The limits of environmental accounting disclosure: enforcement of regulations, standards and interpretative strategies
Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal
ISSN: 0951-3574
Article publication date: 10 June 2020
Issue publication date: 8 October 2020
Abstract
Purpose
The 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/approach
Drawing 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.
Findings
Our 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 implications
This 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/value
Our 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.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
Earlier versions of this paper have been presented at the 2017 Conference of the American Accounting Association's Public Interest Section Mid-Year Meeting, at the 4th French Conference on Social and Environmental Accounting Research, at the 38th French Accounting Association Annual Meeting, and at the 29th UK Conference on Social and Environmental Accounting Research. The authors are grateful for the comments provided by the participants in those sessions, and we also wish to thank Charles Cho, Thomas Schneider, Carlos Larrinaga, Den Patten and the two anonymous reviewers for their valuable comments and suggestions provided on earlier versions of this paper. Moreover, we wish to acknowledge financial support received for this study from the LabEx Entreprendre (French National Research Agency : program “Investments for the Future” ANR-10-LabX-11-01), Montpellier Management Institutet, the CSOEC (National Association of Chartered Accountants) and the ANC (French Accounting Standard Setter).
Citation
Senn, J. and Giordano-Spring, S. (2020), "The limits of environmental accounting disclosure: enforcement of regulations, standards and interpretative strategies", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 33 No. 6, pp. 1367-1393. https://doi.org/10.1108/AAAJ-04-2018-3461
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
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