Making Sustainability Accountable

URL study guide

https://studiegids.vu.nl/en/courses/2025-2026/E_ACC_MSA

Course Objective

This course provides students with a broad overview of current developments in accounting and control for sustainability. After following this course, students: can explain and discuss the main concepts used in connection with sustainability in relation to accounting and control (Bridging theory and practice
- knowledge)can explain and discuss current regulatory developments regarding corporate accountability for sustainability, in particular in the European Union (Bridging theory and practice
- knowledge)can discuss issues and solutions on selected sustainability topics with respect to internal reporting and control, external reporting, and assurance (Bridging theory and practice
- application)

Course Content

Recent years have seen an important acceleration in corporate accountability for sustainability, both on a voluntary and a mandatory basis. In the European Union, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive is having a major impact on the accounting and control domain as the scope of traditional practices in management control, external reporting and assurance are extended to sustainability issues (including climate change, pollution, resource use and cyclicality, employment conditions, impact on communities, etc.). To some extent, practices developed for financial information can be transferred relatively easily to the sustainability domain. However, there are also fundamentally new issues such as accountability for sustainability issues is a company's value chain. This course provides background and a thorough overview of current developments, and in-depth consideration of selected topics, with an integrated approach to understanding implications for the entire accounting and control cycle.

Teaching Methods

Lectures and tutorials

Method of Assessment

Written exam.

Literature

Selected academic and practitioner literature (available through Canvas and/or VU library); selected reporting and auditing standards (public domain)