What is the Accounting Profession’s Role in Accountability of Economic, Social, and Environmental Issues?
Anna L. Lusher

Abstract
This paper investigates the accounting profession’s role in accountability of economic, social, and environmental issues. It examines the profession’s perspective on sustainability, more commonly known in the accounting field as corporate social responsibility. The paper also explores the profession’s approach to green accounting. The big four international accounting firms’ current accounting practices are researched to determine 1) the merits of corporate social responsibility reporting, 2) how social and environmental issues are measured, and 3) whether these issues are considered sound and practical measures of business costs. A timeline depicts the progress made in the accounting field toward full accountability. The United States Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP), International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) comprehensive sustainability reporting framework, and the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC) guidelines are also reviewed to determine the current status of global green accounting.

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