Accounting agenda and evaluation of enterprises' environmental activities in the Czech Republic

Abstract

Environmental protection is an important element of the contemporary economic development. It also brings a new dimension of enterprises' relation to environmental issues. The aim of corporate activities is not only to generate profit but also to satisfy the interests of shareholders. If enterprises want to succeed in such a hard competitive environment, their managements must not forget to consider their relation to the environment. The basic information tool the managers of enterprises may use to get relevant information about the interaction between their enterprise and the environment are accounting modules. The purpose of this paper is to review the preparedness of accounting systems of enterprises in the Czech Republic to catch corporate processes that may be problematic from the environmental point of view. The financial accounting module in the Czech Republic economic environment is firmly bundled with legislation. Pursuant to the applicable provisions of the Czech Act on Accounting and related legislation, environmental information does not need to be tracked. Some information on environment is included in financial statements, but this is usually the case of large corporation only. In connection with the requirements for sustainable development, it is necessary that each entity will closely follow its interaction with the environment. Therefore, the financial but also the managerial accounting modules should be updated to include environmental aspects too. Managers of enterprises will then be able to accurately quantify real costs and revenues associated with environmental issues. Such information could be then used as a basis for analysis of individual corporate activities having some impact on the environment as well as for planning of goals in this area. The management of enterprises should also introduce a system of indicators for the evaluation of environmental aspects within the scope of corporate processes. The paper also covers the case study of the Czech company engaged in the manufacture of aluminum alloy casts. The case study analyzes current options for tracking the selected environmental aspects in managerial and financial accounting systems. The case study further suggests some indicators to evaluate such activities.