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Track Chairs
Emanuela Mattia Cafaro, University of Salerno
Matteo Molinari, University of Bergamo
Jonida Carungu, London Metropolitan University
Track Description
The concepts of sustainability and value stand at the centre of contemporary economic and social debate, yet they possess deep historical roots that span eras, cultures, and political systems (Atkins et al. 2023; Atkins & McBride, 2023). Since their earliest formulations, business and accounting disciplines have viewed the firm as an open social system, required to meet the expectations of multiple stakeholders while maintaining a dynamic equilibrium within a changing environment (Freeman, 2010; Gray et al., 1996, 2017).
Understanding these historical foundations is essential to analysing how past societies sought to balance resource use, environmental protection, economic growth, and social equity and how accounting and reporting practices influenced these outcomes.
This track invites exploration of the historical interplay between sustainability and value in accounting. It seeks to examine how diverse forms of Social and Environmental Accounting (SEA) have contributed, over time, to the development of languages, instruments, and categories for measuring economic, natural, and human impacts. Throughout history, accounting has operated not merely as a system of record-keeping, but also as a cultural, political, and ethical technology shaping notions of responsibility and justice (Burchell et al., 1985, Del Baldo et al., 2020).
The aim is to analyse how accounting practices have made issues of responsibility, justice, and sustainability visible in different historical contexts, offering insights that anticipate contemporary debates on ESG reporting and corporate sustainability. From this perspective, historical inquiry can shed light on the origins and evolution of CSR, sustainability thought, and responsibility-oriented accounting practices (Parker, 2014).
Particular areas of interest include early forms of SEA, the role of academies and educational institutions in shaping moral and professional responsibility, and the theoretical contributions of scholars and practitioners who anticipated today’s sustainability discourse. The track seeks to connect historical evidence with current challenges, deriving lessons for present and future practice. It explores the accounting profession’s historical role in promoting a balanced relationship among prosperity, environmental stewardship, and social cohesion, and offers a historically grounded framework for rethinking how accounting can help organisations manage sustainability-related risks and opportunities (e.g., Carungu & Molinari, 2022, Molinari et al., 2025).
Contributions are welcome on (but not limited to) the following themes, examined from a historical perspective:
Different methodological approaches and sources to explore the roots and evolution of SEA (for instance, archival research in institutional and public archives, including rich or uncatalogued collections; documentary and content/semantic analysis of annual reports, newspapers, and policy documents; court, regulatory, and parliamentary records; photographic and material culture collections; video-elicitation; and case studies).
Keywords
Historical Perspectives; Accounting History; Social Accounting; Environmental Accounting; Stewardship; Sustainability
Publication Opportunities
The articles accepted in this track may be considered for publication in VINE Journal of Information and Knowledge Management Systems through a fast-track procedure.
References
Atkins, J. F., Doni, F., McBride, K., & Napier, C. (2023). Exploring the historical roots of environmental and ecological accounting from the dawn of human consciousness. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 36(6), 1473-1502.
Atkins, J., & McBride, K. (2023). Paradigm shift or shifting mirage? The rise of social and environmental accountability. In Handbook of accounting, accountability and governance (pp. 168-194). Edward Elgar Publishing.
Atkins, J., Atkins, B. C., Thomson, I., & Maroun, W. (2015). “Good” news from nowhere: Imagining utopian sustainable accounting. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 28(5), 651-670.
Burchell, S., Clubb, C., & Hopwood, A. G. (1985). Accounting in its social context: towards a history of value added in the United Kingdom. Accounting, organizations and Society, 10(4), 381-413.
Carnegie, G. D., & Napier, C. J. (2017). The accounting, auditing & accountability journal community in its 30th year. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 30(8), 1642-1676.
Carungu, J., & Molinari, M. (2022). The “accountant” stereotype in the Florentine medieval popular culture: “galantuomini” or usurers?. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 35(2), 241-270.
Del Baldo, M., Dillard, J., Baldarelli, M. G., & Ciambotti, M. (Eds.). (2020). Accounting, accountability and society: Trends and perspectives in reporting, management and governance for sustainability. Springer.
Freeman, R. E. (2010). Strategic management: A stakeholder approach. Cambridge University press.
Gray, R., Adams, C., & Owen, D. (2017). Social and environmental accounting. In The Routledge Companion to Critical Accounting (pp. 243-259). Routledge.
Gray, R., Owen, D., & Adams, C. (1996). Accounting & accountability: changes and challenges in corporate social and environmental reporting. Prentice hall.
Molinari, M., Carungu, J., & Di Pietra, R. (2025). How management accountants address the challenges of energy and climate change reporting: evidence from a longitudinal case study. Business Strategy and the Environment, forthcoming.
Parker, L. (2014). Constructing a research field: a reflection on the history of social and environmental accounting. Social and Environmental Accountability Journal, 34(2), 87-92.
