Role of Accounting Profession in Promoting Sustainability Practices

Running head: COST MANAGEMENT
Cost Management
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note

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Synopsis
The main points which would be covered in the assessment is related to sustainability practices
which are followed by a business and how important is sustainability for business environment.
Further the role of Australian Accounting profession in promoting sustainability would be
discussed in details along with the impact of the same in the business environment. In addition to
this, the discussion would be covering the example of BHP Billiton ltd in regards to
sustainability policies which is adopted by the business. The policies and practices of BHP
Billiton would be discussed and for the same purpose corporate sustainability report of the
business for the year 2018 would be considered for analysis.

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Introduction
The focus of the assessment is to understand the role of sustainability and corporate
governance in a business. The assessment would be discussing how accounting profession can
contribute towards sustainability practices in a business and implementation of corporate
governance in a business. Corporate Social Responsibility practices are gaining importance in
corporate business as the same is related to the contributions which is made by a business
towards the society (Williams & O'Donovan, 2015). The corporate social responsibilities require
every business to act in the best interest of the society and stakeholders and ensure that the needs
of the shareholders are considered in the decision-making process of the business. In addition to
this, the discussion would also be including analysis for the business of BHP Billiton ltd which is
engage in the business of mining and exploration. The steps which are considered by the
administration of the emtity towards corporate social responsibility are considered in the
discussion below:
Discussion
In the past, most of the companies conducted their operations for the purpose of earning
maximum profits and achieving growth in the operations of the business. These companies did
not consider the welfare of the stakeholders or the society while taking business decisions. In
fact, the companies also did not consider the impact which the activities of such businesses had
on the resources and environment as a whole. It was after the corporate scandals of Enron and
Worldcom took place, that emphasis was provided on bringing about ethical practices and
sustainability for the process of the business. The concept of sustainability states that the
business should operate in such a manner with the current resources so that the ability of the
future generation to utilize such resources is not compromised. In addition to this, Corporate

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social responsibility was also given importance as it was the responsibility of businesses to
consider the needs of the society and contribute towards the same. There are numerous countries
which have successfully adopted such practices and among such countries Australia is also
considered to be one of the countries which strongly puts emphasis on sustainable practices and
Corporate social responsibility (Schaltegger, Burritt & Petersen, 2017).
One of the key strategy which is followed by the Australia Government was the
introduction of National Action Plan for living sustainably which aimed to developed sustainable
practices in business environment. This action plan formulated by the government aimed to
spread knowledge regarding sustainability practices by learning and education. The accounting
professions plays a vital role in the operational procedures of the entity as the same records the
financial transactions of the corporate entity (Bepari & Mollik, 2016). In addition to this, the
accounting system allows the management to report in an appropriate manner, follow a
regulatory framework which can help the users to make proper decision regarding the business.
Therefore, it is necessary for accounting professionals to adhere to corporate social
responsibilities of a business and follow a practice of sustainability in the operations of the
business. The initiatives which are taken by accounting professionals can bring about major
changes in the sustainability practices which is followed in a business environment.
The role of an accountant is regarded to be very important from the financial point of
view and further it is also considered to be one of the profession which has the impact on the
operational activities of the business. There needs to wide scale changes in accounting system in
order to make businesses understand the importance of sustainability practices in the operations
of the business (Leong & Kavanagh, 2013). One of the steps which can be taken by accounting
bodies in order to incorporate sustainability practices in a business is by incorporating a