“The role of accounting in sustainable development”

Inna Makarenko https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7326-5374

http://www.researcherid.com/rid/AAE-8453-2020
AUTHORS
Alex Plastun https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8208-7135
https://publons.com/researcher/1449372/alex-plastun/

Inna Makarenko and Alex Plastun (2017). The role of accounting in sustainable
ARTICLE INFO development. Accounting and Financial Control, 1(2), 4-12.
doi:10.21511/afc.01(2).2017.01

DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.21511/afc.01(2).2017.01

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ACCEPTED ON Tuesday, 06 June 2017

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businessperspectives.org
Accounting and Financial Control, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2017

Inna Makarenko (Ukraine), Alex Plastun (Ukraine)

The role
BUSINESS PERSPECTIVES
of accounting
in sustainable
development
LLC “СPС “Business Perspectives”
Hryhorii Skovoroda lane, 10, Sumy,
40022, Ukraine Abstract
www.businessperspectives.org Ideology of Sustainable Development and Sustainable Development Goals influence
the transformation of business processes in the companies. Professional accoun-
tants are important part of this transformation. In this paper the role of accounting
in Sustainable Development Goals achievement is discussed. Different approaches to
structuring the role of professional accountants in Sustainable Development are inves-
tigated. Among them are types of roles that perform accountants, their professional
functions, skills and competencies in the corporate environment. As the result a ho-
listic vision of the role of accounting in sustainable development in the new economic
conditions is provided.

Received on: 10th of May, 2017 Keywords accounting, accountancy profession, sustainability
Accepted on: 6th of June, 2017 reporting, sustainable development goals, corporate
sustainability, stakeholders
JEL Classification G02, G14, M41

© Inna Makarenko, Alex Plastun,

2017 INTRODUCTION
Inna Makarenko, Ph.D., Associate United Nation’s (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) nowa-
Professor, Accounting and Tax
Department, Sumy State University,
days are generally recognized guidelines of the Global Development
Ukraine. until 2030. They were adopted at the UN summit in New York in 2015.
Alex Plastun, Doctor of Economics, There are 17 goals which are specified in 169 varied indicators. SDGs
Associate Professor, International call governments, business and public from all the countries to inten-
Economics Department, Sumy State
University, Ukraine. sify efforts to resist climate changes, poverty, inequality, environmen-
tal pollution and other challenges of our time.

Unlike the Millennium Development Goals the SDGs are aimed for
more active involvement of the business community, its innovation
and investment potential to overcome these challenges by including
them into business priorities. In particular, achievement of the SDGs
requires the formation of a pool of resources, comparable with 1.5 –
4% of global GDP. It emphasizes the need to attract business to gov-
ernment initiatives on sustainable development.

Herewith, business leaders consider the SDGs as new opportunities

for the development of their activities: 89% of CEO noticed that com-
This is an Open Access article, mitments to sustainable development have a real impact on their in-
distributed under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution-Non- dustry (United Nations, 2016) and 71% of businesses already plan to
Commercial 4.0 International license,
which permits re-use, distribution,
take the SDGs into account in their activity (PwC, 2015).
and reproduction, provided the
materials aren’t used for commercial
purposes and the original work is 17 SDGs and 169 indicators form a continuous basis for companies to
properly cited. create, enhance, inform and report on their strategies, objectives and

4
 Accounting and Financial Control, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2017

activities. This will improve communication with key stakeholders, increase their loyalty and transpar-
ency of the business environment and quality management as a framework for corporate sustainability
in terms of growth of legal, reputational risk, volatility of financial markets and access to finance (UN
Resolution, 2015).

The importance of high-quality corporate reporting in ensuring financial stability and sustainable de-
velopment in general and in particular the achievement of the SDGs was officially recognized during
32-nd session of UNCTAD’s Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards
of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR).

Accountants are highly involved in this process. They measure, evaluate and disclosure the progress in
SDGs achieving by the company. Accountants act as guides and translators of the Triple Bottom Line
ideas using the language of corporate sustainability.

Bakker (2012) from the World Business Forum for Sustainable Development notes that “accountants are
going to save the world”. Accountants minimize information asymmetry and assess investment risks,
they create integrated reporting and integrated audit, provide and test standards of sustainability ac-
counting, reporting and auditing within the new business model. With specific professional skills and
involvement in governance, risk management, business analysis, decision support, due diligence, anti-
corruption activities and ensure corporate transparency, professional accountants today are reassessing
their roles because of the SDGs and corporate sustainability.

Importance of accounting activates in SDGs achievement is recognized by professional internation-

al organizations. Among them are International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the Association
of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on
International Standards of Accounting and Reporting Council (ISAR), Fauna & Flora International, the
World Business Forum on Sustainable Development, KPMG, PwC and others.

The aim of this paper is to define the role of accounting in SDGs achievement and to promote the general
idea of sustainable development. To do this authors integrate different approaches to structuring the
role of professional accountants in Sustainable Development. Among them are types of roles that per-
form accountants, their professional functions, skills and competencies in the corporate environment.
As the result a holistic vision of the role of accounting in sustainable development in the new economic
conditions is provided.

Another contribution of this paper is a panoramic vision of the accounting profession transformation
according to corporate sustainable development. Also further development of information and analyti-
cal support of sustainable development is required. To do this professional competence of accountants
will be discussed.

The remainder of the paper is organized as follows: section 2 briefly reviews the academic literature
about the role of accounting in the sustainable development. Section 3 contains analysis of existing ap-
proaches to differentiation of these roles. Section 3 presents concluding remarks.

1. LITERATURE REVIEW Gray (2010), Gray and Bebbington (2000)

points to the need for a critical approach to
The role of accountants in sustainable develop- understanding of the role of accounting and
ment and SDGs are actively discussed in academic business in the context of the sustainable
literature. development.

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Accounting and Financial Control, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2017

Lovell and MacKenzie (2011) analyze the role of pro- mostly discuses challenges and issues facing the ac-
fessional accountant organizations in management counting in the process of moving towards sustain-
of the new carbon economy and climate changes. able development. We believe these searches should
be supplemented with research materials prepared
Ngwakwe (2012) provides a critical review of sus- by professional accounting organizations and de-
tainable development initiatives in the accounting velopers of accounting and reporting standards, in-
profession and proves the need for more pragmat- cluding IFAC, ACCA etc. The study of these orga-
ic approach to achieve accounting impact on sus- nizations, as opposed to academic papers, creates a
tainable development. holistic vision of the role of the accounting profes-
sion in achieving SDGs in different sections.
Milne and Gray (2013) offer a paradoxical idea
that under isolation ‘triple bottom line’ concept
and business participation in sustainable develop- 2. APPROACHES
ment accounting initiatives could lead to greater
levels of un-sustainability.
TO DETERMINING
ACCOUNTANCY
Bebbington and Larrinaga (2014) outline the rea- CONTRIBUTION
sons for lack of progress in social and environ-
mental accounting while achieving sustainable TO SUSTAINABLE
development and prospects of accounting and sus- DEVELOPMENT
tainability science merger.

O’Dwyer and Unerman (2016) show that society can 2.1. Relevant SDG aspect &
get benefit from academic accounting researches. accountancy contribution
Schaltegger et al. (2017) analyze the role of innova- According to IFAC (2016) 8 from 17 SDGs and
tions in accounting during corporate sustainabil- their 17 targets have direct relation to the account-
ity promotion. ing. Accountants can influence their achievement
(see Table 1) and at the same time transforming
Lawrence, Botes, Collins and Roper (2013) and accounting according to the new challenges from
Khan and Gray (2016) provide an overview of the corporate sustainable development.
accounting, educational and business practices in
the context of sustainable development based on The most relevant goals for the accountants are the
the theory of autopoiesis as a metaphorical lens. following: 12.6, 8.3, 17.16 and 17.18. Goal 12 and
its target 12.6 act as a basis for the corporate sus-
Gray and Collison (2002) explore the role of ac- tainable development. They related to incorpora-
countants and their education in the UK in the tion of the sustainable development criterions into
sustainable development context. the mission, strategy, tactical decisions and oper-
ating policies of business. As the result demand
Ng, Leung and Lo (2016) prove the importance for more transparent and quality sustainability re-
of attraction of sustainability competence for the porting (SR) is growing.
new generations of accountants.
Goal 8.3 provides guidelines for the development of
According to ACCA research (poll of over 4,500 the accounting profession which consolidate efforts
ACCA students from 126 countries) 81% of respon- and harmonize approaches to standardization of SR.
dents see the direct link between business and the
depletion of natural resources (ACCA, 2014). Multi-stakeholder approach is formed within
Goal 17.16. According to this goal improved data
However, it should be mentioned that academic lit- collection, monitoring and accountability are key
erature about the role of accountants in achieving elements of the information and analytical sup-
sustainable development in general are critical and port of sustainable development.

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 Accounting and Financial Control, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2017

Тable 1. Mapping the SDG’s Goals interconnection in the light of accountancy contribution

Goal Targets Key accountants’ contribution

Identify innovative ways to Consider how to address

4: Quality 3, 6 Undertake initiatives to boost contribute to societal goals, inequality in the rates of men
Education the profession’s talent pool such as increasing financial, and women entering the
literacy profession

Create partnerships and support initiatives to increase the

5: Gender Champion diversity,
5 number of women in accountancy and finance, as well as in
Equality especially in gender broader finance and business leadership roles.

Enhance awareness among Continue the commitment Support the development and
8: Decent accountants of the SDGs and and effort to build the adoption of globally accepted
Work and the opportunities they create, standards for financial
1, 3 capacity of the profession
Economic and help foster the significant and of public accountant reporting for the public and
Growth contribution of the profession organization private sectors, auditing, and
to economic growth ethics

Facilitate the profession’s Identify and evaluate

contribution to integrated Accelerate efforts to influence
9: Industry, opportunities for investment
reporting to rebalance and drive sound public and
Innovation, 4, 5a in new technology and
economic and capital market private sector governance and
Infrastructure infrastructure to enhance the
decision making in favor of financial management sustainability of organizations
long-term value creation

Provide visible and Help companies, especially

practical leadership to help large and transnational
drive greater insights and Further develop support
companies, adopt sustainable
12: Responsible transparency that can lead services that help accountants
business practices through
Consumption 6 to a more enlightened and play a role in embedding
integrating sustainability
and Production inclusive capital markets sustainable development into
information into their
system through decisions strategy and operations
governance, management,
based on a longer-term and reporting
perspective

Support market-based policy Keep accountants informed

initiatives, such as carbon Encourage and support of how they can support their
13: Climate pricing, as a key policy lever consistency, accessibility, and
1-3 organizations’ efforts to lower
Action to encourage necessary usefulness of climate-related carbon emissions and adapt
efficiency gains and disclosure and reporting to climate change
investment in new technology

Advocate for good Promote the importance

16: Peace, Enhance the capacity of
governance focused on smart of external public sector
Justice accountants to monitor and
5, 6 regulation, rule of law, and auditing in monitoring and
Strong control fraud, corruption, and
well-functioning national reporting on national efforts
Institutions money laundering
institutions to implement the SDGs

Collectively consider where the profession can contribute, especially in terms of where its
17: Partnerships 9, 13, 14, perspective and influence would be valued, and which partnerships and collaborations would
for the Goals 16, 19 enhance its contributions

2.2. Business perspectives tegrated decision making process and integrated

gradations, accountants’ internal and external information. Materiality,
responsibilities and sustainable relevancy, accuracy, comparability and complete-
ness of this information should be confirmed by
decisions independent auditors.
IFAC (2011) Sustainability Framework 2.0 identi-
fies the importance of accounting contribution to Incorporation of sustainable development criteria
sustainable development by the following three at all levels of decision-making process (strate-
gradations (prospects) of corporate sustainability gic, tactical and operational) and business activi-
– strategic, operational and reporting (Table. 2). ties (management, current planning, budgeting
However, it should be noted that to create long- and evaluation), effective communication with
term value of the company it is necessary to in- stakeholders based on SR are crucial tasks for
tegrate all types of capital requires, as well as in- accountants.

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Accounting and Financial Control, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2017

Table 2. Role, responsibilities and decision direction on corporate sustainability perspective

Perspective Level Role Responsibilities Decision directions

Adopting a strategic approach, so that
Strategic decision Strategic analysis of
sustainability is integrated into vision and
about company business environment;
Business Senior leadership, strategic planning, objectives,
development and M&A activity strategy
strategy management goals, and targets, as well as incorporated
its accountant and target setting in
into governance, accountability
assurance accordance with ESG
arrangements, and risk management
Full spectrum of management and Internal and external
management accounting activities to separate and integrated
Planning, support higher quality information, reporting;
Performance budgeting, costing, implementing sustainability and
Operational management and performance environmental accounting can help to Raising finance through
measurement provide the environmental, social, and better risk practice on
financial information needed to support capital markets
decisions
Capital investment
Developing a reporting and disclosure decision concerning
strategy that will yield high quality reports projects with ESG
Preparing with complete picture of an organization’s impacts;
business, financial, performance, clued reconciling
sustainability, or approaches to applying materiality to Procurement with taking
Reporting Reporting l integrated reports, multi-stakeholder SR; and establishing in to account of supply
providing audit an approach to external assurance value chain;
and assurance and review that adds credibility to an
organization’s disclosure and can also Pricing in context of
help to improve it nature and social capital
costs

2.3. Types of accountant roles, job countants as professionalism and ethical behavior
functions, competencies and according to the Code of Ethics for Professional
Accountants, free and objective application of pro-
corporate sustainability fessional judgment, extensive knowledge of business
Sustainable development transforms the role of pro- technology, human resources, management and
fessional accountants during the entire accounting evaluation of non-financial activities, including en-
cycle. The cycle is finished with the SR. SR requires vironmental and social, focusing on stakeholders re-
identification of key stakeholder groups and their in- quests for information, the ability to work in condi-
formation needs; thorough knowledge and use of re- tions of changeable, uncertain and complex business
porting standards; planning, execution and control environment (IFAC (2011).
of reporting process; management, monitoring, im-
provement of financial and non-financial reporting In this case the roles of Professional Accountants in
information systems; expansion of reporting indica- SR are as follows:
tors among environmental, social and managerial;
use of new technologies, such as eXtensible Business • creators of value – professional accountants play
Reporting Language, real-time reporting, integrated the leading role in the development and imple-
reporting (IFAC (2012). mentation of strategies, policies, plans, struc-
ture and activities of the management and set a
To achieve their tasks professional accountants have course to create sustainable development values;
to improve their knowledge, skills and competencies.
• providers of value– professional accountants
International Education Standards for Professional use information and provide management with
Accountants 3 “Professional skills and general edu- high-quality reporting horizons which is the
cation” defines a list of skills and competencies that basis of the sustainable development strategy;
should possess professional accountants. It includes
intellectual abilities, technical and functional skills, • keepers of the value –professional accountants
personal qualities, communication skills, organiza- protect natural, social, industrial and financial
tional and managerial competence. capital of the company;

Implementation of SR and effective reporting in- • reporters of values – professional accountants

crease the value of such skills of professional ac- ensure high-quality reporting for stakeholders.

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 Accounting and Financial Control, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2017

Table 3. Key roles of professional accountants in sustainable business (IFAC (2011), IFAC (2015)

Role Description Job functions

Taking leadership roles in the design and Leadership/management: chief executive officer
Creators of implementation of strategies, policies, plans, (CEO); chief financial officer(CFO)/financial director
value structures, and governance measures that set the (FD); chief operating officer; director of governance or
course for delivering sustainable value creation operations; treasurer
Informing and guiding managerial and operational Operational: business unit controller; financial, or
Providers of decision making and implementation of strategy for performance analyst; cost accountant; resources
value achieving sustainable value creation, and the planning, manager; business support manager; systems analyst
monitoring, and improvement of supporting processes
Ensuring the protection of a sustainable value creation Management control: business assurance manager;
Keepers of strategy against strategic, operational, and financial risk manager; compliance
value risks, and ensuring compliance with regulations, manager; internal auditor
standards, and good practices
Accounting and stakeholder communications: group
Reporters Enabling the transparent communication of the controller; head of reporting; investor relations
of value delivery of sustainable value to stakeholders manager; financial or management accountant

This vision of professional accountant’s func- Detailed analysis of the roles of these groups al-
tional roles and their positions clearly correlates
lowed outlining challenges for them while achiev-
with gradations of corporate sustainable devel- ing sustainable development goals. Despite
opment. At the strategic level accountants exer- the existence of 41 IAS and 16 International
cise their authority as creators of values, at theFinancial Reporting Standards (The International
operating level they act providers of sustainable Accounting Standards Board (IASB)), as well as
development values and at the reporting level 80 specific industry voluntary standards (The
they act as keepers and reporters. Sustainability Accounting Standards Board
(SASB), there is a gap between the traditional ac-
SR is the point of contact between SDGs and counting and reporting and sustainable develop-
corporate sustainability. IFAC (2013) defined ment and SR. The key task for accounting stan-
principles of reporting process. Among them dards developers in terms of sustainable develop-
are: obligations to prepare high-quality report- ment is harmonization of information disclosure
ing, delineation of roles and responsibilities, for all types of capital used by the companies.
planning and controlling the reporting process,
involving stakeholders, determining the con- For 175 existing professional bodies represent-
tent of reporting standards for the preparation ing accountants worldwide, the most urgent
of financial and non-financial information, for- tasks in the light of sustainable development
malization of reporting process, analysis, inter- initiatives are development of such approaches
pretation, verification (audit) reporting indica- to education, training, certification and im-
tors, evaluation and improvement of the report- provement of professional competence of ac-
ing process. countants that meet the interdisciplinary nature
of sustainable development as a concept.

566,797 employees of global professional com-

2.4. Types of accountants
panies (B4) and companies of the lower levels
profession groups& sustainable all over the world, have sufficient resources, vi-
development sion and opportunities to enhance their efforts
in achieving SDGs, and can use appropriate ac-
Accounting community can be divided into 5 counting methodologies to implement sustain-
groups: developers of standards, professional bod- able development in the corporate environment
ies, professional firms, qualified accountants and of their customers.
members of the academic community. ACCA, FFI
and KPMG (2015) focus on changes in the tradi- For 2.5 million professional accountants whose
tional roles of these groups in the context of sus- interests are united by IFAC, the key challenge
tainable development (Table. 4). is to introduce the practice of evaluation, mea-

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Accounting and Financial Control, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2017

Table 4. Accountancy profession group role in traditional and sustainable business

Accounting profession Traditional role Role in sustainability

Creating a framework for reporting

sector-specific information;
Setting the rules and guidance that Filling information gaps;
Standard setter IASB, SASB professional accountants follow when Borrowing from financial accounting
preparing financial statements practice and expertise;
Providing relevant, integrated data

Promoting the role of professional

accountants in modern economies,
providing a route for trainees to gain Supporting a number of the current
professional accountancy qualifications; global initiatives, providing facilities and
Representing the interests of qualified expertise as appropriate;
Professional body IFAC, ACCA, Institute accountant members; Support for the development of thinking
of Chartered Accountants in England & Performing some regulatory and about sustainability issues;
Wales (ICAEW); disciplinary activities; Trying to raise awareness of
Chartered Institute of Management Supporting standard-setting activities, eg sustainability issues among members,
Accountants (CIMA) along with other through commenting on proposal; and business leaders more widely,
national representatives) Sponsoring and originating research into through the publication of articles in
business and accounting issues; member magazines and journals;
Generally acting in the public interest Educational role
(eg commenting on proposed legislation
and tax rules).

Providing regulated services such as the

audit of financial statements; Providing
tax advice and compliance services to
clients; Offering additional advisory Developing their own methodologies
and assurance services in relation to and tools to help businesses
mergers and acquisitions, fund raising, understand their sustainability risks and
Professional firm (Big Four firms Other risk management, finance operations, opportunities;
accountancy firm networks) business processes, etc; Providing support to major initiatives
Participating in research and thought focusing on developing thinking and
leadership on emerging accounting and practice on SD
business issues;
Supporting professional bodies and
standard setters;
Training professional accountants

Working in professional firms to provide

audit and advisory services to clients; Helping to develop thinking about
Working in business, preparing sustainability and to raise awareness of
management accounts for internal its importance for business success;
control and decision making or Creating an agreed framework for
preparing financial statements for companies to report on sustainability;
external reporting, e.g. to investors Prioritizing business needs changing
Working in the finance teams of public business processes so that sustainability
Qualified accountant sector or non-profit organizations risks and opportunities are addressed as
performing many other roles (e.g. as part of routine management operations;
independent consultants, academics, Reviewing environmental or
writers); sustainability disclosures to see if they
Participating in the development of are fair, balanced and understandable;
accounting and tax rules, etc. through Identify risks and opportunities
membership of committees or by associated with natural capital
responding to consultations

Conducting research into current Develop relationships with all parties

issues in accountancy, providing involved in the SD – international
degree courses for university students, initiatives, accountancy bodies,
participating in standard setting, sharing accountancy firms working in the area
Academic insights with professional accountancy and businesses and financial institutions,
bodies and other associations through to help them understand sustainability
membership of working groups, expert risks; exploring differing approaches to
groups and forums value

surement and disclosure of sustainable develop- must act as unifying link between these groups,
ment indicators into their daily practice, thus creating a scientific product which will act as a
incorporating SDGs in the corporate environ- basis for the development of applied accounting
ment. Academicians in the field of accounting methods and SR.

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 Accounting and Financial Control, Volume 1, Issue 2, 2017

CONCLUSIONS
Nowadays there are 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) and 169 indicators that act as global guide-
lines for sustainable development. They help corporate sector in restructuring their business processes
according to the challenges of our time. Integration of SDGs and corporate sustainable development
strategies needs reformatting of existing information and analytical provision of decision making pro-
cess on the basis of social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development.

In this context, professional accountants are directly related to the promotion of sustainable develop-
ment initiatives at the corporate level.

Using materials of professional organizations authors synthesize different approaches to structuring

the role of professional accountants, providing a holistic vision of the accounting profession in the new
economy

Authors investigate the contribution of professional accountants in achieving SDGs, the most relevant
among them are goals 12.6, 08.03, 17.16 and 17.18.

Using the following corporate sustainable development gradation: strategic, operational and reporting,
we determine typical roles and areas of professional accountant’s responsibility in decision-making
support.

Functional roles of professional accountants and their positions clearly correlate with gradations of cor-
porate sustainable development. At the strategic level accountants exercise their authority as creators of
values, at the operating level they act as providers of sustainable development values and at the reporting
level they act as keepers and reporters. Thus the role of professional accountants in sustainable develop-
ment needs to be revised according to new economic conditions.

At the same time, mechanisms of professional competence for accountants require further investigation,
because different groups of accountants are responsible for the high-quality and reliable sustainable re-
porting which is the basis of information and analytical support of sustainable development.

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