THE RELEVANCE OF ENVIRONMENTAL ACCOUNTING TO STAKEHOLDERS
Keywords:
accounting, environmental accounting, management accounting, stakeholdersAbstract
This research explores the challenges faced by global businesses in diverse industries due to internal, external, and natural environmental factors. It emphasizes the increasing importance of environmental accounting, particularly in the context of emerging sustainability standards. The research highlights that businesses dealing with environmental forces incur costs, making it crucial for stakeholders, especially shareholders, to be well-informed about these costs due to their impact on wealth maximization. The primary objective is to assess the relevance of environmental accounting for stakeholders. Employing various research methods, including literature review, synthesis, comparative analysis and content analysis. The three main themes of the research are the concept and evolution of environmental accounting, the issues surrounding it, and its practical implications for stakeholders. Key reasons for its relevance include its role in environmental management strategy, resource efficiency, organizational sustainability, and capital budgeting clarity. The research concludes that despite the absence of a universally accepted definition for environmental accounting, its commonality lies in how organizations impact the natural environment. Acknowledging the evolutionary stages of this phenomenon, the study underscores the centrality of environmental costs. It asserts that a business's survival is intricately linked to matters relating to the natural environment.