et al [79] studied stakeholder engagement in European banks to determine the impacts of regulations on stakeholder engagement, and expanded the study by Lipton [77] as they looked into another angle relating to stakeholders' engagement. Finally, a study highlighted the importance of stakeholder engagement in achieving the SDGs [80], suggesting vital future studies under this theme, particularly from a legal perspective.…”

Section: Stakeholders' Engagementmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Regulations on Non-Financial Disclosure in Corporate Reporting: A Thematic Review

Khan

Ali

2023

Sustainability

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There is a growing call globally for corporations to improve transparency in corporate reporting, along with the surge of enhancing disclosure of non-financial information. Companies are seen as agents for contributing to a better future, and hence could assist in achieving the sustainable development goals (SDGs) 2030, via transparent non-financial disclosure. This review paper is premised on the fact that laws on non-financial disclosure may be useful in enhancing the transparency of companies’ conducts. Hence, this systematic review aims to synthesize the literature from 2014 to 2021 on the patterns and trends relating to regulations on non-financial disclosure in corporate reporting by companies. A keyword search followed by filters provided by the Web of Science Core Collection and SCOPUS databases resulted in a total of 369 documents being found. A total of 62 articles were reviewed after manual filtering and exclusion. A thematic review of these 62 articles identified 20 initial codes, which were then grouped into eight clusters: Directive 2014/95/EU, disclosure approaches, fiduciary duties of directors, stakeholder engagement, the effectiveness of disclosure regulations, the impacts of rules, the role of different actors and corporate accountability. The paper finds that the patterns and trends in the review set the path for future research on laws of non-financial disclosure, as they serve as a guideline for researchers for future studies.

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Sustainability Disclosure and the Financialization of Social Sustainability

Woschnack

Hiß

Nagel

et al. 2021

Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium

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This empirical study explores the financialization of social sustainability driven by sustainability accounting and reporting initiatives (SARIs). Since no globally accepted definition of what social sustainability encompasses exists, the paper asks how social sustainability is translated into the financial market language by SARIs as they provide standards for disclosing corporate non-financial performance and promote their concepts of social sustainability. The paper uses a two-step qualitative content analysis. First, it operationalizes social sustainability based on the empirical data of six sustainability rating agencies. Second, this operationalization is compared with the concepts created by three SARIs. The paper shows significant differences between the concepts of the SARIs and the rating agencies. While the rating agencies altogether interpret social sustainability with 83 distinct aspects, the SARIs, although differently created, use significant reduced concepts where 20% of these aspects are absent. The result of this financialization process could be a simplified and financially determined concept of social sustainability within die socially discourse. The research is limited to social sustainability and its financialization by SARIs. Individual indicators and their way or intensity to capture aspects of social sustainability were not part of the research interest. Further research should investigate the economic and the ecological pillars of sustainability as well as the usage of such financialized concepts within the society and especially by corporations. The paper unfolds the arbitrariness of operationalizing a qualitative phenomenon like social sustainability through the financial system. It discloses the need for looking at the mechanisms behind such processes and at the interests of the actors behind the frameworks. The paper reveals the financialization process driven by SARIs and demonstrates its simplifying effects on the concept of social sustainability. Furthermore, the paper shows that SARIs as metrics for non-financial aspects are troubled with a lack of transparency and a lack of convergence.

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Paradise Lost: Accounting Narratives Without Numbers

Cited by 5 publications

References 60 publications

“A new direction? The “mainstreaming” of sustainability reporting”

“A new direction? The “mainstreaming” of sustainability reporting”

Regulations on Non-Financial Disclosure in Corporate Reporting: A Thematic Review

Sustainability Disclosure and the Financialization of Social Sustainability

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