Current Issue on Environmental Accounting

The University of Greenwich Business School

Current Issue in Financial Accounting (ACCO 1115)

Current Issue in Management Accounting (ACCO 1114)

Coursework (MALAYSIA)

Initial Study

Velu kumarasamy 000580932

BA (Hons) in Accounting and Finance

Word Count: 1026 exclude References

Course Leader: J. Mundy, P.T Baynes

2009

Introduction

Though management and financial accounting can seem very different, they should work hand in hand to contribute towards the success of accounting policies. Of late, the concern for the environment has become an issue. Policies such as green accounting (early 1990s) and environmental taxes (mid-1990s) had been drawn to develop a healthy environmental policy. Without proper management and financial accounting to reflect the success of these polices, they have fallen short (Maunders, K.T. and Burritt R.L. 1991). This has led to the birth of other policies such as environmental accounting, sustainability accounting and full cost accounting with the hope that these could develop a robust environmental policy that will contribute to a longer-term organisational success. This means that business managers, auditors and accountants play a vital role in the development of these policies that combine the roles of the management accounting and financial accounting to ensure an organisational success as well as a friendly environment (Lamberton, G. 2005). This task attempts to critically evaluate the extent of success the three policies mentioned above.

Literature review

To begin with, let us analyze the ideas of the believers of the environmental accounting. According to the supporters of the environmental accounting, there is a link between economy and the environment. It is claimed that some of the environmental goods are not marketed though they provide economic value. It is argued that the use of accounting information is an ideological framework for analysis in planning, decision making...