1st Edition
Responsible Finance and Accounting Performance and Profit for Better Business, Society and Planet
The UN Sustainable Development Goals, an increasing interest in Environmental, Social, and Governance factors, the climate crisis, stakeholder pressure, the lessons of corporate scandals, and the COVID-19 pandemic have triggered a massive change in how companies approach finance and accounting practices. From being a ‘nice-to-have’ to becoming a ‘must-have’, Responsible Finance and Accounting positions itself as a key pillar in tomorrow’s better world for business, society, and planet.
In this book, leading researchers and practitioners in the field of corporate social responsibility, from the schools and corporate partners of the Council on Business & Society, give you key insights into green finance and social and environmental reporting, national, international and corporate stakes in green taxonomy and carbon tax, and triple capital accounting. It also details how to model effective and low-cost social impact reporting, ethics in finance and accounting, and strategies for microfinance and finance-related social innovation. Each insight is accompanied by key takeaways, food for thought, and micro-case study sections.
This accessible book will be a valuable resource for scholars, instructors, and upper-level students across finance and accounting as well as corporate social responsibility and business ethics. It will also serve as a guide for professionals aiming to deepen their understanding of new finance and accounting practice.
Foreword
By Professors Annalise Vendramini Felsberg, and Adrian Zicari
Chapter 1: Finance – a key role in the future of business, society, and the planet
A greener, responsible world of finance
Hugues Bouthinon-Dumas
With heart and head: How to bring them together for sustainable investment decisions
Qinqin Zheng
CSR and Sustainability Indexes: A virtuous circle
Adrian Zicari
Brazil and the ISE B3 Index: A focus on sustainability pioneering, its creation and challenges
Aron Belinky and Paulo D. Branco
Can non-banking financial institutions help Africa reach the SDGs?
Ronald Rateiwa and Meshach Aziakpono
Chapter 2: Making finance ethical and inclusive
Financial and non-financial Disclosure: As a future shareholder, would you pay? If so, how much more or less?
Charles H. Cho
The journey from community bank to solidarity fintech through digital social currency
Eduardo Henrique Diniz
A global minimum tax: An end to the multinationals 'racing to the bottom'?
Antonio De Vito
Can Bitcoin be subject to ESG analysis?
Annalise Vendramini Felsberg
The dilemma of the 'microfinance graduate': The missing middle
Savita Shankar
Chapter 3: The role of the accountant, accounting, and new advances in reporting to reach the UN SDGs
Combating crises: How social and environmental accounting can build a future-proof economy
Charles H. Cho
The everlasting image of the accountant as a constraining beancounter in popular culture
Mark Christensen and Sébastien Rocher
Triple capital accounting: Putting a price on the planet and people
Raphaël Hara and Adrien Covo
Bystanders or change makers? Where do management controllers fit in the digital world?
Florence Cavélius, Christoph Endenich, and Adrian Zicari
Why businesses need to account for their climate impacts across the supply chain
Frederik Dahlmann
Chapter 4: The accounting profession: Ethics, influence and conduct
For better or for worse? The special ties between accounting firms and their clients – influence and behaviours
Qinqin Zheng
From lobby to the audit office: Big Four accounting firms and political links
Anastasios Elemes and Jeff Zeyun Chen
Auditing the auditors: How do audit firms manage their own tax affairs?
Anastasios Elemes
Walk the talk: How firms gain environmental legitimacy
Liliana Gelabert
You, this book, and your knowledge
Index
Biography
Adrián Zicari is Co-Head of the Accounting and Management Control Department at ESSEC Business School, Director of the Management and Society track, and Academic Director of the Council on Business & Society. He is also the Honorary representative for Buenos Aires in Paris. He holds a PhD in Management Administration from the Universidad Nacional de Rosario, an MBA (Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez), and a BSc in Accounting. Adrian’s career has spanned the corporate sector as Financial Manager and Controller and his academic research has been widely published in leading journals, among others, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Cleaner Production, and Social and Environmental Accountability Journal.
Tom Gamble is Executive Director of the Council on Business & Society, running the operations, communications, and publications branches of the alliance. He holds an MA in Human Resource Management and Industrial Relations from Keele University as well as several coaching certifications. Tom’s career has spanned teaching, lecturing, thought leadership, consulting, and instructional design, working with over 100 companies and educational institutions worldwide. He is a published author of fiction, non-fiction, and poetry.
