Bibliometric Mapping of the Relationships Between Accounting, Professional Accountants, and Sustainability Issues

Abstract

The accounting profession plays a crucial role in serving public interest by establishing the foundation for sustainable development and taking on social responsibility. The growing focus on sustainability practices of companies and stakeholders has also had a significant impact on the role of accounting and professional accountants. This has led to increased expectations for greater involvement in integrating sustainability into corporate decision making at every level. We used a bibliometric analysis of academic literature as a research method to identify the relationships between accounting, professional accountants, and sustainability issues (APASI). Bibliometrix R-package and VOSviewer were used to achieve the proposed objectives. This study analyzes the performance of the scientific literature, establishes the conceptual, intellectual, and social structure of research, and identifies new research directions. A period of 37 years (1987–2024) is taken into consideration, with 2556 documents and 859 sources extracted from the Web of Science database analyzed. We offer, in an original manner, descriptive statistics and relevant landmarks of the sources, authors, publications, organizations, and countries that have contributed significantly to the development of research in this field. Interested researchers have the opportunity to identify scholars for potential collaborations and valuable study resources.