A Structured Literature Review about the Role of Management Accountants in Sustainability Accounting and Reporting

Abstract

Management accountants have proven to be pivotal for introducing new forms of accounting and reporting in companies to support managers in their decision-making process. The purpose of this paper is to review the literature on the role management accountants play in sustainability accounting and reporting to understand how research is progressing, point out its focus, critique its developments, and finally, identify future research avenues. Results reveal that, to date, management accountants’ level of involvement is lower than that of non-accountants and that there is a consensus in academia and practice that a more significant involvement of management accountants is needed for promoting homogenization of sustainability accounting and reporting in companies and its more widespread diffusion and use among managers, thus embedding sustainability in corporate strategy and practices. Our findings show that more active involvement of management accountants depends, among other things, on their ability to broaden their competencies to include other domains of expertise and on the role of accounting education in improving their sustainability knowledge. Therefore, we call for more research on the competencies, skills, and roles that management accountants should play in order to promote the adoption and improvement of sustainability accounting and reporting.