Search results
1 – 3 of 3This paper provides insights into Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Accounting and Reporting for the Other Sector, defined as organisations that are not corporations and do not…
Abstract
Purpose
This paper provides insights into Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Accounting and Reporting for the Other Sector, defined as organisations that are not corporations and do not have profitability as their overriding success criterion.
Design/methodology/approach
This is a conceptual paper that addresses the impact of SDGs on the Other Sector and the accounting and reporting of them by these organisations.
Research limitations/implications
There are a number of implications for research in relation to theories, research approaches and the crossing over of disciplines in relation to the Other Sector’s SDGs accounting and reporting.
Practical implications
The research insights from this paper can be applied to inform the SDGs accounting and reporting practice of the Other Sector.
Originality/value
This paper addresses the impact of the recent sustainability development, the SDGs, on a sector that is very different from the corporate sector and highlights the benefit of accounting and reporting of these goals for the Other Sector.
Details
Keywords
Agus Fredy Maradona, Parmod Chand and Sumit Lodhia
The purpose of this study is to identify the professional skills and competencies of accountants that support a successful implementation of International Financial Reporting…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to identify the professional skills and competencies of accountants that support a successful implementation of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The authors further investigate the extent to which professional accountants have developed these skills through professional training.
Design/methodology/approach
In the survey, Indonesian accountants were provided with a list of 47 skill items under nine categories of professional skills and were asked to rate the importance of each skill item and to indicate the level of priority given to the development of the skill items in the professional training they have undertaken. Their responses provide insights into the skills needed for applying IFRS and the adequacy of professional training in providing these skills.
Findings
The authors find that accounting judgement is considered to be the most necessary skill for applying IFRS. Likewise, the findings show that ethical skills and certain generic skills are also perceived to be necessary for adequate application of IFRS, while skills relating to cultural sensitivity are viewed as least important. The findings further demonstrate that professional training programmes need to emphasise the development of judgement and other relevant skills that are important skill categories for applying IFRS.
Research limitations/implications
This study extends the literature on IFRS implementation through a specific focus on the professional skills required by accountants.
Practical implications
These findings have important policy implications for the standard-setters, regulators, auditors and to professional training providers across the world, such as professional accounting associations, accounting firms and educational institutions, for evaluating the content of the training and education programmes being delivered to accountants to prepare them with the relevant skills for applying IFRS.
Originality/value
This study is one of the first to examine the importance of various types of skills necessary for accountants in applying IFRS and the extent to which these skills have been developed through the professional accounting training provided.
Details
Keywords
Sanjaya C. Kuruppu, Markus J. Milne and Carol A. Tilt
This study aims to respond to calls for more research to understand how sustainability control systems (SCSs) feature (or do not feature) in short-term operational and long-term…
Abstract
Purpose
This study aims to respond to calls for more research to understand how sustainability control systems (SCSs) feature (or do not feature) in short-term operational and long-term strategic decision-making.
Design/methodology/approach
An in-depth case study of a large multinational organisation undertaking several rounds of sustainability reporting is presented. Data collection was extensive including 26 semi-structured interviews with a range of employees from senior management to facility employees, access to confidential reports and internal documents and attendance of company meetings, including an external stakeholder engagement meeting and the attendance of the company’s annual environmental meeting. A descriptive, analytical and explanatory analysis is performed on the case context (Pfister et al., 2022).
Findings
Simon’s (1995) levers of control framework structures our discussion. The case company has sophisticated and formalised diagnostic controls and strong belief and boundary systems. Conventional management controls and SCSs are used in short-term operational decision-making, although differences between financial imperatives and other aspects such as environmental concerns are difficult to reconcile. SCSs also provided information to justify company actions in short-term decisions that impacted stakeholders. However, SCSs played a very limited role in the long-term strategic decision. Tensions between social, environmental and economic factors are more reconcilable in the long-term strategic decision, where holistic risks and opportunities need to be fully identified. External reporting is seen in a “constraining” light (Tessier and Otley, 2012), and intentionally de-coupled from SCSs.
Originality/value
This paper responds to recent calls for rich, holistic and contextually-grounded perspectives of sustainability processes at an extractives company. The study provides novel insight into how SCSs are used (or not used) in short-term or long-term decision-making and external reporting. The paper illustrates how a large company is responding to sustainability pressures within the unique contextual setting of New Zealand. The study outlines the imitations of existing practice and provides implications for how sustainability-based internal controls can be better embedded into organisations.
Details