Modern Regulations and Practices for Social and Environmental Accounting

Abstract

Modern Regulations and Practices for Social and Environmental Accounting discusses social and environmental accounting issues such as regulations, norms, organizational practices, and the challenges of education. There has been an increased interest in social and environmental issues in recent years as more consideration is given to the idea of sustainability and social accounting. Gray et al. (1996) argue that social and environmental accounting and reporting play a relevant role in organizations’ context as tools for analyzing the sustainability performance of the organizations and note that these have been relevant subjects in the academic literature. The issue of social and environmental accounting has gained a huge international relevance. Social accounting can be considered a straightforward manifestation of corporate enforcement to legitimize, explain, and justify the organization’s activities or an ethically desirable component of any well-functioning democracy. According to Mishra (s/d), social accounting is concerned with the study and analysis of accounting practice of those activities of an organization. The concept of socialistic pattern of society, civil rights movements, environmental protection, and ecological conservation groups, increasing awareness of society towards corporate social contribution, etc. Have contributed towards the growing importance of social accounting. Social accounting can be three things: a fairly straightforward manifestation of corporate enforces to legitimate, explain, and justify the organization activities; an ethically desirable component of any wellfunctioning democratic and, just possibly, one of the few available mechanisms to address sustainability that does not involve the extinction of the species (Gray et al., 2014). Environment Accounting, as Gray (1993) said, introduces and explains environmental issues as they relate to accountants today, covering a broad range of topics including Why environmental issues need to be at the heart of accounting practice; The development and implementation of an environmental policy; Environmental audit and management systems; Controlling costs of energy and waste; Environmentally aware investment, budgeting, and appraisal. Some examples of environmental disclosures considered are any statement and information related to environmental policies, environmental management system (including ISO 14001 and Eco-Management and Audit Scheme – EMAS), pollution from business operations, pollution arising from the use of the product, discussion of specific environmental laws and regulations affecting company operations and products, prevention or repair of damage to the environment resulting from the processing of natural resources; conservation of natural resources and recycling activities, sustainability environmental aesthetics, conservation of energy in the conduct of business operations; the energy efficiency of products; and other environmental matters.