Accounting for sustainable development performance

This CIMA research project provides insights into the interrelationship between existing management accounting practices and accounting tools which seek to guide organisations towards sustainable development and create information about accounting techniques which addresses the issue of sustainable development.
Few studies have sought management accountants views on accounting techniques. This research project builds on the existing literature by paying attention to interactions between sustainable development performance data, management accountants, management accounting processes and management accounting generated data.
The research also draws from FCA (full accounting technique)which is an accounting technique gaining currency within policy and business circles. The project points out that the SAM (Sustainability Assessment Model) is a form of full cost accounting and the research furthers our knowledge of FCA and its usefulness as an accounting tool.
The project also examines how sustainable development data is used within a case study organisation (BP) and how such data can be used within other organisations.
* Shows how Sustainability Assessment Model (SAM) performance data is perceived by project management teams.
* Provides a broad perception of the SAM from the oil and gas industry.
* Evaluates the usefulness of the SAM in the electricity and building industry
From the Back Cover
In Accounting for Sustainable development performance Jan Bebbington creates an in-depth picture of this particular accounting tool and its application in organisational settings and shows how the Sustainability Assessment Model is perceived by project management teams.
For the past two decades sustainable development has been championed at inter-governmental, national, regional and sectoral levels. The necessity and desirability of pursuing sustainable forms of development have gained considerable currency and appears to be cemented in the public policy arena as the only just and appropriate goal for human activities
Academics and students of sustainability; specialists in the corporate and public sector; public and management accountants and policy makers will all benefit from understanding elements of the sustainable development agenda.
The book delivers focussed and thorough research on internal decision making processes and in particular on capital allocation processes and how they may incorporate demands for Sustainable Development (SD) performance. The work undertaken comprises three elements - the first introduces a context for thinking about accounting for SD performance and proposes the SAM (Sustainable Assessment Model) as one way of achieving this outcome. The second extends its focus to the oil and gas industry more generally to uncover how other organisations operationalise SD in their decision making. Finally, the research extends the industry focus to examine how the construction and electricity generation industries are starting to think about SD performance.
Theory is put into practice and illustrated in a featured case study where the author discusses the application of the SAM within BPs project appraisal/capital allocation process and reports on the strengths and weaknesses of the SAM model as perceived by industry participants and commentators.