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Editorial

Editorial The domain of accounting is extraordinary in its breadth and thus in the diversity of challenges it generates for scholars and practitioners alike. That this is so is well illustrated by the span of topics covered in Australian Accounting Review , not only over time but also within each edition. That new and important accounting problems worthy of rigorous research attention continue to spring to life is well illustrated in the pages of Volume 23 (1). The paper on assurance practices for carbon emissions by Wendy Green and Shan Zhou, for example, represents an excellent case in point. Only a comparatively short time ago, it would not have occurred to most that measuring carbon emissions and gaining assurance as to the quality of measurement was a problem of any significance. Today, it is clear to a very broad cross‐section of society that capturing and disclosing data relating to carbon emissions is a matter of very substantial importance. But much work remains to be done to ensure that the processes for undertaking this complex work are appropriate and capable of generating reliable results. This represents a considerable challenge for those involved in the preparation of carbon emissions reports and for those whose responsibility it is to provide assurance as to the reliability of the content of those reports. In a similar vein, sustainability reporting has been characterised as remaining in a fledgling state and has been argued in many cases to be relatively poorly integrated with more traditional forms of financial reporting. Large gaps also persist in our knowledge and understanding of the linkages between firm value and the content of sustainability reports. Given the greater and greater emphasis placed not only on these reports themselves, but also on the values and activities to which they relate, closing this knowledge gap is a valuable quest. In particular, further insight in this area is likely to be of considerable interest to boards of directors in the context of their oversight of firm investment decision strategies and processes. The stimulating paper by Bachoo et al. is noteworthy in terms of what it has to say about a number of these issues. An important driver of the continued vigour of any discipline is its capacity to constantly envisage new questions and to divert the resources necessary to prosecute these. But it is equally vital that there is a capacity to persist with analysis and debate in relation to known problems of long standing. In one way or another, questions relating to the broad rubric of differential reporting have been subject to discussion and in some cases, vehement disagreement over an extended period of time. It is to be anticipated that this state of affairs is likely to continue. The investment of intellectual resources set out in the forum on differential reporting, which comprises the largest part of this edition of Australian Accounting Review represents an important contribution to the ongoing debates on this theme. The papers within the forum draw on rigorous approaches and provide detailed perspectives on a number of topics central to contemporary debates on this very important topic. Developing each edition of the journal requires enormous effort on the part of many parties, for which I am deeply grateful. In particular, I wish to acknowledge the wonderful work undertaken by Brad Potter in drawing together the differential reporting forum and to the journal's Associate Editors who continue to work tirelessly and to great effect. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Australian Accounting Review Wiley

Editorial

Carlin, Tyrone M.
Australian Accounting Review , Volume 23 (1) – Mar 1, 2013
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Publisher
Wiley
Copyright
© 2013 CPA Australia
ISSN
1035-6908
eISSN
1835-2561
DOI
10.1111/auar.12015
Publisher site
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Abstract

The domain of accounting is extraordinary in its breadth and thus in the diversity of challenges it generates for scholars and practitioners alike. That this is so is well illustrated by the span of topics covered in Australian Accounting Review , not only over time but also within each edition. That new and important accounting problems worthy of rigorous research attention continue to spring to life is well illustrated in the pages of Volume 23 (1). The paper on assurance practices for carbon emissions by Wendy Green and Shan Zhou, for example, represents an excellent case in point. Only a comparatively short time ago, it would not have occurred to most that measuring carbon emissions and gaining assurance as to the quality of measurement was a problem of any significance. Today, it is clear to a very broad cross‐section of society that capturing and disclosing data relating to carbon emissions is a matter of very substantial importance. But much work remains to be done to ensure that the processes for undertaking this complex work are appropriate and capable of generating reliable results. This represents a considerable challenge for those involved in the preparation of carbon emissions reports and for those whose responsibility it is to provide assurance as to the reliability of the content of those reports. In a similar vein, sustainability reporting has been characterised as remaining in a fledgling state and has been argued in many cases to be relatively poorly integrated with more traditional forms of financial reporting. Large gaps also persist in our knowledge and understanding of the linkages between firm value and the content of sustainability reports. Given the greater and greater emphasis placed not only on these reports themselves, but also on the values and activities to which they relate, closing this knowledge gap is a valuable quest. In particular, further insight in this area is likely to be of considerable interest to boards of directors in the context of their oversight of firm investment decision strategies and processes. The stimulating paper by Bachoo et al. is noteworthy in terms of what it has to say about a number of these issues. An important driver of the continued vigour of any discipline is its capacity to constantly envisage new questions and to divert the resources necessary to prosecute these. But it is equally vital that there is a capacity to persist with analysis and debate in relation to known problems of long standing. In one way or another, questions relating to the broad rubric of differential reporting have been subject to discussion and in some cases, vehement disagreement over an extended period of time. It is to be anticipated that this state of affairs is likely to continue. The investment of intellectual resources set out in the forum on differential reporting, which comprises the largest part of this edition of Australian Accounting Review represents an important contribution to the ongoing debates on this theme. The papers within the forum draw on rigorous approaches and provide detailed perspectives on a number of topics central to contemporary debates on this very important topic. Developing each edition of the journal requires enormous effort on the part of many parties, for which I am deeply grateful. In particular, I wish to acknowledge the wonderful work undertaken by Brad Potter in drawing together the differential reporting forum and to the journal's Associate Editors who continue to work tirelessly and to great effect.

Journal

Australian Accounting Review – Wiley

Published: Mar 1, 2013

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