This semester, I was assigned a term undertaking and I have selected the 2nd inquiry to be answered which is “ Should direction comptrollers be involved in the chase of green accounting ” . It is of my involvement since presents, organisations specifically fabricating industries have initiative to care and take into consideration on the environmental conditions. Nevertheless, some of them included that consideration as their corporate societal duty. Human being is the 1 who should hold been accountable to take attention of the environment and to handle them every bit best as possible. Therefore, I managed to fix this term undertaking by spliting it into two parts which are foremost, the overview of green accounting and the 2nd portion is more towards replying the inquiry which is concentrating on the functions of direction comptroller in the chase of green accounting.
1.0 Part 1: An overview of green accounting
1.1 Introduction
Most people peculiarly academicians in the field of accounting have talked about the green accounting. It is because, every bit far as the environment is concern we could see that there are many issues to be taken into consideration by the comptrollers such as air, H2O and noise pollutions, green house gases, planetary heating and etc. The major subscriber of these environmental defects is by and large human being. In fact, undeniably we can see and hear from the mass media about the negative effects on the environment as a consequence of organisation and finally organisational misbehavior. Now, I would wish to discourse the interconnectednesss between accounting, accountant and environment.
1.2 What is green accounting?
Nowadays we are traveling towards green environment by which we preserve the environment from being the victims of human hoggishness. As a consequence, accounting has come out with the term green accounting which means that comptroller being the medium to remedy and prevent the negative impact on the environment. The issue of environmental debasement has triggered organisation to be more eco-friendly peculiarly in increasing the attending and consciousness to be more environmentally responsible. It is agreed with Jeffers, A.E. ( 2008 ) who defined green accounting as a manner to cut down environmental pollution as companies will be forced to place the costs related to environmental duty. There are some catch phrases that normally being used apart from green accounting which are “ traveling green ” , “ eco-friendly ” and “ environmentally friendly ” . The plant of an comptroller in pull offing the cost related to environment is today known as environment direction accounting ( EMA ) .
1.3 Literature Review
Related to this subject, there are several past surveies on the issues in green accounting every bit good as EMA. Recently there has been a treatment made by Lansiluto and Jarvenpaa ( 2010 ) stated by Farouk S. et Al. ( 2012 ) related to green accounting by which the writers have investigated the importance of greening the balanced scorecards ( p.39 ) . It means that the green measuring should be included in the balance scorecard as to guarantee that the organisation is non performed financially but besides environmentally good. It is to be considered or assessed by the organisation before they can ship on certain undertaking that may foul the environment. In fact, this is a good thought to integrate green accounting in the normal balanced scorecard.
The green accounting every bit good as EMA has become more of import for an organisation to happen a manner to mensurate the cost of conformity and non-compliance to environment ordinances as opined by Jeffers A.E. ( 2008 ) therefore come out with two possibilities in mensurating environmental accounting which are from macroeconomic and microeconomic positions. Harmonizing to the writer, at macroeconomic degree, there is a demand to take into history the computation of green accounting in national income ( NI ) every bit good as gross domestic merchandise ( GDP ) . While at the microeconomic degree, there were two ways that can be used as tools to mensurate environmental accounting which are chiefly concentrating on external and internal direction accounting tools ( p.74 ) . It good to be continuously implemented as such measuring and consideration would continue the repute of the industries every bit good as the national image.
In relation to measuring of GDP above, there is a survey conducted by Li V. & A ; Lang G. ( 2010 ) on GDP measuring in China. The survey has concentrating on the green GDP execution from 2004 to 2007 and it reveals that there is a demand of environmental accounting as a tool to mensurate the estimated sustainability. In fact, China ‘s authorities has initiative to convey environmental impacts into the policy treatment on economic growing. Here, we can clearly see that stakeholders like authorities and regulators are concern about the demand to be green so long there is a tool to mensurate the environmental impacts.
1.3 Issues lending to the demand for Green Accounting
Many endeavors are refering on maximization of net income or stockholders ‘ wealth while abandoning the natural wealth.
Harmonizing to Rout H.S. ( 2010 ) , from the economic expert point of position, they are much concern in the sustainable national income since it signifies the sum a state can devour without damaging the natural resources ( p.47 ) . In add-on to that, environment is besides a beginning of economic wealth hence, if there is any service that covers the environmental direction can be traded in the unfastened market it may signal a higher demand bespeaking that society are willing to pay for it.
Furthermore, Rout H.S. ( 2010 ) has besides stated the issues that brought the environmental accounting into the treatment peculiarly sing the loopholes in the traditional Systems in National Accounting ( SNA ) by which we can see the demand for green accounting ( p.48 ) .
First, traditional SNA is merely concentrating on the wealth that natural environment like lumber, wood and so on could lend without taking into consideration the environmental debasement that resulted from the hoggishness.
Besides, the writer compares the depreciation of physical machine and natural resource – wood which signifies no different at all ( p.49 ) . The depreciation of the lumber is in footings of its harvest home procedure. Traditional SNA is hence unmarked the stock of natural resources every bit good as environment.
Third, traditional SNA unable to include the cost of environmental debasement in the national income. It is non good classified from other signifiers of investing or ingestion in national histories ( p.49 ) .
2.0 Part 2: Answer to the Question
Based on the above treatment, we can see the thought of environmental sustainability every bit good as the demand for green accounting. Yes, evidently direction comptroller should be involved in the chase of green accounting. Intentionally in this subdivision, we will look into the functions of direction comptroller and its impact to the profession every bit good as to the industries
2.1 Role of Management Accountant
The issues of environmental debasement have triggered the internal direction to come out with solution peculiarly for determination devising. Therefore, it is the direction comptroller who plays an of import function to help in the determination doing procedure cognizing that they possess the accomplishments and cognition in accounting. Equally far as the green accounting is concern, there are Numberss of direction accountant duties in exerting the cost accounting tools:
Invention of cost accounting cognition to cut down the waste
Harmonizing to Prof. Maliah ‘s talk on the EMA, we could see that late there is no more footings of recycle and reuse of things every bit far as the Material Flow Cost Accounting ( MFCA ) is concern. MFCA is a tool that was formalised in ISO 14 051 in 2011 and has been successfully implemented in Japan for the stamping activities. It is interesting to cognize the impact on the stamping activity whereby the waste resulted from the stamping activities has been calculated in footings of pecuniary every bit good as the physical unit. Knowing that the wastes can be reduced, the maker was able to redesign the stamping metal bit to repair the form into more accurate size which farther reduces the waste in billion hankerings. That is where direction comptroller can help in waste minimisation.
Plan, form and implement
Under normal circumstance, the planning, forming and implementing activities were done by all maps in the company which inadvertence by the top direction. Here, every bit far as the green accounting is concern, direction comptroller should come out with thought to continue the environment from being polluted by sing this affair at early phase of be aftering with the hope that it will cut down the cost of fouling the natural resources. For case, usually in wood fabrication they will cut down the trees and it will take to the planetary heating. Not merely that, the wild animate being will lose their home ground and the O produced by the trees will go lesser and lesser. Knowing the impacts of human hoggishness in maximising the wealth, this should trip direction comptroller to come out with possible action in planning every bit good as forming and implementing activities with the consideration of these natural costs.
Integration of direction and accounting
Management accounting should work together with the direction to come out with the thought of integrating the green accounting in the balanced scorecard as suggested by anterior research workers as quoted by Farouk S. et Al. ( 2012 ) above. Possibly, every bit far as my apprehension to what the writers thought is concern, I perceived the balanced scorecard could be every bit presented in Appendix A. In the normal fortunes, the balanced scorecard is inclusive of four elements which are fiscal, client, internal and learning and growing but anyway the direction should include the extra component which is environmental duty so that they can mensurate their success non merely in footings of fiscal but besides their duty towards the nature.
Wastage accounting and coverage
Apart from wastage accounting, direction comptroller besides plays a function in the environmental coverage
