IFRS and Environmental Accounting-澳大利亚会计.pdfVIP

1 IFRS and Environmental Accounting Abstract This paper examines whether International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) can be used for monitoring environmental degradations. The paper critically examines the contemporary environmental accounting literature, and attempts to find a mandatory reporting mechanism in the contexts of accounting for a public good and REA (resource, event, action) accounting of McCarthy (1982). It selects the relevant financial reporting standards and examines their strengths and weaknesses. Using qualitative and case study research method, the financial statements of three global mining companies that are operating in an environmentally sensitive sector were studied. The study finds that the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) guidelines and private sector self-regulation are insufficient to monitor environmental disclosure. The paper proposes a mandated separate statement of environmental assets and liabilities. The elements of the proposed statement are discussed. JEL classification: M41, M42, M48, Q56, Q51 Q20 N27, D53, D63 Key words: IFRS, GRI, environmental accounting, sustainability reports, mining companies, environmental assets and liabilities, Africa 1 Introduction As financial globalization proceeds, international financial reporting and auditing standards are increasingly becoming important instruments of integration. This has been observed in both the London and Pittsburg summits of the G20 leaders in 2009. The G20 leaders reinforced the influence of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in that they called for the implementation of global acc