Content, progress and pedagogy of the module

The module provides students with the fundamentals of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and social and environmental accounting (SEAR). There is a growing understanding that the deepening climate challenges in our society and economy should be translated into effective environmental practices in business organizations and the public sector. The module introduces a variety of accounting technologies for social and environmental matters, covering the theories and methods of management and financial accounting. The aim is to provide the students with an overview of the current theoretical and practical developments in the sustainability field, especially in relation to policy, performance management, and accountability, as well as specific accounting techniques for sustainability management. The students are provided with an understanding of accounting techniques for managing and reporting greenhouse gas emissions, controlling for environmental costs and revenues, and accounting for social value and impact, along with various carbon accounting methods, life-cycle costing and material flow techniques. The module introduces specific environmental accounting techniques as well as broader management control frameworks with environmental management systems (EMS) and performance measurement, such as triple bottom line (TBL), sustainability balanced scorecard (SBSC), and accounting for social value.

The module takes a broad approach providing an overview of the opportunities as well as limitations when managing an organization’s social and environmental performance from the perspectives of management accounting and financial accounting, covering sustainability accounting in the private as well as the public sector. Different approaches to developing management control systems that incorporate sustainable development, environmental impact, and climate change, are introduced with a critical assessment of these methods in bringing society and businesses forward. The discussions of the topics cover various techniques and roles of accounting and control, providing students with valuable theoretical knowledge as well as practical insights from case studies on the issues of organisational sustainability, and social and environmental performance. The theories and concepts introduced in the module cover traditional environmental accounting and sustainability control approaches from internal and external perspectives as well as contemporary frameworks of carbon management, biodiversity accounting, and climate risks that are increasingly relevant for professions in the fields of management accounting, financial accounting, and auditing

Learning objectives

Knowledge

The objective is that the student after the module possesses the necessary knowledge on:

• The theories, fundamental principles and regulations for sustainability, and social and environmental accounting
• The approaches, regulations, and specific methods of environmental accounting in a modern business environment

The frameworks of management control and social and environmental performance measurement

Skills

The objective is that the student after the module possesses the necessary skills in:

• Applying theoretical concepts and suitable regulatory frameworks for environmental accounting and sustainability reporting
• Selecting and applying social and environmental accounting methods for complex scenarios in sustainable development and social value creation
• Selecting suitable environmental control and performance measurement approaches for different sustainable development strategies

Competences

The objective is that the student after the module possesses the necessary competences in:

• Identifying the challenges related to the development of corporate social responsibility and environmental accounting systems
• Critically assessing the assumptions of the environmental performance measurement frameworks and how these influence organizational behaviour and sustainable development

Applying theoretical concepts and critical thinking to assess sustainability accounting practices in organizations

Exam

Exams