Environmental Accounting and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS)

Abstract

As financial globalization proceeds, international financial reporting and auditing standards are increasingly becoming important instruments of integration. This has been observed in both the London and Pittsburg summits of the G20 leaders in 2009. The G20 leaders reinforced the influence of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) in that they called for the implementation of global accounting standards by 2011. By the end of 2008, there were over 100 countries that had adopted IFRS. Another parallel summit was the United Nations special summit on the environment which was held on 22 September 2009. The United Nations’ summit underscored the link between environment and finance. This research paper makes a critical appraisal of the contemporary environmental accounting literature and examines the applicable and relevant paragraphs of the global financial reporting standards (IFRS). The relevant paragraphs for environmental accounting have been analyzed in relation to the environmental financial reporting.