Selected papers~ SPECIAL EDITION - Index of

Research is useful to assess any relation of
negative or lack of reported sustainability
information on low returns or failure.
4.5.1. Research Methods
This line of research could follow an
approach by Baboukardos (2011, 2010). The
research would involve content analysis of
publicly listed European companies to
identify lack of compliance. Examination of
stock market reaction to the lack of
compliance and other faulty financial
information could then use the well-known
value relevance model and other well known
models that assess market reactions to
accounting information. Among others
outputs, the well known measurement of
Tobin’s Q gives an indicator of risk. Similar
research methods can be used to assess the
value relevance of negative sustainability
information. In addition, the well known
bankruptcy prediction models can be used to
assess the ability of negative sustainability
information to signal financial failure. The
existence of the Asset 4 data base now
facilitates research methods using large
samples and more sophisticated quantitative
methods.
5.0. Concluding discussion
This purpose of this paper has been to give
structure to the diverse, disjointed area of
research into accounting for sustainability,
providing background, including identifying
research issues, and possible research
methods. In introduction and background
discussions, it was apparent that the focus to
date on reporting environmental, i.e.
ecological, and sometimes social and
governance information is narrow and
inadequate. Instead, new additional research
areas are emerging and some traditional
research areas are taking on new perspectives.
These include:
- A call for integrated reporting that
integrates environmental (ecological),
social, and governance information along
with financial reports. Differing notions of
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what represents integration exist,
however.
- Interests of users of sustainability
information, including integrated reports,
must be considered.
- Calls for expanded roles of auditors and
other assurers.
- Expanding research issues of financial
failures, accounting and auditing failures,
and lack of enforcement to recognize an
essential sustainability component.
After presenting background, the paper
analyzes the emerging issues against
traditional accounting concepts, notably the
postulates of going concern, entity, monetary
unit and time period, the paper identified
many research issues that need to be resolved.
These were presented in five sets of research
issues for accounting for sustainability
In the process, the paper presented
background material and then identified five
sets of research issues in accounting for
sustainability along with methods and data
sources for each:
- An accounting research framework for
sustainability to be based on similar
frameworks for other emerging
accounting research issues using general
systems theory approaches. This
framework identifies systems of interest
and the environment and necessarily
challenges the traditional notions of
reporting entity and time period, among
others.
- Reporting of sustainability information
which has been the focus of most research
to date, and the emerging important topic
of integrated reporting. The analysis
challenges entity, monetary unit, and time
period concepts as well as addresses
which standards are to be used and how to
incorporate environmental and social
issues into accounting measurements.
- Users of sustainable information, their
uses and perceived needs. This is an area
that has been largely neglected in research
to date. Research using field studies and