James Hazelton

Accounting as a human right: the case of water information

Purpose - This paper aims to respond to increasing interest in the intersection between accounting and human rights and to explore whether access to information might itself constitute a human right. As human rights have “moral force”, establishing access to information as a human right may act as a catalyst for policy change. The paper also aims to focus on environmental information, and specifically the case of corporate water-related disclosures. Design/methodology/approach - This paper follows Griffin and Sen, who suggest that a candidate human right might be recognised when it is consistent with “founding” human rights, it is important and it may be influenced by societal action. The specific case for access to corporate water-related information to constitute a human right is evaluated against these principles. Findings - Access to corporate water-related disclosures may indeed constitute a human right. Political participation is a founding human right, water is a critical subject of political debate, water-related information is required in order for political participation and the state is in a position to facilitate provision of such information. Corporate water disclosures may not necessarily be in the form of annual sustainability reports, however, but may include reporting by government agencies via public databases and product labelling. A countervailing corporate right to privacy is considered and found to be relevant but not necessarily incompatible with heightened disclosure obligations. Originality/value - This paper seeks to make both a theoretical and a practical contribution. Theoretically, the paper explores how reporting might be conceived from a rights-based perspective and provides a method for determining which disclosures might constitute a human right. Practically, the paper may assist those calling for improved disclosure regulation by showing how such calls might be embedded within human rights discourse.

Incorporating sustainability into accounting curricula: Lessons learnt from an action research study

This paper chronicles the journey of two projects that sought to incorporate principles of sustainable development into predominantly technical postgraduate accounting curricula. The design and delivery of the projects were informed by Freirian principles of praxis and critical empowerment. The first author introduced sustainability-related material into a core technical accounting unit and created an elective unit. The second author participated with students to evaluate critically social reports of employers, current and potential. In terms of an objective of bringing reflexivity into the classroom, both projects were marked by some success, but efforts to create permanent curriculum change were hampered by the predominantly vocational orientation of student cohorts. In addition, the traditionally technical focus of the professional bodies and competing educational reform agendas (such as vocational skills) add to the difficulties for sustainability in penetrating already overcrowded curricula.

Corporate water accountability – the role of water labels given non-fungible extractions

Purpose – This paper aims to explore the potential for the labelling of the water footprint of products in an Australian context. It considers theoretical contribution and technical challenges of water labelling and in particular how non-fungible water extractions might be evaluated and communicated. Design/methodology/approach – The paper examines the theoretical contribution of labels drawing on the sustainability typology articulated by Hopwood et al. and more recent claims that access to product-level environmental information may constitute a consumer right. The paper also explores labelling empirically via an extensive literature review and ten interviews with water regulators and commercial water users. Findings – Water footprint reporting could make a significant contribution to public water literacy. Significant technical hurdles remain, however, in appropriately distinguishing differing impacts of water extractions as well as in relation to measurement, allocation and information overload. This ...

Social Accounting for Inequality: Applying Piketty's Capital in the Twenty-First Century

Abstract This essay reviews the potential of Thomas Pikettys Capital in the Twenty-First Century (2014. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press) to inform social accounting research into economic inequality. Economic inequality is conceptually central to social accounting agendas, yet there has been surprisingly little accounting research in this area. Pikettys text can help build this research agenda by providing a systematic account of the growth and structure of economic inequality, especially since his analysis follows a similar underlying approach to influential texts in social and environmental accounting research. At the same time, the essay argues that social accountants can address limitations of Pikettys analysis, particularly by offering a more nuanced analysis of how economic inequality is embedded in corporate structures and practices. Thus, Pikettys text is not only a timely reminder of why the social distribution of economic resources matters, but also an invitation for social accountants to engage more fully in unfolding public debates about the future of resource distribution.

Potential users’ perceptions of general purpose water accounting reports

Purpose - – The purpose of this paper is to explore the perceptions of potential users about water accounting reports prepared under Australian general purpose water accounting (GPWA), which applies financial accounting techniques to water and could be extended to other areas of natural resource management. In particular, the paper examines the extent to which users believe GPWA reports are useful and facilitate the discharge of accountability by water managers. Design/methodology/approach - – As a theoretical lens the authors apply an extended version of Gray Findings - – Overall, users perceive the introduction of GPWA as useful and believe that the benefits will outweigh the costs. The adoption of a financial accounting approach in terms of accounting standards and prescribed methods for booking and disclosing water “transactions” was broadly supported. In terms of the main users of reports, there was some ambiguity but findings suggested that government agencies were likely to be the main users of GPWA. Users were also concerned about the degree of judgement required to determine the identity and boundaries of a “water report entity”. Perhaps the most controversial aspect related to accountability; while the Accountability Statement was broadly supported there was little consensus that GPWA collectively discharged the accountability of water managers. Taken collectively, these results suggest that GPWA may be more useful for improving management performance than accountability. Practical implications - – The findings suggest that future iterations of the standard need to reconsider how accountability might be discharged through the production of GPWA. The broad support for GPWA suggests, however, that the financial accounting approach – and hence the accounting community – may also make a valuable contribution to other areas of natural resource accounting. Originality/value - – This study contributes to the emerging but still limited literature on GPWA and the fundamentally different approach to natural resource accounting it represents. While some previous studies have examined potential users of GPWA none have done so after the standard has been fully developed, and no previous studies have adopted the mixed research design utilised in this study.

The challenges and opportunities of implementing general purpose groundwater accounting in Australia

ABSTRACT Groundwater is a critical resource both worldwide and in Australia and, although groundwater information is central to its effective management, it is generally poor. General Purpose Water Accounting (GPWA), an innovative Australian system developed to account for water resources based on financial accounting principles, has been identified as a possible improvement to groundwater information. As previous studies have mainly considered the application of GPWA to surface water, we investigate groundwater accounting under GPWA. We adopt a theoretical framework of transparency, which is a critical component of accountability. Interviews were conducted within two Australian government departments responsible for groundwater management and reporting. Findings indicate that while GPWA could improve the transparency of groundwater reporting, methodological challenges remain unresolved. These challenges were grouped under two key themes, namely pre-existing data limitations (such as data availability) and translating financial accounting into groundwater (such as the difficulty of determining groundwater assets). Additionally, accountability was not seen as a likely outcome (or even a key objective) of GPWA. Key implications of our study are that further refinement of the standard is required to address the methodological issues identified and more major revisions may be required to achieve the stated objective of enhanced accountability.

Developments in corporate water accounting and accountability

Abstract In decades since the Rio Summit, freshwater has become an increasingly prominent issue in the global arena and attention has turned to the role of the corporate sector. Various (predominantly voluntary) corporate water accounting standards currently exist, from water-related components in wide-ranging sustainability standards such as the Global Reporting Initiative through to standards specifically focused on water and/or a particular industry. While academic research on adoption of these standards is sparse, initial findings reveal generally poor water reporting in terms of both quality and quantity. In future, the major areas where reporting (and standards) could be improved are the provision of site-level water information and the assessment of water risk throughout the supply chain.

Improving Corporate Political Donations Disclosure: Lessons from Australia

ABSTRACT One of the activities corporations should be accountable for is their level of political donations. This paper examines two mandatory corporate political donation disclosure regimes in Australia and identifies three important lessons. First, our review confirms that although few citizens may care enough to scrutinise donation disclosure, there are people interested in such information and we should take political donation disclosure regimes seriously. Second, a well-funded entity must be made responsible not just for administering the disclosure system, but also for reviewing and recommending updates to the system. One disclosure regime examined in this paper was never updated to reflect the existence of the internet until 2007, because no-one was responsible for monitoring the regime and suggesting necessary updates. Finally, details concerning the ultimate source of donations should be provided.