Recent scientific publications

The Global Reporting Initiative (hereafter the GRI), a pioneer organization focusing on sustainability reporting standards, introduced a new standard dedicated to tax reporting in 2019 (GRI 207: Tax), supporting tax disclosure as a material CSR issue. Accordingly, we examine tax disclosure as framed by GRI 207. The literature on CSR reporting shows that companies increase CSR disclosures to mitigate negative attention to CSR issues. Based on this literature, we hypothesize that tax disclosure, as defined by GRI 207, is positively associated with firms' reputational risks (RRs). Our sample consists of the 120 largest listed companies on the French financial market that are most exposed to scrutiny. The data were collected for the year 2019. We use linear regressions to identify the determinants of tax disclosure strategies. As expected, greater RRs are associated with higher tax disclosure. According to the GRI 207 items on disclosure, three strategies are identified with reference to the CSR pyramid by Carroll (1991). We find that reputational risks, as measured by the presence of tax havens and financial controversies, are associated with distinct tax disclosure strategies. The issuance of a disclosure standard is not a guarantee of greater transparency. To our knowledge, our study is the first to examine tax disclosure strategies framed by the most recent GRI 207 standard as part of CSR reporting. We provide several implications and directions for future research.

Purpose – Since the withdrawal of IFRIC 3 in 2005, there has been a regulatory freeze in accounting for emission rights that contrasts with the international momentum of climate-related financial disclosures. This paper explores how different narratives and institutional dynamics explain the failure to produce guidance on accounting for emission rights.

Design/methodology/approach – This paper uses the concept of field-configuring events to examine a sequence of six events between 2003 and 2016, including four public consultations and two dialogues between standard setters. The paper presents a qualitative analysis of documents produced in this space that investigates how different practices and narratives configured the field's positions, agenda, and meaning systems.

Findings – Accounting for emission rights was gradually decoupled from climate change and carbon markets, relegated to the research pipeline, and forgotten. The obstacles that the IASB and EFRAG encountered in presenting themselves as central to recurring events, the excess of representations, and the increasingly technical and abstract debates eroded the 2003 momentum for regulation, making the various initiatives to revitalize the project vulnerable and open to scrutiny. Lukes (2021) refers to non-decision-making to express the fact th
, some issues are stifled before they are even expressed.

Originality/value – The regulation of accounting for emission rights, an area that has received scant attention in the literature, provides some insights into the different narrative mechanisms that, materializing in specific times and spaces, draw regulatory attention to particular accounting issues, which are problematized and, eventually, forgotten. This study also illustrates that identifying interests is problematic as actors shift from alternative positions over a long period. The case examined also raises some doubts about the previous effectiveness of international standard setters in dealing with matters of connectivity between the environment and finance, as is the case for accounting for emissions rights.

In France, certain companies are required by law to have their corporate information audited. The accounting profession has a virtual monopoly on the corporate audit market, particularly the Big 4, which are considered professional service firms (PSFs). The study draws on sociological theory of professions and legitimacy to analyze the SA market. In this research, we focus on strategies for legitimizing SA engagements. We conducted a discourse analysis of how these engagements are promoted on auditors' websites. The results highlight different strategies for promoting the performance of VS missions aimed at legitimizing their new competencies, which can be related to different forms of knowledge.

The purpose of this study is to investigate whether companies ‘walk the talk’ when it comes to corporate governance and diversity. Using a sample of French listed companies in the years 2012 and 2021, we analyze i) diversity in board composition and ii) CEO disclosure about diversity in their annual report letter. Despite growing societal pressure to increase diversity in organizations, our results show that over a ten-year period, companies have made almost no progress in terms of age and ethnic diversity of board members, while we observe more diversity in terms of gender. When it comes to the CEO letter, which sets the strategic direction for the company, we still observe little mention of diversity. Moreover, most of the images associated with the letter present a portrait of a white, Western, male CEO. Overall, our findings help to challenge the current organizational rhetoric about diversity in corporate governance by showing that diversity at the top is still limited.

The literature has explored little the characteristics of management control systems (MCS) capable of connecting sometimes contradictory institutional rationales. Despite differences in values and time horizons between the water authority and its organizing authority, intervention research shows that it is possible to develop an inter-organizational MCS that integrates multiple rationales.

In the water sector, large cities are ending public service delegations (PSDs) entrusted to private operators and opting to return to public management, which may seem surprising given the new public management model that promotes the private sector model. In a water sector that is a "natural monopoly" characterized by high moral hazard, information asymmetries, and numerous uncertainties, PSAs still raise serious governance issues both theoretically and empirically, despite increasingly restrictive regulations. Three years of intervention research in a new public service has contributed to the implementation of management tools. The wide range of data collected (documents, interviews, participant observations, etc.) has made it possible to analyze micro-changes in governance. The choices made contribute to the development of multilateral and hybrid governance. The "personalized public utility" status promotes controlled autonomy and pluralistic representation, including citizen-users. The close relationship between the agency and the organizing authority facilitates greater sharing of values, information, and knowledge. The negotiation of the objectives agreement results in a mix of control, trust, and reciprocity. This complex web of relationships, a delicate balance between hierarchy, exchange, and cooperation,ultimatelyenables more effective governance.

The need to more collaboratively measure the impact of health research and to do so from multidimensional perspectives has been acknowledged. A scorecard was developed as part of the Collective Research Impact Framework (CRIF), to engage stakeholders in the assessment of the impacts of health research and innovations. The purpose of this study was to describe the developmental process of the MULTI-ACT Master Scorecard (MSC) and how it can be used as a workable tool for collectively assessing future responsible research and innovation measures.

In this paper, we reflect and provide insights on the environmental implications of post-COVID-19 economic recoveries. More specifically, we highlight the connection(s) between the environment and the COVID-19 crisis, in particular the intertwined links between Mother Nature and the virus. We then raise some concerns about the ‘illusionary’ positive and negative effects of the crisis on the environment before evoking some past lessons about crisis management and recovery. We contend that the current accounting and accountability mechanisms employed in economic stimulus programs, as well as traditional environmental accounting approaches, are inadequate and limiting to achieve long-term sustainability change. The paper concludes by offering accounting practitioners and researchers some possibilities to take a step forward and develop new understandings of social and environmental value consistent with ecological principles and sustainable development—and hope that these reflections will contribute to a broader debate on the role of accounting for sustainable development in the Anthropocene.

The purpose of this study is to provide insights into how accounting and accountability systems can contribute to transforming metrics used thus far in research performance evaluation. New metrics are needed to increase research impact on the challenges addressed by science. In particular, we document and reflect on accounting transformations towards responsible research and innovation (RRI). The study draws on the European H2020 MULTI-ACT research project that focuses on the development of a collective research impact framework in the area of health research. We document, analyze, and report on our involvement in this project, which also included research funders, patient organizations, health researchers, accounting practitioners, and healthcare providers. Drawing on RRI, Mode 2 knowledge production, and accounting performativity, we investigate the potential of accounting technologies to foster knowledge production and increase research impact. The study shows how the engagement of accounting with other disciplines enables the development of new and relevant forms of research impact assessment. We document how accounting can be mobilized for the development of new forms of research impact assessment (i.e., indicators that evaluate key accountability dimensions to promote RRI) and how it helps to overcome the difficulties that can emerge during this process. We also show how the design of multiple accountability indicators, although chronically partial, produced a generative interrogation and discussion about how to translate RRI to research assessment in a workable setting, and the pivotal role of certain circumstances (e.g., the presence of authoritative actors) that appear during the knowledge production process for creating these generative opportunities.

This contribution identifies regulatory developments in the area of non-financial verification. This societal verification is a process whereby an independent third party (ITO) verifies companies' non-financial information and writes a report with its conclusions on the quality and reliability of this information. This verification practice will inevitably expand and evolve with the new European Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which aims to establish more detailed non-financial reporting applicable to a larger number of companies. 

In this research, the authors are interested in strategies for legitimizing the SA missions of independent third-party bodies. Assurance providers use their website to promote their

missions. How do independent third-party bodies legitimize their assurance mission in a regulatory context relating to European Directive 2014/95/EU?

The authors conducted a discourse analysis of the promotion of SA missions on independent third-party websites. A content analysis was performed on the collected textual data.

The results highlight different strategies for promoting the implementation of assurance engagements aimed at legitimizing their new skills. Nevertheless, it appears that the providers make very little reference to the quality of nonfinancial information as the objective of assurance engagements.

Climate Reporting Related to the TCFD Framework: An Exploration of the Air Transport Sector

In recent years, international institutions have fostered initiatives to consider climate-related issues, and a Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) was created as an extension of the Carbon Disclosure Project and Global Reporting Initiative standards. This study examines how the air transport sector complies with the TCFD framework, which is considered to be a vehicle that translates scientific knowledge from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) about climate change. Relying on environmental criteria, our sample represents more than 65% of the total emissions of the sector. The disclosures on climate-related issues of twenty-four airlines are analyzed within the period 2015–2018. Although climate reporting increased from 2015 to 2018 (before and after the issuance of the framework), our study documents that its compliance with TCFD recommendations is poor, specifically concerning the core element of strategy. Our contribution is twofold. First, we note that the climate change mitigation and adaptation policies disclosed in the reports could help close the information gap as desired by the company's stakeholders, but they are currently insufficient. Second, the normative pressures exerted by the TCFD align with the coercive pressures identified in some regions of the world and are promoting the construction of climate reporting.

Climate Reporting Related to the TCFD Framework: An Exploration of the Air Transport Sector

In recent years, international institutions have fostered initiatives to consider climate-related issues, and a Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) was created as an extension of the Carbon Disclosure Project and Global Reporting Initiative standards. This study examines how the air transport sector complies with the TCFD framework, which is considered to be a vehicle that translates scientific knowledge from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) about climate change. Relying on environmental criteria, our sample represents more than 65% of the total emissions of the sector. The disclosures on climate-related issues of twenty-four airlines are analyzed within the period 2015–2018. Although climate reporting increased from 2015 to 2018 (before and after the issuance of the framework), our study documents that its compliance with TCFD recommendations is poor, specifically concerning the core element of strategy. Our contribution is twofold. First, we note that the climate change mitigation and adaptation policies disclosed in the reports could help close the information gap as desired by the company's stakeholders, but they are currently insufficient. Second, the normative pressures exerted by the TCFD align with the coercive pressures identified in some regions of the world and are promoting the construction of climate reporting.

Accounting for Carbon Emission Allowances: An Empirical Analysis in the EU ETS Phase 3

This investigation studies the accounting treatment of the carbon emission allowances of EU Emissions Trading System participants to explore whether the auctioning allocation system implemented in 2013 led to changes in accounting practices. This investigation adds to Allini, Giner, and Caldarelli (2018. “Opening the Black Box of Accounting for Greenhouse Gas Emissions: The Different Views of Institutional Bodies and Firms.” Journal of Cleaner Production 172: 2195–2205.) by performing a comparative study of how emission allowances are recorded in the 2011 and 2016 financial statements of a large sample of the highest emitters in the system that operate in eight different industries. We also update the analysis of the role of local standards in shaping carbon accounting practices in a context characterized by the lack of IFRS prescription. We found that auctioning did not modify accounting practices as they continue to be ‘messy’ and often absent. The high level of non-disclosure and the prevailing use of the ‘net method’ conceal the burden of allowances from users of financial statements. Additionally, we report that firms’ carbon accounting practices are more aligned with their local standard when it allows a limited representation of the financial impact of allowances. Therefore, current accounting practices are far from enabling an adequate assessment of the financial impact and risks resulting from carbon markets.

The limits of environmental accounting disclosure: enforcement of regulations, standards, and interpretative strategies

The objective of this study is to provide insights into insiders' perspectives on environmental accounting disclosures, which is a relatively under-investigated area. Based on insights from key managers, we provide information on company decisions and practices related to the data disclosed in annual reports. More specifically, we explore how regulatory guidance affects and shapes disclosure strategies.

The dual narrative of a multi-stakeholder supply chain: between performance and local integration

Organizations produce narratives by telling stories about their management and their past. The concept of organizational narrative can be used to refer to the result of a polyphony of individual discourses emanating from different actors within the organization (Rivière, 2006). Discourse has various functions in management science (Jacquot and Point, 2000), and it is recognized that some discourse can be "performative" in the sense that it has the power to bring about what it describes (Austin, 1962; Boje, 1991, 1995). In management in particular, theory has the power to produce the reality it is supposed to explain, leading to self-fulfilling prophecies (Callon, 1998). In this context, we can consider that part of managerial practice consists of producing discourse that constitutes action in itself, and that management tools are an artifact of this discourse. The evocation of tools that convey rationality within the discourse would thus make the decisions taken appear rational and legitimate (Cabantous and Gond 2012). Members of organizations, like movie actors, perform a storytelling performance that forms a narrative of the organization (Boje, 1991, 1995). These actors adapt to the performance criteria imposed on them and cobble together a seemingly satisfactory solution, with certain accounting practices facilitating compromise (Chenhall et al. 2013). Studying the multiple discourses within organizations on the same decision should reveal the paradoxes between the rational recommendations implemented and the motivations and goals pursued by individuals.

2Whilethe study of the specific influence of the social and institutional embeddedness of actors is not new in the field of accounting and control (Hopwood and Miller, 1994; Chapman et al. 2009), to our knowledge it has not been explicitly explored in the context of multi-actor supply chain (MASC) optimization. A supply chain defines a set of three subsystems: the supply of materials and components, production management, and the physical distribution of products (Paché, 2006). This chain can be extended to include several actors, i.e., several organizations. A growing number of companies are using this method of inter-organizational coordination, and the value of further studying managerial discourse in this context warrants diversifying the angles of observation. Indeed, a prolific literature focused on the use of CLMAs in management control highlights that some clients benefit from outsourcing and quasi-integrating their logistics providers in order to reduce overall costs and increase the value created for the end customer (Cooper and Slagmulder, 2004; Shank and Govindarajan, 1995, Fabbe-Costes 2002). Chain optimization would thus be based on selecting service providers that offer competitive advantages in functions neglected by the core firm. This instrumental interpretation provides arguments that, in our research, fall under the "rational choice theory" (Cabantous and Gond, 2012).

3Thequestion posed in this research is that of the role of discourse on costs in legitimizing the inter-organizational control implemented by the hub of the integrated logistics chain studied. What is the argument used by this hub company—the principal—to justify the selection of logistics service providers to its headquarters, particularly with regard to the distribution of costs among partners? What arguments do local executives/managers use to justify the system that has been put in place, particularly with regard to the costs borne by each partner? This approach, which focuses on studying the narratives of several actors in a multi-company monograph, aims to shed additional light on the literature on control in integrated supply chains.

4Thefirst part of this article presents the conceptual and theoretical framework of this research. The second part outlines the qualitative research methodology used. The third part presents the empirical results of the monograph. The final part offers some points for discussion.

Does the level of assurance statement on environmental disclosure affect investor assessment? An experimental study

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to examine whether different levels of assurance statements of environmental disclosures affect investment choices in the French context, where environmental assurance was voluntary until 2012 and has been regulated and mandatory since then.

Design/methodology/approach

The authors conducted an experiment in a voluntary context—which represents the vast majority of countries—on a sample of 108 financial analysts.

Findings

Environmental disclosure has a positive impact on investment recommendations. More surprisingly, financial analysts are less likely to give recommendations in favor of a company that displays environmental disclosure with low-level assurance than for a company with no assurance statement at all.

Limitations/implications of the research

When assurance is voluntary and there are at least two levels, this study's results suggest that firms should avoid selecting the lowest level of assurance because it negatively affects investor decisions. From this perspective, firms should devote sufficient effort and resources to obtain at least Level 2 environmental disclosure assurance.

Pratical implications

Given the recommendations made by financial analysts, the authors could expect that firms may prefer to engage in a higher level of assurance or to provide no assurance rather than minimize their financial efforts and resources to select a lower level of voluntary assurance regarding environmental disclosure.

Social implications

This study has implications for voluntary assurance practices in environmental disclosure and can provide support to regulators to promote higher standards in environmental assurance. It documents the relevance of increasing the level of assurance required for environmental disclosure.

Originality/Value

To the best of the authors' knowledge, very few studies have examined the additional effect of assurance on environmental disclosure in investors' decisions. The experiment is conducted with financial analysts in the context of voluntary assurance.

How does media attention on agri-food issues influence corporate social reporting? The case of Bonduelle

The purpose of this article is to examine the contribution of Media Agenda Setting theory to the study of corporate social reporting. A monograph on the Bonduelle company was produced over a period of 10 years. A comparison of press articles dealing with specific societal issues in the agri-food sector with Bonduelle's societal reporting reveals, on the one hand, their overall convergence, but on the other hand, differentiated communication strategies.

Historical costs vs. fair values for measuring accounting results? Comparing the arguments of accounting professionals

In 2011, the French Accounting Standards Authority (ANC), France's accounting regulatory body, launched a call for research projects on the theme of "defining and representing performance." The call stated that "the objective is to provide conceptual foundations and arguments to enable the ANC to weigh more effectively in current and future international debates" (ANC 2011, p. 1). The central question raised in this call is that of the ability of accounting to satisfactorily represent an entity's performance through its accounting results. Taking as a point of comparison the international accounting model (IFRS), which is based on an approach that favors fair values and gives primacy to the balance sheet, the French accounting regulator echoes "increasingly strong demands [that] are being made to focus on the representation of medium- and long-term economic performance, by rehabilitating the role of the income statement and only recognizing in these accounts results that can be considered definitively acquired " (ANC 2011, p. 1). Thus, broadly speaking, two approaches seem to be at odds with each other: a dualistic approach (a single balance sheet showing both the value of assets and the results of the company's activities), which would be inseparable from the use of fair values, and a monistic approach (a single balance sheet at historical cost to obtain the correct result, i.e., the actual result), which would, on the contrary, lead to the exclusive use of historical values.

The inclusion of this issue on the agenda by the accounting regulator marks the revival of a debate that has been ongoing for several decades and has taken various forms. Against the backdrop of the debate between the dualist and monist approaches, the question concerns the primary recipients and the tasks assigned to the accounting information system. For whom should the accounts be prepared as a priority? For what purposes? And consequently, what conventions should be adopted? What role does the concept of prudence play in this choice? As these questions do not necessarily have single answers, it should be borne in mind that accounting is a historically dated social construct and that the model underlying a framework cannot be timeless or universal (Capron 2005, pp. 6-7). Thus, expressing the need to define the type of performance that accounting should reflect in order to associate measurement conventions with it is tantamount to expressing the need to set the objectives that we wish to assign to it in a given jurisdiction. However, according to Colasse (2006), it is the role of a conceptual framework to define the objectives assigned to accounting and to establish the means by which they can be achieved. The question raised by the French regulator concerning the concept of performance and its measurement by financial statements is thus, in our view, implicitly linked to that of the conceptual accounting framework. Conceptually, therefore, the objectives assigned to the accounting system determine the type of performance it can reflect, which in turn requires the use of appropriate valuation conventions. However, neither the French nor the IFRS standards explicitly define the performance that accounting is intended to represent (Pierrot 2006)[1]According to the PCG, "accounting is an organizational system.... Consequently, a certain degree of interpretation is possible. Since the adoption of IFRS in Europe, several authors have supported the idea that by making greater use of fair values, the international standard has de facto transformed corporate performance, as measurement and concept are intrinsically dependent on each other (Chiapello 2005; Richard 2005a; Colasse 2006; Giordano-Spring and Lacroix 2007). Thus, "the new performance measure may in fact reflect changes in the environment and financial markets as much as it does the production of goods and services as such" (Chiapello 2005, p. 129). [2]To simplify the reasoning: first, a... must be presented. This perspective is considered to meet the needs of the "account user—financial capital provider," who is the preferred recipient of the international standard-setter. The French standard-setter's appeal invites us to consider that a trade-off between fair values and historical costs will determine the choice of a conceptual approach and that, by rejecting a fair value model, the monistic or "income statement" approach will be reinstated. This dual proposal deserves to be examined from the perspective of the professionals affected by these choices, namely the producers and users of accounts.

There are two main motivations behind this research. First, as accounting regulators are acting as spokespersons for a social demand for an approach that favors realized results and excludes unrealized gains, it is important to identify the arguments from professional practice that justify such a position. What arguments do professionals put forward in favor of such an approach? Secondly, considering that accounting is a system that is institutionally embedded in society, this research aims to highlight the priority expectations expressed by accounting professionals regarding the contribution of financial statements to the assessment of a company's performance, and thus contribute to the questions raised by the French standard-setter. Looking ahead, should we rule out the systematic use of fair values in preparing performance statements? What type of performance is relevant to represent in financial statements? What are the desirable avenues for improvement? Following Richard (2009, p. 1146), for whom "an intelligent strategy [...] would consist of joining forces rather than organizing an accounting confrontation," it is appropriate here to move beyond the simplistic opposition between IFRS and French standards in order to find ways to move forward and make proposals.

The primary objective of our research, in response to the ANC's call for proposals, is therefore to understand the arguments put forward by accounting professionals in favor of including or excluding unrealized gains in the determination of accounting income. With this objective in mind, we begin by examining how asset valuation conventions are conceptually argued through normative accounting theories. The introduction of the concept of prudence and the linking of profit distribution to the calculation of income are then considered as key determinants of the empirical accounting models conveyed by French and international standards.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with 31 accounting professionals (producers and users of accounting and financial information – hereinafter referred to as ICF) working in for-profit organizations and familiar with PCG and IFRS standards. They were subjected to a dual content analysis: an automated lexical analysis using Alceste software and a manual thematic analysis. The main results of this qualitative research reveal four distinct categories of discourse representative of the professional positions of the respondents. Firstly, it appears that the similarities in language and concerns between certain professions transcend the ICF's issuer/user divide. Secondly, it appears that historical costs and fair values are not characteristics of opposing accounting models, but rather complementary ones from the point of view of the professionals surveyed.

This article makes a twofold contribution. On the one hand, the qualitative study conducted provides an original insight into how producers and users of financial statements perceive the value of using fair values in addition to maintaining the historical cost convention. On the other hand, we make proposals to the standard-setter in response to its call for projects.

The article consists of four sections. Following this introduction, the first section outlines the two theoretical approaches that underpin the opposition raised by the French regulator. The second section discusses the methodological approach. The third section presents the results of the analysis of interviews conducted with accounting professionals. Finally, the last section offers points for discussion and conclusions.

The Normativity and Legitimacy of CSR Disclosure: Evidence from France

In 2001, France became one of the few countries to require corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting through its Nouvelles Régulations Économiques #2001-420 (NRE). However, initial compliance with the statute was low, a factor implying the law lacked normativity. In this exploratory study, we attempt to determine whether there is movement toward normativity by examining the change in CSR disclosure from 2004 in comparison to 2010 for a sample of 81 publicly traded French firms. We measure both the space and the quality of CSR disclosures, including in the latter a measure based on informational quality attributes as discussed by the International Accounting Standards Board, the Financial Accounting Standards Board, and the Global Reporting Initiative. We find significant increases in the space allocated to CSR disclosure, as well as some evidence of increased quality; although the informational quality of the disclosures remains quite low and fewer firms are including negative performance information in their reports. Finally, we document that differences in disclosure space and quality in 2004 appeared to be associated with legitimacy-based variables and that those relations remain largely unchanged in 2010. As such, it appears that the NRE’s goals of increased transparency remain unmet.

This Special Issue originates from the 2nd French CSEAR (Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research) Conference. The conference took place at the Institut des Sciences de l’Entreprise et du Management (ISEM) at the Université Montpellier 1 and under the aegis of the AFC (French Accounting Association). This second CSEAR France conference welcomed close to 90 participants who came from 12 different countries (Australia, Canada, Egypt, Finland, France, Italy, Japan, Portugal, Spain, Tunisia, the UK, and the USA). The event attracted 94 submissions and 65 papers were presented, of which 25 were in French and 40 in English. There were two key moments that brought some very interesting and relevant insights into the discussions—a plenary session by Professor Den Patten (Illinois State University, USA) and an editors’ panel composed of Professor Christine Cooper (University of Strathclyde, UK), Co-Editor-in-Chief of the journal hosting and featuring this Special Issue—Critical Perspectives on Accounting, and Professor Gérald Naro, Co-Editor-in-Chief of the French journal Finance Contrôle Stratégie.

This Special Issue includes seven articles that explore—from different perspectives—the "paths" that organizations take to build a discourse aimed at the general public regarding their societal responsibilities.