Inspiration & Resources
These are some of the articles, papers and books that have given me my light bulb moments, highlight examples of the link between accounting and its effect on sustainability or provide technical resources on sustainability accounting.
Other writing and research
Silvia Federici - 2004
Improving nature's visibility in financial accounting
Capitals Coalition – April 2020.
Improving nature's visibility in financial accounting
Capitals Coalition – April 2020.
Financial accounting; in communicating reality, we construct reality
Ruth D. Hines – 1998.
Accounting, Organizations and Society
Volume 13, Issue 3, 1988, Pages 251-261
Double Entry: How the Merchants of Venice Created Modern Finance
Our time is now. Sex. Race, Class and Caring for People and Planet
Selma James, 2021, PM Press
Caitlin Rosenthal, 2018, Harvard University Press
Management accounting developed at a pace in the management of slave plantations
Uncommon wealth. Britain and the Aftermath of Empire
Kojo Koram, 2022, John Murray Press
Highlighting the relationship between colonialism, power and wealth
Accounting as social and institutional practice
ed Anthony Hopwood and Peter Miller, 1994, Cambridge University Press
Recognising that accounting is not just a technique but has emerged from social and institutional practises with a focus on the 20th century
Caroline Criado Perez, 2020, Vintage
Not about accounting, but accounting is another standard developed by men where women are also invisible
SVI principles and standards
Impact/sustainability accounting
Social & Human Capital Protocol
Social & Human Capital Coalition – February 2019.
Topical links on accounting
Investors tell Big-4 auditors they risk AGM rebellion over climate accounting
By Simon Jessop and Carolyn Cohn – November 2, 2021
Audit watchdog to overhaul UK corporate governance code
The Financial Reporting Council has set out proposed changes to the Corporate Governance Code in a move designed to strengthen auditing and accounting standards. The revised Code will also set out expectations to drive behavioural change ahead of statutory powers promised under forthcoming legislation. The FRC will also write guidance for directors on reporting fraud, distributable profits, and resilience and change the Code to reflect a board's wider responsibilities for ESG as new disclosure requirements are rolled out. The regulator also said there will be a requirement for companies to take into account the need for diversity when tendering for a new auditor in order to dilute the dominance of EY, KPMG, PwC and Deloitte. Some changes will require primary legislation while others will be addressed through secondary legislation and changes to existing regulatory measures by the FRC. FRC chief executive Sir Jon Thompson said: “These long-awaited reforms are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to ensure corporate Britain upholds the highest standards of governance and protects those stakeholders who rely on high-quality reporting.”
Key references
European Commission – February 2022
International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board – April 2021
Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting
IFRS® Conceptual Framework Feedback StatementMarch 2018