The accounting profession, corporate social responsibility, and ethics

Jacob B. Lennard and Robin W. Roberts

Chapter 3 in Research Handbook on Accounting and Ethics, 2023, pp 35-49 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: The purpose of this chapter is to provide readers with an understanding of the relationships between the accounting profession, corporate social responsibilities and its reporting, and ethics. To accomplish this, we explore the historical roots of corporate social responsibility performance (CSRP) reporting, its foundations in philosophical debates over corporate social responsibilities (CSR), and its more recent re-invention as corporate environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting. We conclude that the most recent debates over corporate ESG performance and accounting’s role in ESG accountability dismiss many normative ethical notions of accountability and traditional ideas of CSR, instead privileging mainstream evaluations of corporate financial risk. Influential members within the accounting profession bear some responsibility for this shift by promoting these fundamental changes in the development of ESG reporting standards. We conclude that a mainstream risk focus on corporate ESG performance affects accounting researchers’ ability to study CSRP from an ethical perspective.

Keywords: Business and Management; Economics and Finance (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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