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The purpose of this paper is to investigate insights into current practices in auditing “environmental matters” in accordance with Audit Guidance Statement 1010: The Consideration of Environmental Matters in the Audit of Financial Reports, which was introduced by the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants in 2001.

The approach to gathering evidence for this study is qualitative semi‐structured in‐depth personal interviews with 27 auditors: 18 financial auditors (FAs) in chartered accounting practice and nine public sector auditors (PSAs) from the office of the Auditor‐General.

The interview findings confirmed that the auditors respond to isomorphic pressures that affect them, either by employing acquiesce or compromise strategies and that institutional theory fits best as an appropriate theory to frame the research. Environmental matters are only considered in the planning of a company audit when it is significant and relevant to financial reporting. However, evidence showed that FAs are influenced by mimetic isomorphism by adopting the perspective of company management. On the other hand, PSAs are driven by the legislative mandate imposed by the Local Government Act 2002 to search out and verify the validity, accuracy and completeness of information on environmental matters. FAs auditing both companies in the private sector and public sector organisations are able to maintain two dissimilar approaches and attitudes, depending on the type of entities they are auditing.

As with all qualitative interviews, there are some limitations associated with individuals' responses to the semi‐structured open‐ended interview questions.

To prioritise the consideration of environmental matters in the audit practices of FAs for company audits will require both coercive and normative pressures in their organizational sphere.

This study assists in understanding an audit phenomenon not widely known. It would also add a geographical variation to existing literature.

This paper seeks to examine the responses of New Zealand auditors to the promulgation of Audit Guidance Statement (AGS) 1010: The Consideration of Environmental Matters in the Audit of Financial Statements and the consequent impact on audit practice.

This study adopts an interpretive methodology. It draws on dual research methods – interviews with 27 senior auditors, and a critical analysis of AGS‐1010. Legitimacy theory informs the interpretation of the findings.

The findings point to significant gaps in the guidance AGS‐1010 provides and reveal its limited impact on practice, which seems to reflect “business as usual” in regard to the audit of environmental matters. However, AGS‐1010 does appear to serve a ceremonial, legitimating role by supporting practising auditors' efforts to appear responsive to concerns about this emergent accountability issue.

The findings highlight the practical challenges that exist in the audit of environmental matters, and point to the need to scrutinise the role of auditors in providing opinions on the financial reports of firms whose activities give rise to material environmental matters.

The findings suggest points for reflection for a profession that relies on maintaining its societal legitimacy, but which is failing to pursue or achieve best practice in the audit of environmental matters.

This paper presents a novel critique of AGS‐1010 and a first examination of how New Zealand auditors are dealing with environmental matters in light of this professional promulgation. The findings contribute to the international literature by exploring the relatively neglected role of the auditor in advancing the “greening of accounting”.

This paper aims to examine how social and environmental issues were accounted for and traded off within decision-making for Australia’s largest seawater desalination plant. This is done through an investigation of disclosures contained within key publicly available documents pertaining to the project.

The study deploys content analysis to initially identify relevant disclosures. Themes and subthemes are based on definitions of social and environmental accounting adapted from prior research. Relevant information was used to develop “silent accounts” to identify and analyse accountability issues in the case.

It was found that a number of claims made throughout reporting were unsupported or insufficiently explained. At the same time, it is found that various forms of basic measurements used to describe social and environmental issues conveyed the rationale of decision makers. It is concluded that many of the claims were asserted rather than evidenced; yet, the manner and context of their presentation gave them the appearance of being incontestable truths. Further, it is argued that the portrayal of social and environmental issues through measurable means is emblematic of values associated with contemporary neoliberal and public sector reforms.

The findings and conclusions of this study are contextually bound and therefore limited to this case.

This paper illustrates problems with the reporting of non-financial information and strengthens our understanding of the use of “silent accounting”. It illustrates the value of this approach to research examining accounting and accountability issues.

The findings contribute to the literature on social and environmental accounting by providing unique empirical analysis of non-financial disclosures within publicly available reporting.

This paper aims to propose a measurement of the materiality of environmental, social and governance information (ESG) reported by listed companies belonging to sensitive industries in Colombia, Mexico, Brazil, Chile and Argentina. This analysis is carried out from the insights of stakeholder theory, legitimacy theory and institutional theory. The research questions addressed are: What type of information is considered as material by Latin American companies? Does this information respond to the environmental and social issues within the context of Latin American companies and the needs of their stakeholders?

A materiality index is developed from principal component analysis and factor analysis, which are multivariate analysis statistical techniques used in various fields to develop indices. The designed index examines materiality in the sustainability reports of 65 companies for 2017 and 67 companies for 2018. These firms belong to the energy, mining, chemical, construction, construction materials and public services industries in Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Brazil.

The results show medium-high materiality indices, mostly in Chilean, Mexican and Colombian companies. In addition, issues such as water management, climate change and occupational health and safety are particularly interesting for companies. For the two years studied and from the perspective of material aspects for the company and its stakeholders, energy, mining and utilities (drinking water and sewage) sectors obtained the highest scores. This shows that the disclosure of ESG information is higher in industries related to the exploitation of natural resources that cause adverse effects on the environment such as extractive industries. Both the analysis presented in this paper and the materiality measurement developed, allow social responsibility managers to have a standard on the level of importance allotted to the different topics disclosed in sustainability reports. Additionally, this study provides a perspective of the material issues recognized by sensitive industries with great environmental impact. Similarly, an analysis of the issues considered material by stakeholders is provided. This allows such issues to be compared, identifying similarities and differences among the issues regarded as material by a company and its stakeholders.

The paper opens the debate is open as to whether the information disclosed response to the needs of stakeholders or whether, on the contrary, the materiality analysis is a process that emerges simply from the interests of the company. These demands for qualitative and field research to complement quantitative studies such as this one to research the stakeholders’ engagement processes in context.

The paper’s purpose a challenge for future research is to strengthen the use of various methodologies that allow knowing the participation processes in the definition of materiality in the ESG information and the companies’ engagement with stakeholders. This stimulates research in the region, which is still in its infancy.

The international literature contains few studies related to the assessment of materiality for sustainability reporting. So this paper contributes proposes measurement of materiality for ESG information.

Auditors are now concerned with environmental issues as some transactions may lead to loss contingencies which must be disclosed in financial statements. Reviews accounting principles concerning such contingencies and discusses auditing standards with regard to illegal acts, environmental specialists and reportable conditions. Refers to statements on auditing standards (SAS) concerning the client representation letter, lawyer's letter, going concern, audit report and communication with audit committee.

The objective of this paper is to examine environmental disclosure practices among Malaysian public‐listed companies in an attempt to interpret corporate motivations for their environmental engagements and commitments.

This paper investigates corporate motivations using content analysis by examining the corporate annual reports. Discourse analysis was used to analyse and then interpret the environmental information. In particular, the reasons that have inspired companies in Malaysia to engage in environmental matters are the focus of the research.

The results revealed high levels of information in environmental disclosures concerning current environmental engagements and future environmental plans/strategies. The environmental information was found to contain messages that revealed the corporate motives of certain environmental engagements. Three key motivating factors were found to be: “stakeholders' concern”, “self‐environmental concern” and “operational improvements”.

The paper advocates interpretation of the discourse of environmental information to determine the comprehensive scope on corporate environmental reporting.

Disclosure practices (through the use of language) are utilised by business corporations to articulate messages concerning their environmental engagements and the motives behind such engagements. Furthermore, the paper offers some insights into current environmental reporting practices in a developing country.

The purpose of this research is to review the response of professionals involved in the letting and management of industrial buildings to the implementation of Part IIA of the Environmental Protection Act, 1990 which, has imposed a regime of “strict liability”, in terms of contamination, has implications for the owners, occupiers and managers of such properties and may be affecting rental and capital values of industrial premises. This research explores the current awareness of all parties to these changes.

The study reported in this paper examines current practices in the UK and identifies areas where changes may be required, or be desirable, in order to arrive at recommendations as to “best practice”. The work was undertaken in three phases, a questionnaire survey involving leasing and managing agents, real estate owners, lawyers and bankers; a consultation stage with representative organisations including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Environment Agency, British Property Federation, British Bankers Association, British Insurance Association, the Law Society and the Confederation of British Industry (CBI) and interviews with a representative sample of persons from the survey. This paper reports on the questionnaire survey phase.

The research identifies considerable variation in how professionals are responding to current environmental legislation. Many seem to leave “environmental” matters to the lawyers, or to rely on standard lease terms. The paper suggests areas for improving best practice.

The research was primarily concerned with aspects of lease management rather than with valuation but it has identified the need for further research in areas such as rent determination and assignment pricing.

The research has identified areas of practice in need of review by professionals in this field from which conclusions as to “best practice” have been drawn.

The information technology (IT) sector is a powerful factor in present-day society, and its role in pro-sustainability policies is crucial. This study aims to gain insight into IT students' perspectives on the role of education for sustainable development (ESD) in their academic curriculum as well as to project their attitudes and actions to prospective employers.

This study used a cross-sectional survey design, involving 260 students majoring in IT at a public university in Bulgaria.

The majority of the students (67.30%) believed that their university education should promote students’ social and environmental skills. However, 55–65% thought that the current academic curriculum failed to connect subject matter with relevant environmental issues. The students held high expectations of prospective employers. There was a significant concordance between the participants' views on sustainability and their perceived workplace actions. The participants who believed that employers should reduce carbon emissions were significantly more likely to refuse to do any work that supports the fossil fuel industry [odds ratio (OR) = 4.82, 95% confidence interval (CI): 2.04–11.37] or leave a job if the company provides products or services for the fossil fuel industry (OR = 3.10, 95% CI: 1.26–7.26). Such participants were more likely to opt for a lower salary in favor of environmental principles (OR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.32–4.28).

The IT sector is a powerful factor in present-day society, and its role in pro-sustainability policies is crucial. IT students’ perspectives on the gaps in current sustainability practices convey a message to the IT academic and employment communities that environmental issues matter and are important to this new generation of technologically savvy people.

There have been a few other studies in Bulgaria on the issue of ESD, but no other study has focused on the projection of students' attitudes toward the environment onto future employers. The study's results showed that the Bulgarian young people who were getting ready for jobs in the IT field had the same environmental values and concerns as their peers from different higher education areas in different parts of the world. They were interested in acquiring knowledge and competencies that would help propel pro-environmental actions in their academic institution and future workplace. Notwithstanding the overall low economic standards in their country, they tended to put carbon-free and environmentally friendly policies ahead of financial interests. Their critical perspectives on the gaps in current sustainability practices convey a message to the academic and job communities in IT that environmental issues matter to this new generation of technologically savvy people.