Stakeholder Accountability
管理assignment代写 Stakeholder AccountabilityIntroduction
Nowadays more and more company especially some listed companies participate in the stakeholder accountability building to enhance the corporate social responsibility.  Those administrative reforms are considered to have a prefunding effect on the increase corporate advantage. The research of Cooper and Owen (2007) analyze deeply and penetratingly the link between corporate social reporting and stakeholder accountability. The essay aims to discuss the role of stakeholder accountability and deliver perceptions about the proposal about convergence of environmental, social and governance (ESG) of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) on the basis of their paper.
 
Role of stakeholder accountability in the preparation of financial statements
When preparing financial statements, stakeholder accountability is considered important to design the content of financial statements. Stakeholder accountability is not easy to define precisely. But according to the research of Cooper and Owen (2007, p.649-667), the definition of stakeholder accountability can consult to many theoretical underpinnings like Benston (1982, P.88)’s Free Market, Neoclassical theories of Mouck (1994) of philosophical foundation, Free discussion of Rorty (1989, p.84), Ideal Speech Situation framework of Habermas (1992), and Roberts (1991, 1996, 2003)’s discussion and dialogue, stakeholder accountability can be improved by an Ideal Speech Situation or dialogue between corporations and stakeholders. Stakeholder accountability is often associated with Disclosure and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), which all focus on protecting the interests of stakeholder, other than just shareholder. Stakeholder relates to the recipient groups like shareholder, customers, employees, retailers, and society (Benston, 1982, p.88). Corporations especially publicly listed companies in Australia are responsible for disclosure and corporate social responsibility.12 company’s policies about stakeholder accountability are listed to act as a supportive proof (Cooper and Owen, 2007). Reports associated with stakeholder accountability will show in the financial statements, the role of stakeholder accountability can be illustrated in the following three aspects. In one hand, stakeholder accountability which entails the submission of financial statements is established to compensate for the market failure like information asymmetry and failure of third-party monitoring sometimes for the consideration of protecting the interests of stakeholders; in another hand, it directly declaims who is responsibility manage the “account” for the public (Benston, 1982, p88). Moreover, stakeholder accountability concerns more than shareholder but the whole recipient group. The establishment of stakeholder accountability can affect the attitudes and contention of stakeholders, and build a more strong sense of cohesion to strength core competence. Finally, to be more exact, stakeholder accountability is associated with the finance of the corporation in the process, so it is more efficient, direct and precise than other methods to monitor the company. Roberts (1991, 1996, 2003)’s ongoing stakeholder dialogue view supported that stakeholder accountability can lead to acceptance by all stakeholders if free dialogue is adopted. In this way, it is directly insert in the finance of corporation, which is a more efficient accurate and direct way to be responsible for accounts and financial disclosure.
 
GRI’s proposal of convergence of environmental, social and governance reporting
Convergence of environmental, social and governance should be proposed in financial reporting. Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) reporting was proposed by Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) to accelerate professional and accountable decision for the corporation. That is to say, when making financial reports, corporations should pay attention to environmental, social and governance at the same time. ESG disclosure nowadays is reckoned with a basic indicator for investors and the majority of American institutional investors demand the S&P 500 to meet the requirements of ESG disclosure (Frank, 2006). And more and more companies will specially issue ESG report like the 12 companies in the research of Cooper and Owen (2007). ESG reporting is proposed for many reasons. Above all, ESG reporting framework is proposed for the consideration of compensation for over-consumption of finite natural resources and climate change (IIRC, 2010). The topic about environment and sustainable development cannot be ignored by all the corporations for their basic duty to existence. Additionally, ESG reporting itself can help to get sustainable development. Corporations were born with the instinct of chasing profits, and many theories have illustrated that anything hinder the development of free market will make market inefficiency. However, ESG reporting is considered not to conflict with free market. In the long term, corporations with the insights of caring about environment, social and governance can finally survive in the market. Let alone, it is the trend. Though it did not function well in practices both via corporate governance reform and civil regulation, it will be the major trend of reporting framework both in scope and quality in the future.
 
管理assignment代写 Stakeholder AccountabilityConclusion
In conclusion, stakeholder accountability and ESG reporting are both important contents needed to be reckoned well in the preparation of financial statements for their importance in the market nowadays. With the ever-going competition in the markets today, concerns about them will become more and more important.

 
References:
Benston, G. J. (1982) ‘Accounting and corporate accountability’, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 7(2): pp. 87–105
 
Cooper, S. M. and Owen, D. L. (2007) ‘Corporate social reporting and stakeholder accountability: the missing link’, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 32(7-8): pp. 649-667
 
Frank, K. (2006) Does ESG reporting make a difference?
http://www.slideshare.net/tbliconference/esg-reporting-does-it-make-a-difference [accessed on Oct 3rd, 2010]
 
Habermas, J. (1992) Moral Consciousness and Communicative Action, Cambridge: Polity Press.
 
IIRC (2010) What is Integrated Reporting, http://www.integratedreporting.org/node/3 [accessed on Oct 3rd, 2010]
 
Mouck, T. (1994) ‘Corporate accountability and Rorty’s utopian liberalism’, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal, 7(1): pp. 6–30.
 
Roberts, J. (1991) ‘The possibilities of accountability’, Accounting, Organizations and Society, 16(4): pp. 355–368
 
Roberts, J. (1996) ‘From discipline to dialogue: individualizingand socializing forms of accountability’, In R. Munro & J.Mouritsen (Eds.), Accountability: Power, Ethos & the Technologies of Managing, London: International Thomson.
 
Roberts, J. (2003) ‘The manufacture of corporate social responsibility: constructing corporate sensibility’, Organization, 10(2): pp. 249–265.
 
Rorty, R. (1989) Contingency, Irony and Solidarity, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press