AN ANALYSIS OF SUSTAINABILITY ACCOUNTING REPORTING FRAMEWORKS FOR CFO DECISION MAKING

Abstract

The objective of this paper is to serve as a decision aid in assisting CFOs prepare sustainability accounting reports by examining the development of sustainability accounting reporting and assurance in practice, and observing the reporting pattern and guidelines followed, through a survey on reporting and assurance frameworks of U.S. large companies (the Dow-Jones 30 U.S. companies). This paper first reviews and summarizes the recent literature in sustainability accounting research, especially in sustainability accounting reporting. Further, the paper provides a survey on sustainability accounting reporting and assurance frameworks of the Dow-Jones 30 U.S. companies. The findings in this study confirm the increasing trend of sustainability reporting and its assurance among large publicly traded firms, which is suggested by prior accounting research. Important factors to be considered by CFOs to prepare sustainability accounting reporting are presented in this study.