Special Issue of Accounting Forum: Social and environmental accounting and reporting in emerging and less developed countries

Abstract

Listen

Translate article

Submission Deadline: February 1, 2011 Research on social and environmental accounting in emerging and less developed countries is scarce as most of the literature in that area has concentrated on Western developed countries. The socio-economic realities of emerging and less developed countries are different as are corporate motivations for undertaking social and environmental accounting. Some of the emerging countries, more commonly known as BRICs (Brazil, Russia, India and China), have seen significant economic growth in recent times. Such growth will inevitably have social and environmental effects. Advocates of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and its reporting argue that business organisations as ‘engines of economic growth’ should be held responsible and accountable for the related social and environmental consequences which could be significant in these countries. Research on social and environmental accounting is also scarce in some of the former eastern European countries which went through significant political changes and introduced strong economic reforms. The BRICs, eastern European and other less developed smaller ex colonial countries are confrontedwith massive problems that include those related to the effects of climate change, poverty, human rights violations, child labour, corruption and social exploitations. Some of these issues are more contentious in this context. It can be argued that some of these tensions can be illuminated via complete and transparent social and environmental disclosures which then can be used to hold organisations to account. The purpose of this special issue is to provide a forum to explore social and environmental accounting and reporting from the under researched context of emerging and less developed countries. Appropriate topics include: