Abstract
PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to show the impact that non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have on the evolution of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). GRI is a sustainability report disclosed by business organizations to meet the demands and interests of various stakeholders. These stakeholders’ needs have influenced GRI and its guidelines.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology for this paper is library-based archival research. It is qualitatively and analytically descriptive of prior academic research and published literature on the subject.FindingsSustainability accounting rulemaking has evolved overtime resulting in proliferation of reporting rules. These rules have improved the extent and scope of environmental and economic performances that businesses disclose in GRI.Originality/valueGRI has provided the foundation for integrated reporting (IR). Both GRI and IR have ecological and functional dimensions. Sustainability is functionally inherent in the accounting principle of materiality, when disclosed in external reporting. The ongoing concern of business assumes an organization is systemic and operates as a living entity only when it can provide sustainable performance that benefits stakeholders and society.
Highlights
In business, sustainability encompasses all business enterprise systems, including the organization’s strategic, legal, personnel and functional management areas
The sustainability accounting rulemaking process is an evolution shaped by corporate governance and external environmental factors including stakeholders
This paper is original in that it is the first study to apply the ecology framework to describe the process of accounting rulemaking. It integrates the ecological, social and corporate governance frameworks to study the role of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the development of voluntary sustainability accounting rulemaking
Summary
Sustainability encompasses all business enterprise systems, including the organization’s strategic, legal, personnel and functional management areas. The sustainability accounting rulemaking process is an evolution shaped by corporate governance and external environmental factors including stakeholders It is an ecological change brought from organizational and societal development. This paper fills the research gap in the accounting literature by incorporating the ecological framework from anthropology to study the history and development of the voluntary sustainability accounting rulemaking processes. This paper is original in that it is the first study to apply the ecology framework to describe the process of accounting rulemaking In doing so, it integrates the ecological, social and corporate governance frameworks to study the role of NGOs in the development of voluntary sustainability accounting rulemaking. This study is unique in that it applies the stakeholder theory to integrate the ecological framework with the social and governance structures of business organizations. It highlights the prospects for the bureaucratization of sustainability accounting rulemaking
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