Introduction
During the past 20 years there has been a major shift in the perception of the environmental impact made by all companies from the view of the public and the Government. Now more regulatory bodies are demanding some accountability of the way in which companies affect the environment in their day to day running of their business. With the Introduction of The Global Reporting initiative and the Kyoto Protocol (among many other regulatory bodies and legislation), companies face increasing pressure to produce reports depicting their corporate social responsibilities to their shareholders and more importantly stakeholders. However who will produce these reports which clearly define the environmental impact made by companies? Accountants? Scientists? The Government? My report will focus on whether or not accountants are the right people in providing environmental reports.
The Accountant and legislation
In the book financial and management accounting: an introduction (4th edition) by Pauline Weetman it is stated that accounting is:
“The process of identifying, measuring and communicating financial information about an entity to permit informed judgements and decisions by users of the information.”
Thus the quote makes it appear that accountants are in the perfect position to take up the role as the key figures in drafting the environmental report of companies as they’re daily job is to identify the assets and liabilities of companies and provide clear and accurate reports of their findings for any stakeholder.
Accountants have a Conceptual Framework which guide them in order to report their financial findings – this is a key factor which is missing wi ...