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1 – 3 of 3Niladri Das, Mitali Sen and J.K. Pattanayak
The purpose of this study is to assess the students' perception about the importance of incorporating environmental reporting practices, standards, and other issues in Management…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to assess the students' perception about the importance of incorporating environmental reporting practices, standards, and other issues in Management Accounting course.
Design/methodology/approach
Environmental issues provide a unique, timely, and important focus for developing a course in Indian management pedagogy, which shall help in demonstrating the usefulness of environmental accounting information in supporting corporate environmental strategies while assessing environmental performance. Assessment measurements that may capture the impact of reformed academic programs are necessary to judge the success and failure of management education reforms. This paper carries out such an assessment process by offering a course on environmental accounting as an intervention, to a sample of 28 management students enrolled in a higher educational institution in India imparting management education. A questionnaire is administered to these students before and after the intervention in order to understand the difference of their perception level.
Findings
The results suggests a significant difference in the perception level of students about the utility of incorporating environmental reporting practices in Management Accounting course before and after the administration of the reformed program.
Originality/value
The paper is unique in its attempt to understand the Indian management students' perception of knowledge and usefulness with environmental accounting in their regular course, from which a more detailed evaluation can be derived. Further work based on this preliminary finding may be used to develop a proposed environmental accounting course framework for management students in India.
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Mitali Sen, Kuhali Mukherjee and J.K. Pattanayak
The purpose of this paper is to identify the existing status of environmental disclosure practices in Indian core sector companies.
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to identify the existing status of environmental disclosure practices in Indian core sector companies.
Design/methodology/approach
Waste disposal costs and other environmental liability costs are crucial information to be disclosed by core sector companies as they have direct impact on the environment. A content analysis of the annual reports of select core sector companies across four industries, viz. Oil and petrochemicals, Mining and minerals, Steel and Cement, has been undertaken to study the extent and nature of their environmental disclosures in their annual reports for 2007‐2008.
Findings
The study shows that the level of disclosure of environmental information varies across industries as well as companies and the information revealed in the annual reports is found to be more qualitative than quantitative.
Practical implications
The disclosure made by the core sector companies does not adequately cover the informational needs of stakeholders. However, the increasing disclosure trends can be considered as a first step toward improved environmental disclosure. The study therefore supports the need for a suitable framework for environmental disclosure, such that all the stakeholders can use it as credible information.
Originality/value
This study contributes to the literature by evaluating voluntary environmental disclosures made by Indian core sector companies in their annual report. Further work based on this preliminary finding may be done to assess the status of environmental disclosure for a larger sample of Indian core sector companies.
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Ravi Inder Singh Chandok and Sukhdev Singh
The purpose of this study is to examine the status of corporate environment on the websites and annual reports of selected companies. This paper also attempts to study the…
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to examine the status of corporate environment on the websites and annual reports of selected companies. This paper also attempts to study the relationship between company variables and the level of corporate environment disclosure on the company website and annual reports.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on the websites and annual reports of top 100 listed companies on the Bombay Stock Exchange. The companies are selected on the basis of market capitalization as on March 31, 2014. The data are collected on the basis of Global Reporting Initiative-3 Guidelines.
Findings
14 and 30 per cent of the companies do not disclose environmental information on the website and annual report, respectively. There is no specific space for the disclosure of information on this vital issue; information was found scattered in the various sections of the website and annual report. Waste treatment, water management and carbon foot is the focus area of 53, 46 and 40 companies on the website, respectively, whereas in annual reports, energy conservation, water management and waste management attracts the attention of 79, 86 and 82 companies, respectively. The environmental disclosure on the website and overall disclosure has association with leverage, company size and systematic risk. Profitability and environmental disclosure were found to be inversely associated.
Practical implications
The government through appropriate guidelines should make the environmental disclosure mandatory for all the companies. Disclosure of environmental information such as penalties imposed and suits faced under environmental laws and notices received from pollution control boards and such other activities which have damaged environmental resources must be made mandatory. The accounting bodies should develop the accounting standard in respect of items and manner of disclosure. While framing environmental disclosure guidelines, special attention should be given to the disclosure of information related to water management, air and land pollution as these are the basic necessities for the existence of life on this planet.
Originality/value
This study is unique as it makes the comparative analysis of disclosure through annual reports and the company website of selected Indian companies.
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