Contemporary Accounting Theory Assignment 2022

CONTEMPORARY ACCOUNTING THEORY

Executive Summary
The organisations engage in wide range of the corporate social responsibility
practices, through the partner agencies or on their own in light of the regulatory compliance
or to improve the image. It is imperative to note that as per the industry and region of
operation of an enterprise, various guidelines have been issued for the amount and manner of
the corporate social responsibility activities. The ethical theories also support the sustainable
reporting principles. The report engages in the theoretical research of the various facets of
corporate social responsibility and sustainable reporting in the modern businesses. The report
further engages in the application of the theoretical knowledge to the practical scenario in
terms of the evaluation of the CSR activities and reporting of the Spark New Zealand
Limited, in light of the GRI principles.

Contents
Introduction................................................................................................................................3
Significance of corporate social responsibility..........................................................................3
Sustainable Reporting representing the holistic view of the corporate social responsibility.....4
Theories representing the essence of sustainable reporting.......................................................5
Overview of the company..........................................................................................................6
Sustainability reporting (disclosure) scoring index according to the Global Reporting
Initiative (GRI) guidelines.........................................................................................................7
Extent and Quality of Sustainable Reporting of the company Spark New Zealand Limited....8
Conclusion................................................................................................................................12
References................................................................................................................................13

Introduction
With the increased complexities in the business environment and the corporate
scandals and collapses coming into light, there has been placed an enhanced responsibility on
the entities to be considerate of the welfares of the stakeholder groups and not just
concentrate on the revenue earning objectives. The term corporate social responsibility
denotes the accountability of the company towards the society and various associated
members in the light of the environmental, economic and social responsibilities (Schwartz,
2011).
The following assignment is aimed at examining the various aspect of the corporate
social responsibility in light of the case study of the company Spark New Zealand Limited
(SPK, formerly Telecom Corporation of New Zealand Limited). The concept of the
sustainability reporting and corporate social responsibility would be studied in detail with the
aid of the literature and the theories. Further, the report would involve the application of the
insights gained from the literature to the financial statements of the said company to conclude
on the extent and quality of the social responsibility fulfilment by the company.
Significance of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Bowen (1953), had stated the meaning of the corporate social responsibility in the
book “Social Responsibilities of the Businessman”, as the framework of the obligations
required to be adhered to by the enterprises, which included the designing of the policies and
undertaking decisions that extend the goals and values of the society of the wellbeing of
various members of society (Moon, 2014). As per the work of Chaffee (2017), the evolution
of the social responsibility principles can be traced back to the earlier Roman laws and
English laws as well that regarded the corporations as an tool for societal development.
Gradually over the years, the concept of the corporate social responsibility has been widened
considerably to include aligning the aspirations of the stakeholders with the corporate
objectives (Tricker, 2015). Some of the societal concerns that have formed the part of the
corporate social responsibility principles are that of rapid population growth, pollution, and
issue of the resource depletion, which are a matter of concern for almost every nation. The
growing significance of the corporate social responsibility can be traced in the fact that
numerous international and national organisations have been formed to address the various
societal concerns (Zientara, 2017). Some of the organisations are the “UN Global Compact,”

the “Global Reporting Initiative”, and the “World Business Council for Sustainable
Development”, the “Organization for Economic cooperation and development”, the
“International Organization for Standardization” and others. The principles and guidelines of
these organisations facilitate and guide the entities towards the best approaches for the
entities in being transparent, fair and accountable while carrying out the revenue earning
objectives. Hence, it can be stated that the principles of the CSR have evolved extensively.
Sustainable Reporting representing the holistic view of the corporate
social responsibility
Over the years, the reporting of the activities of the enterprises have also enhanced
significantly to include the non-financial information as well for the advancement of the
decision makers interests. In order to provide a broader perspective in context of the
performance of the business activities, various organizations have indulged in reporting of
their performance on the scale of the environmental issues, sustainable development, and
social responsibility as well other than the financial issues (Katamba, Zipfel, Haag &
Kazooba, 2012). Sustainability reporting refers to a systematic framework which involves
gathering and presenting the sustainability information for the management process and
strategies, and for the employees, customers, local communities, investors and the
shareholders. The following picture highlights the development process of the current
sustainable reporting over the years that is comprised of the principles of various other
relevant principles to form an overall comprehensive framework.
(INTOSAI WGEA, 2013)

From the picture depicted above, it is evident that what started with the concentration
on the environmental reporting only, gradually involved the need and the principles of the
triple bottom line where three pillars were the people, planet and profit (INTOSAI WGEA,
2013). The 1990s further witnesses the development of a voluntary sustainability reporting
framework under Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). Further, the individual countries also
developed their respective principles for the improvement of the annual reports and accounts.
Eventually, the sustainable reporting principles also included the disclosure of the issues
related to organizational governance, fair employment practices, consideration of the human
rights and the labor practices, consumer issues, community involvement apart from the
environmental concerns such as the climate change, carbon contribution and others.
Today, various organizations are not only providing the said information in an attempt
to improve their reputations in light of the consideration of the societal issues, while others
report as part of the mandatory frameworks. Some of the aspects that form the content of the
sustainable reporting are listed as follows. The sustainable reporting principles demand the
reporting of the financial as well as the non-financial information of the energy use, water
usage, waste generation and various aspects of the procurements. Hence, it can be stated that
the sustainable reporting has become a significant tool in the presentation of the holistic view
of corporate social responsibility, which now includes a number of aspects and
responsibilities to be disclosed.
Theories representing the essence of sustainable reporting
The following segment of the report sheds light on the principles of two of the many
available theories that lead to the explanation of the gist or the rationale of the sustainable
reporting. Numerous philosophers have developed various ethical theories to provide the
guiding principles that facilitate an efficient conduct from the individuals as well as the
business organisations. These theories are aimed at overall social wellbeing in the decision
making (Scalet, 2018). While some theories stress on the performance of the duties, some are
focussed towards the outcomes of the decisions, to regard an act as ethical or unethical.
One of the most popular and chief ethical theories is of the ethical theory of
utilitarianism. The said theory of ethics is based on the belief that the mass interests must be
considered at the time of decision-making and the same should lead to the general happiness
or utility and not be concentrated only to the fulfilment of the individual interests only
(Hollander, 2016). On application of the above principles to the nature of the sustainable

reporting, it can be stated that principles of sustainable reporting are aimed at providing
information to the interests of the every stakeholder group of the entity and not just the
shareholders (Barry, 2016). The information presented therein aids the investors and
regulators as well for the various decisions.
Yet another popular ethical theory whose father is regarded as Immanuel Kant is that
of Deontology also known as the Kantian analysis. The principles of the theory state that
legitimacy of the actions must be judged in the light of the moral principles, and the
consequences are not of much importance under said scenario. The theory is based on the
belief that if the ethical and moral guidelines are sufficiently considered at the time of making
decisions and the performance of the acts, there will be an spontaneous refinement in the
consequences as well (Vadastreanu, Maier & Maier, 2015). Thus, the theory calls for the
management of the companies to not be deviated from individual emotions, conflicts of the
interests and personal inclinations at the time of making business decisions for the
stakeholders group as a whole. In business scenario, the moral duties of the businesses calls
for the provision of the safe products to consumers, provision of the transparent information
to shareholders and investors, safeguarding the environment by engaging into sustainable
business practices, and providing safe working conditions to the employees (Chandler, 2019).
In context of the duties, various corporate frameworks have further prescribed mandatory
duties to act and present information in best interests of the stakeholders. Hence, as the
management of the organisations engage into various sustainable reporting practices and also
report the same in the financial reports, they are complying with their legally prescribed
duties and best practice guidelines. Consequently, the said compliances would lead to the
overall social well-being.
Hence, the above discussions elaborate the gist of the sustainable reporting to be the
conduct of the business in a way to be considerate of the interests of the various stakeholders
and providing information in a transparent and accountable manner.
Overview of the company
The company chosen for the analysis of the various aspects of the sustainability
reporting is the Spark New Zealand Limited. The stated organisation is based out of New
Zealand and is the supplier of telecommunications and digital services. The three chief
segments of operation for the entity are Spark Home, Mobile & Business; Spark Connect and
the Spark Digital. The segment named Spark Home, Mobile & Business is engaged in the

provision of the fixed line, Internet and Mobile services. The said provision is done to the
home consumers as well as the small medium business market. The second segment namely
the Spark Digital segment is engaged in the integration of the information technology (IT)
and telecommunications services and thus provides various information and communications
technology (ICT) solutions to the clients. The third and last segment Spark Connect provides
services of the network and IT operations.
Sustainability reporting (disclosure) scoring index according to the
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines
It is imperative to note that the numerous companies around the world take the aid of
the GRI guidelines for the development of their sustainability reports (Davys and Searcy,
2010). A sustainability reporting (disclosure) scoring index can be prepared according to the
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. The said benchmark would include the various
principles of the sustainable reporting and the content of the financial reports would be
examined against the same to judge the vitality of the same. There are numerous reporting
standards prescribed below under various categories to adjudge the performance of the
entities (GRI, 2019).
Serial Number GRI Standard Particulars Scoring
1 GRI 102 General Disclosures 0/1/2/3
2 GRI 103 Management
Approach
0/1/2/3
3 GRI 201 Economic
Performance
0/1/2/3
4 GRI 202 Market Presence 0/1/2/3
5 GRI 203 Indirect Economic
Impacts
0/1/2/3
6 GRI 204 Procurement Practices 0/1/2/3
7 GRI 205 Anti-Corruption 0/1/2/3
8 GRI 301 Materials 0/1/2/3
9 GRI 302 Energy 0/1/2/3
10 GRI 303 Water 0/1/2/3
11 GRI 304 Biodiversity 0/1/2/3
12 GRI 305 Emissions 0/1/2/3

13 GRI 306 Effluents and Waste 0/1/2/3
14 GRI 308 Supplier
Environmental
Assessment
0/1/2/3
15 GRI 403 Occupational health
and safety
0/1/2/3
16 GRI 404 Training and
Education
0/1/2/3
17 GRI 405 Diversity 0/1/2/3
18 GRI 406 Non discrimination 0/1/2/3
19 GRI 411 Rights of Indigenous
People
0/1/2/3
20 GRI 413 Local Communities 0/1/2/3
Scoring: The scores would be given on the lines of 0, 1, 2 and 3, for attributes as described
below.
 0 points: Absence of information for a specific indicator.
 1 point: Presence of qualitative information for a specific indicator and insufficient
quantitative indicators.
 2 points: Quantitative information is presented comprehensively as per the GRI
guidelines.
 3 points: When the reports present the information with comparison to the previous
year figures to indicate the benchmarks and the targets set and the levels of
achievement.
Extent and Quality of Sustainable Reporting of the company Spark
New Zealand Limited
Serial Number GRI
Standard
Particulars Scoring

2018 2017
1 GRI 102 General
Disclosures
3 3
2 GRI 103 Management
Approach
3 3
3 GRI 201 Economic
Performance
3 3
4 GRI 202 Market Presence 0 0
5 GRI 203 Indirect Economic
Impacts
1 1
6 GRI 204 Procurement
Practices
2 2
7 GRI 205 Anti-Corruption 1 1
8 GRI 301 Materials 2 2
9 GRI 302 Energy 3 3
10 GRI 303 Water 1 1
11 GRI 304 Biodiversity 0 0
12 GRI 305 Emissions 3 3
13 GRI 306 Effluents and
Waste
2 2
14 GRI 308 Supplier
Environmental
Assessment
2 2
15 GRI 403 Occupational
health and safety
3 3
16 GRI 404 Training and
Education
3 3
17 GRI 405 Diversity 3 3
18 GRI 406 Non discrimination 2 2
19 GRI 411 Rights of
Indigenous People
0 0
20 GRI 413 Local Communities 2 2

The analysis of scoring as presented above is as follows. The general information
have been presented well in the financial statement of the entity Spark, with respect to the
applicable accounting framework, operating results, leaders and others. Hence, score of 3 is
awarded. The management approach has been presented clearly as well that is focussed on
the business organisational model “Agile” which involves replacement of the traditional
hierarchical control with small, cross-functional and self-managing teams. Both qualitative
and quantitative impacts are presented. The economic impacts are presented in both the
yearly reports as highlighted by the picture below, however, the market share is generally
described.
(Source: Spark New Zealand, 2018)

The indirect economic impact has been presented qualitatively in the form of growth
in cloud, security and service management, launching of nationwide low-power Internet of
Things (IoT) network and others. In terms of material and energy information,
comprehensive information have been provided. For the suppliers, code of conduct has been
envisaged. As described in the score sheet above, the company has additionally provided a
range of information for the various aspects of the employment in the company. The aspects
like the diversity, inclusion, director’s remuneration, the extent of the target achieved and
upcoming targets are stated in the financial reports of both the years. Some of the aspects that
have been completely missed in the reports in the environment sections is that of the
biodiversity and in the employees section is that of the rights of the indigenous people. Other
than this, on evaluation it has been found that the reports of the company have been
comprehensively prepared highlighting the various aspects of the business functioning as
required by the sustainable reporting standards.

Conclusion
The discussions conducted in the previous parts aid to conclude that the business
cannot limit their objectives to merely profit earning in today’s times. The stakeholders of the
businesses have varied interests and the businesses must fulfil the same with the aid of the
transparent and accountable business practices and reporting. The work was an attempt to
review the growth of the corporate social responsibility practices over the years, the theories
forming base for the sustainable reporting and the expansion of the ambit of the sustainable
reporting principles. In addition, the sustainable reporting practices of the company Spark
New Zealand Limited was examined to conclude that the overall reporting is quite
comprehensive of the said company.

References
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http://investors.sparknz.co.nz/FormBuilder/_Resource/_module/gXbeer80tkeL4nEaF-
kwFA/SPK-2018-Annual-Report.pdf

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