Sumit Lodhia

Accountants responses to the environmental agenda in a developing nation: An initial and exploratory study on Fiji

Abstract This paper initially highlights the potential role(s) of accountants in ensuring environmental sensitivity in businesses through the mechanism commonly referred to as environmental accounting. It then proceeds to discuss their actual involvement in these issues through a review of past literature on the role of accountants in environmental management accounting and reporting in organizations and the presentation of a local study on environmental accounting. This study seeks to gain insights into the preparedness of accountants in Fiji to handle environmental accounting within the conventional accounting framework. The findings of this research are reflective of contemporary international studies, suggesting that Fiji accountants are conspicuously absent from environmental management accounting and reporting in organizations. This has been attributed to their lack of competence in environmental matters and the voluntary nature of the present environmental accounting practice. Even though the characteristics of a developing nation which pose practical difficulties for the implementation of environmental accounting in a country like Fiji need to be acknowledged, a more proactive stance from the local accountancy profession, academics, the private and public sector is warranted. It is envisaged that this initial research will add to the limited literature on environmental accounting in developing nations and provide a useful framework for further studies, especially those in the South Pacific context.

Driving Public Sector Environmental Reporting

Abstract This article analyses environmental reporting practices within public sector entities. It explores the type and extent of environmental disclosures by all 19 Australian Commonwealth Departments in annual reports and sustainability reports, through a legitimacy approach and a content analysis instrument based on the global reporting initiative (GRI). The findings of this research indicate that there is relatively little difference in the reporting practices of departments with legitimacy drivers of size and mission than other departments. We see little evidence of a wide-spread adoption of GRI reporting and argue that drivers internal to government, particularly the coercive influence of legislation and government-regulation, are a better explanation of public sector environment reporting than a legitimacy explanation. We argue that there is some support for a legitimacy argument in that the most significant category of environmental reporting was reporting of departmental initiatives which could be seen as having potential legitimacy motivation and benefits. We conclude with the argument that a more sophisticated approach to legitimacy is required to understand the role of environmental reporting in the public sector context.

Public sector accountability failure in an emerging economy: The case of the National Bank of Fiji

Adoption of new public sector management (NPM) is commonplace in both developed and emerging economies. One premise of NPM is that an effective accountability mechanism is in place. It is argued here that where bad management and corruption are present, this fundamental accountability mechanism may fail for two reasons. These are considered further through the situation existing in Fiji in relation to problems experienced at the National Bank of Fiji (NBF). The demise of the NBF provides an example of a country where NPM has been introduced, where poor management and corruption are entrenched and where accountability has not worked because parties do not provide a proper account of their actions. This scandal illustrates the need for proponents of NPM to consider the context into which the system is being fitted, such as poor management, the extent of corruption and presence of political favours, when considering the net benefits likely to arise from its introduction.

Corporate perceptions of web‐based environmental communication: An exploratory study into companies in the Australian minerals industry

Purpose – This study seeks the views of environmental and communication managers in three mining companies on the use of the world wide web for environmental communication.Design/methodology/approach – Interviews were utilised to gather data for this research.Findings – Prior literature on web‐based environmental communication has a primary emphasis on the content of environmental disclosure on web sites. It is highlighted in this paper that one must move beyond merely analysing web sites for environmental information in order to gain an in‐depth understanding of the practice of web‐based environmental communication.Research limitations/implications – Very few studies to date have sought the opinions of corporate executives on the web‐based environmental communication practice of their companies and this study addresses this gap in the literature.Practical implications – This study obtains “first hand knowledge” of web‐based environmental communication in Australias minerals industry through its intervie...

Sustainability reporting and reputation risk management: An Australian case study

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore the ways in which a leading Australian public company uses sustainability reporting to respond to reputation risk arising from proposed regulation. Design/methodology/approach - The paper uses a case study approach and both qualitative and quantitative methods of content analysis. The qualitative component is based on a framework of reputation conceptualisations and image restoration strategies adopted from existing literature. Findings - The key findings of this paper are that the concept of reputation risk management (RRM) could assist in understanding what motivates sustainability reporting, and how proposed regulation could lead to a decrease in the quantity but increase in the quality of sustainability reporting. In addition, “honesty” is revealed as a potential RRM strategy. Originality/value - The paper extends existing research on the RRM thesis by studying an Australian case of a reputation-damaging event over a number of reporting years, examining a range of sustainability reporting media, and adding a quantitative aspect to an otherwise qualitative research framework.

The practice turn in environmental reporting: A study into current practices in two Australian commonwealth departments

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to explore environmental reporting in the Australian Commonwealth public sector through the focus on departments with a primary responsibility for social and environmental issues. Design/methodology/approach - The research moves beyond the existing theorisation for environmental reporting through a legitimacy theory perspective and adopts Bourdieus theory of practice. The practices of the two selected departments for this study are assessed through interviews and documentary data. Findings - The findings suggest that the practice of environmental reporting in a research context moves beyond legitimacy considerations with the internal context being critical in explaining current practices. It is in this regard that the theoretical perspective provides useful insights in understanding environmental reporting in the Australian commonwealth public sector. Research limitations/implications - The paper calls for further studies that go beyond desk-based analysis of environmental disclosure and utilise field studies and varying theoretical perspectives which focus on the practices that lead to the production of environmental reporting via various media. Practical implications - This paper provides insights into how internal actors influence the practice of public sector environmental reporting which has practical implications for the development and enhancement of environmental reporting in many jurisdictions. Originality/value - The paper develops a theoretical perspective for environmental accounting that provides a comprehensive account of environmental reporting in a specific context. This approach could be utilised in different contexts and contributes towards extending the existing theorisation for environmental reporting.

Sustainability disclosure patterns of South Australian local councils: a case study

This article investigates the types of sustainability information disclosed by four South Australian local councils in the absence of any mandatory sustainability reporting guidelines. The findings suggest that even though standardized sustainability reporting guidelines are not in use, elements of these guidelines are reported as sustainability issues in annual reports. Our study also reveals that in the absence of any prescribed requirements, multiple overlapping guidelines based on contemporary sustainability philosophies are in use. A need for local centric guidelines is suggested, not just for the context of this study but also for other local governments, nationally and internationally.

Stakeholder responses to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act: An agenda setting perspective

Purpose - This paper aimed to explore the submissions made to the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) policy paper by corporations and other stakeholders. It also sought to establish whether broader climate change issues were addressed in the context of the submissions. Design/methodology/approach - The agenda-setting framework was utilised to provide the theoretical perspective for the study. This research applied a combination of concept analysis and mapping, and content analysis, of the submissions using the Leximancer software tool. Findings - The study found a divergence in the responses of corporations and other stakeholders, with the former focusing primarily on the NGER policy paper, while the latter presented significant concerns over carbon pollution and climate change, an issue that was not the primary concern of the policy paper. Moreover, corporations also acknowledged the close link between the NGER process and a future emissions trading scheme, and expressed concerns over the development of a mechanism that would put a price on carbon. Research limitations/implications - The paper contributes to the limited literature on carbon accounting and reporting in relation to both the local and international context. Moreover, an agenda-setting perspective provided a suitable lens for understanding the NGER submissions process and its role within the broader climate change policy area in Australia. Practical implications - Policies are influenced by key players and their familiarity with these policies could lead to successful implementation. The establishment of the NGER legislation was deemed successful, despite concerns raised in the submissions. This was because the policy used corporate reporting as a means of assessing accountability for carbon emissions. This finding has implications for other nations seeking to develop mandatory carbon reporting. Originality/value - The paper has built further explanatory potential of the agenda-setting framework, provides direct evidence in relation to stakeholder submissions to prospective environmental legislation, and adds to the use of combination methods that can be utilised for effectively analysing stakeholder submissions on major policy questions and issues.

The state of disclosures on stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting in Australian local councils

Purpose – This study aims to examine the state and extent of disclosures on stakeholder engagement in sustainability reporting in Australian local councils. Design/methodology/approach – Content analysis was used to analyse 23 sustainability/state of environment/annual reports out of a total of 563 local councils (city, shire, district, borough and regional) in Australia for the year 2009-2010 – those found to be using stakeholder engagement in the development of sustainability reports. A stakeholder engagement index was developed on the basis of the literature review to examine the extent of disclosures on stakeholder engagement. Findings – This study identifies: the Australian local councils that are engaging with their stakeholders in the development of sustainability reports; key stakeholders for sustainability reports; extent of engagement; media and approaches used for engagement; and difficulties in the engagement process. The results suggest that stakeholder engagement is an essential component in...

The Australian National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting Act and its implications for accounting practice and research

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to draw out the accounting implications of the National Greenhouse and Energy Reporting (NGER) Act in Australia.Design/methodology/approach – An analytical approach is undertaken to ascertain the (accounting) practice and research implications of the NGER Act.Findings – Accounting researchers, especially those with interests in social and environmental issues, have a critical role to play in highlighting the potential of the accounting practice in managing, and providing accountability over, carbon emissions, facilitated via the NGER Act. A number of opportunities in social and environmental accounting research are also identified in this paper.Practical implications – The paper highlights that the NGERS legislation which requires reporting of carbon emissions by affected parties has a number of implications for the accounting practice.Originality/value – The paper relates a practical issue, in this case the NGER Act, to accounting and suggests that the accounting pr...