The limits of environmental accounting disclosure: enforcement of regulations, standards and interpretative strategies

Abstract

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.

Modern Slavery Disclosure Regulation and Global Supply Chains: Insights from Stakeholder Narratives on the UK Modern Slavery Act

“…Prior research (e.g. Buhmann, 2011;Bebbington et al, 2012;Manacorda, 2014;Chauvey et al, 2015;Acerete et al, 2019;Manacorda, 2014;Birkey et al, 2018;Senn & Giordano-Spring, 2020;Brusca et al, 2018;Chelli et al, 2018-summarised in Table 1), focuses on different regulations ranging from country-level environmental reporting laws and CSR, to public sector accountability and reporting standards, used different methods ranging from content analysis, reviews, discourse analysis to interviews, to investigate the normativity of regulations. What this research reveals is that, in general, social and environmental disclosure regulations have an impact on normativity.…”

“…While prior disclosure research examined normativity of particular disclosure regulations by documenting the extent of corporate disclosure in compliance with the regulations, in this paper, we examine the attainment of the normativity of a disclosure regulation, the UK Modern Slavery Act, in the public domain, using stakeholder narratives. Our focus on stakeholder narratives is different from prior quantitative Chauvey et al, 2015;Chelli et al, 2018;Birkey et al, 2018) on the normativity of social and environmental disclosure regulations and qualitative (interview-based) studies (Bebbington et al, 2012;Senn & Giordano-Spring, 2020) that documented the views of corporate managers and industry representatives and offered an understanding of internal (managerial) perspectives regarding the normativity of particular social and environmental disclosure regulations.…”

Evidenciação de Passivos Ambientais em Empresas de Energia Hidrelétrica.

“…Outrossim, pode-se concluir que há necessidade das empresas melhorarem as evidenciações acerca das informações ambientais reforçando o que se apresenta em outros estudos (Por exemplo, Barbosa et al, 2014;Barcelos et al, 2016;Coelho et al, 2010;Negash & Lemma, 2020;Paananen et al, 2021;Rover et al, 2008;Senn & Giordano-Spring, 2020). Vale salientar que o arcabouço teórico e legal existente para a realidade brasileira está aderente às normas internacionais.…”

“…Mais recentemente, no início do Século XXI, estudos internacionais mostram que a evidenciação de informações ambientais ainda carece de melhorias (Por exemplo, Negash & Lemma 2020;Paananen, Runesson & Samani, 2021;Senn & Giordano-Spring, 2020). Apesar de um aumento de práticas ambientais, estudos sinalizam que ainda são baixos os níveis de evidenciação relacionados a divulgação nos relatórios a respeito de passivos ambientais.…”

The impact of taxes and administrative activities of SMEs on their performance

“…The study showed that there is a certain effect, although not large, and has to be taken into account. It was also proved that when the structure of norms and standards changes significantly, the enterprises are exposed to great pressure to adapt to the requirements [14]. Another hypothesis was formulated, claiming that the necessity to observe standards, norms, directives, and to comply with the principles of social responsibility and sustainable development represents a great burden for the corporate structure of manufacturing enterprises in Japan.…”