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Faculty
Cristiana Parisi, University of Siena

Course Coordinator
ISUP Secretariat

Prerequisite/progression of the course

Basic knowledge of managerial and financial accounting are advantageous. There are no overlaps with any programmes/concentrations.

Course content, structure and teaching

The focus of this elective is on the role of entities (governments, non government organizations, firms and individuals) and their accountability, accounting and reporting issues in the context of sustainable development. Corporate social and environmental accountability, accounting and reporting is concerned with communicating the social and environmental effects of a corporation's economic actions to particular stakeholders and to society at large. This extends the corporation's accountability beyond the traditional financial disclosures to shareholders and is predicated on the assumption that corporations have, as a consequence of implied social contracting or ethical dimensions, social responsibilities that are much broader than generating shareholder wealth.

Main Themes:

• Sustainable Management Accounting
• Capital Budgeting Analysis to Comply with Environmental Regulation and Emissions Permit
• Trading
• Sustainable Balanced Scorecard
• Eco-efficiency
• Life cycle assessment (LCA)
• Sustainability Reporting guidelines and Assurance Services
• External Financial Reporting of Environmental Liabilities
• External Corporate Financial Reporting of Sustainable Business Practices
• Green House Gas Accounting and Reporting Standard and Guidance
• Climate Exchanges-Carbon Dioxide Permit Trading
• Sustainable finance
• Socially responsible Investing (SRI)
• Social Return on Investment (SROI)
• Environmental Sustainability Indexes

The course's development of personal competences

This course provides students with an appreciation of the broader context of corporate performance and disclosure in the context of sustainability and social justice, and with a solid understanding of:

• Developments and practices in corporate social responsibility accountability, accounting and reporting;
• the role and relevance of stakeholders in corporations and concepts of accountability;
• and regulatory and voluntary action in CSR accountability and reporting.

Learning Objectives

This elective aims to provide students with the skills and knowledge to perform high quality CSR management and measurement engagements. It, therefore, has the following deliverables:

• Proving insight into the current theoretical and practical CSR developments, especially in relation to policy, management, accountability and reporting;
• Increasing knowledge of international aspects of CSR;
• Transferring know-how and skills for strategic CSR policy making in order to be able to access information on it and the way it is embedded in the organisation;
• Providing knowledge on international legislation and regulation on CSR management and reporting and CSR auditing;
• Transferring practical CSR management and reporting skills;
• Providing and insight into the various aspects of assurance engagements on CSR reporting and the wider context of non-financial information, including auditing methods and techniques.

Teaching methods

The teaching of this elective will be based on a variety of methods. There will be formal lectures, group discussions, case studies and debates. Moreover experts will be invited to contribute with their personal experience on the field .

Examination

Final exam: Project/home assignment (written individually), 10 A4 pages

Re-take exam: Project/home assignment (written individually), 10 A4 pages

Recommended literature

• Adams, C.A. and McNicholas, P. (2007), "Making a difference Sustainability reporting, accountability and organisational change", Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Vol. 20, No. 3, pp. 382-402.
• Anthony, R.N. and Govindarajan, V. (1998), Management Control Systems, New York, Irwin McGraw-Hili, pp. 459-475.
• Dey, C. (2007), "Developing silent and shadow accounting" in Unerman, J. , Babbington, J. And O'Dwyer, B., Sustainability Accounting and Accountability, New York, Routledge, pp. 307-326.
• Figge, F. et. al. (2002) "The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard. Linking sustainability management to business strategy" Business Strategy and the Environment, Vol. 11, No.5, pp.269-284.
• Hart, S. L. and Milstein, M. B. (2003), "Creating Sustainable Value," Academy of Management Executive, Vol. 17, NO. 2, pp. 56-67.
• Kaplan R.S. and Norton D.P. (2004), Strategy Maps, Boston, Harvard Business School Press, pp. 163-195.
• Lingane, A. and Olsen, S. (2004), "Guidelines for Social Return on Investment", California management review, Vol. 46, N. 3, pp. 135-66.
• McKeiver, C. and Gadenne, D. (2005), "Environmental Management Systems in Small and Medium Businesses", International Small Business Journal, Vol. 23, No. 5, pp. 513-537.
• O'Dweyer, B. and Owen, D.L. (2005), "Assurance statement practice in environmental, social and sustainability reporting: A critical evaluation" British Accounting Review, Vol. 37, No. 2, pp. 205-29.
• Pinkese, J. and Kolk, A. (2007), "Multinational corporations and Emissions Trading: Strategic Responses to New Institutional Constraints", European Management Journal, Vol. 25, No.6, pp. 441-452.

Cases

• Dharba K. (2005), The threat of global warming: a business opportunity, ICFAI Centre for Management Research ICMR, pp.1-12.
• Ewart T. (2005), Mearl oil Company: Environmental Impact Targets(A-C), Richard Ivey School of Business, pp. 1-30.
• Indu P. and Gupta, V. (2008), Tesco’s Steering Wheel. A tool for strategic value creation and business transformation, ICFAI Centre for Management Research ICMR, pp. 1-21.
• Leonard, H.B., Epstein, M. and Wing, L. (2005), Playgrounds and Performance: Results management at KaBOOM! (A-C), Harvard Business School Cases pp. 1-23.
• Moss Kanter, R. and Reisende Pinho, R. (2007), Banco Real, Banking on Sustainability, Harvard Business School cases, pp. 1-24.
• Rajiv, F. (2007), BP Putting profits before safety?, ICFAI Centre for Management Research ICMR, pp.1-19.
• Regani, S. (2007), ‘Ecomangination’ at work. GE’s sustainability initiative, ICFAI Centre for Management Research ICMR, pp. 1-18.
• Reinhard F. (2001), Sustainable development and socially responsible investing: ABB in 2000, Harvard Business School cases, pp. 1-37.
• Saigeetha C. (2008), Corporate Responsibility: Are the Corporate alone responsible?, ICFAI Centre for Management Research ICMR, pp. 1-16.
• Sridevi, C. (2003), Balanced Scorecard: A performance Support System, ICFAI Centre for Management Research ICMR, pp. 1-3.
• (pages: 394. Papers from A and B Journals & Cases)

Suggested readings

• Federation des Experts Comptables Europeens (FEE): 2006, Key Issues in Sustainability Assurance. An Overview.
• Global Reporting Initiative (GRI): 2006, Sustainability Reporting Guidelines. Version 3.0.
• Institut der Wirtschaftsprufer in Deutschland (IDW): 2005, Germany Generally Accepted Assurance Principles for Audit or Review of Sustainability Reports (ED As).
• Institute of Social and Ethical Accountability (ISEA): 1999, 'AA 1000 Framework', Institute of Social and Ethical Engagement, UK.
• Institute of SOCial and Ethical Accountability (ISEA): 2003, 'AA 1000 Assurance Standard', London.
• International Auditing and Assurance Standard Board (IAASB): 2004, 'International Standard on Assurance Engagement 3000. Assurance Engagement Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Information', International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board, New York, NY.
• International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (lAASB): 2006, Assurance Aspects of G3 - The Global Reporting Initiative's 2006 Draft Sustainability Reporting Guidelines.
• International Federation of Accountants (IFAC): 2002, 'The Determination and Communication of Levels of Assurance Other than High', New York.
• Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut van Registeraccountants (NIVRA): 2005, The Netherlands: Practitioners Working with Subject Matter Experts from other Disciplines on Non-Financial
• Assurance Engagements (ED 3010) and Assurance Engagements Relating to Sustainability Reports (ED 3410).
• KPMG-Amsterdam Graduate Business School: 2005, KPMG International Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting (University of Amsterdam Publisher).
• Standards Australia, Standard AS/NZS 5911 (lnt): 2005, General Guidelines on the Verification, Validation and Assurance of Environmental and Sustainability Reports.

Last updated by ISUP Secretariat 29/01/2010