Sustainability is most commonly defined as meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs. It is characterized by three overarching concerns: maintaining ecological and environmental health; creating economic welfare; and ensuring social justice. This module (Sustainability Accounting) introduces students to the theory, principles, practices and accounting/control techniques for sustainability. Long-term, effective management and control requires an understanding of human-nature relationships, and social relationships and institutions. The role of accounting and control mechanisms and techniques will be also studied and investigated with regard to the embedding of sustainability-related issues in several social domains. In particular, the module discusses and focuses on the concepts of accounting and accountability for sustainability, its processes, techniques and factors. In particular, the focus is on examining the conceptual boundaries of sustainability accounting, its related-links with the notion of corporate social accountability and how this can be discharged by organizations. Sustainability Accounting, which is conceptualized as the “universe of all possible accounting”, is envisaged as the processes of discharging information, through several accounting media, about the “social and environmental” impacts of the economic activities of the organizations.
It is recommended to successfully pass the exam of Business Ethics - if possible - before attending this course.
The module draws upon engaging and interactive lectures with a reaserch-informed approach and employability-oriented tractions. In class assignments and practical case-studies along with in class reading time and critical discussions will enrich the students' learning experience. The directed study component is designed to enhance the taught and post taught input.
The course is assessed by means of a written exam, which will focus on the theoretical and practical aspects. In particular, the exam consists of open ended questions. Further details of the assessment will follow in due course. Clearness, synthesis, consistency and critical judgment will be given particular merit. During the lectures, group project presentations and/or specific assignments could be given to students. Students can choose to be evaluated on these assignments as a part of the final grade. In this case, they will be asked to answer only part of the exam. More information will be provided during the course.
The module covers the following topics and concepts: - Introduction to Sustainability Accounting; - Sustainability and Sustainable Development Goals; - Responsibility and Accountability; - The role of accounting in transitioning towards sustainability; - Sustainability Accounting Theories; - Sustainability Accounting Practice; - Materiality and Double Materiality; - Sustainability management accounting and control tools; - The Sustainability Balanced Scorecard; - Sustainability Reporting Process; - Main sustainability accounting principles and reporting standards; - The Global Reporting Initiative; - European Regulation about Sustainability Disclosure (CSRD) - 2022/2464/EU; - European Sustainability Reporting Standards; - IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards; The recent Omnibus package -How to read and assess a sustainability report; - Environmental Accounting, Sustainability Risk and ESG; - Climate, Water and Biodiversity accounting and accountability; - Interdisciplinary tractions in Sustainability Accounting.
This module will be delivered in the second semester. Students with the exam of 12 CFU need to achieve a mark of 18/30 or above in every module to obtain a ‘pass’ grade in the assessment.
