Environmental Accounting

1
Environmental Accounting

• Prof. Jan Bebbington
• j.bebbington_at_abdn.ac.uk

2
When we will work together

• Lecture 17th, 18th 20th of November (slides on
  web)
• Workshop in week commencing 24th November
  reporting back on doing an environmental audit
  (handout given on web)
• JB at panel discussion December 16th (?? I
  think!!)

3
Lecture outline

• 17th November
• What is accounting?
• Why is accounting important?
• What does environmental accounting seek to do?
• What activities take place within environmental
  accounting?

• 18th November
• Environmental auditing (link to workshop)
• Environmental SD reporting what is credible
  reporting?

4
Lectures cont

• November 20th
• Accounting for SD in the oil and gas industry
• Other applications of full cost accounting

5
Accounting is

• Working out the costs of things, budgeting
  planning, controlling costs
• Keeping financial records, preparing accounts,
  helping run a business
• Insolvency, auditing, tax planning, consultancy
• A powerful technology which defines what is
  possible defines success/failure

6
Accounting is also

• Production of medical breakthroughs, amount of
  oil gas exploration
• Democracy, accountability, transparency
  enhancing social welfare
• Language, witchcraft
• Environmental crisis, poverty, inequality, social
  conflict, exploitation of labour

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Accountings take on the world is that

• Accounting entities narrow boundaries
• Economic events not considering social and
  environmental events
• Financial description or doesnt exist
• For a set of users (usually owners finance
  providers) but not other people affected by the
  entity/stakeholders

8
Role of accountants in organisations

• Describe what has gone on record keeping
• Provide information/systems to enable control to
  be exercised
• Provide information about the functioning of
  organisations to people outside of the
  organisation
• Create stories about the reality of
  organisations

9
Environmental accounting by accounting subject
area

• Within conventional financial statements (
  audited)
• Within environmental management and management
  accounting
• Within new forms of reporting and disclosure
  (environmental reporting)
• Within the context of sustainable development

10
Environmental accounting by functional aim

• Identify reduce negative environmental impact
  of conventional accounting
• Separately identify environmentally related costs
  revenues within conventional accounting
• Try to reconcile the conflict between
  conventional environmental criteria

• Devise new forms of financial non-financial
  accounting systems, information control systems
  to support more environmentally benign management
  decisions
• Develop new forms of performance appraisal for
  internal external purposes
• Operationalise sustainability