Contemporary Issues in Accounting, Finance and Governance: Towards Sustainability and SDGs

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Introduction

The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly in 2015, serves as a comprehensive plan to promote peace, prosperity, and environmental well-being. It outlines 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets, aiming to address global challenges by 2030. These goals span from poverty eradication to climate change mitigation, emphasizing a balance between economic, social, and environmental aspects. Organisations in different context and settings can play pivotal role in the advancement sustainability and SDG agenda by integrating SDGs into their operational and strategic decision making. By doing so, they can offer innovative solutions to global sustainability challenges. Simultaneously, addressing these challenges presents opportunities for organizations to innovate their business models, collaborate with new partners, and reach diverse customer segments. 

Digitalization, environmental concerns, and social and governance factors drive business model transformation toward sustainability and circular economy. The impact of digitalization on business and society has been explored by prior research. Companies adapt policies and effective control mechanisms to control organisational resources, improve efficiency and maintain competitive edges. Digitalisation has pervasive impact on business activities, economy and society (de Sousa Jabbour et al., 2018, Jabbour et al. 2019). The past decade has witnessed business model transformation towards good governance and accountability in steering and leading organisational resources towards sustainability (Alkaraan et al, 2024; Hussainey et al, 2022, Alkaraan, 2023). Prior research (e.g. Bhimani, 2021;Tyma et al, 2022) explore how digital technologies impact accounting and control systems, presenting both challenges and opportunities. 

The above transformations affect business education and student learning. Current debate on sustainability and SDGs articulated the need for sustainable practices prompts a re-evaluation of business education, including accounting and finance curricula. In a rapidly changing world, embracing innovative approaches is crucial for preparing the next generation of business leaders. Conventional assumptions are being challenged, leading to the development of innovative frameworks.

We invite researchers to contribute to our special issue, which explores critical intersections between corporate governance, sustainability, and finance education. This issue aims to host quantitative, qualitative, and mixed research paradigms, employing various theoretical lenses.

Key topics include:

•    Boardrooms commitments to SDGs and sustainability.
•    The influence of digitalisation on financial accounting. management accounting and control system.
•    The influence of FinTech industry and governance structure on banks and financial institutions 
•    Social and environmental reporting. 
•    Big data analytics and financial reporting quality 
•    Financial reporting through extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL)
•    Nexus between Industry 4.0 and companies’ performance 
•    Business, accounting and finance education changes in the context of increased interest in ethical, social, and environmental accountability
•    Building cross-cultural competence in accounting and finance classrooms.
•    The potential of blockchain and the future of accounting and finance profession
•    Big data and advanced analytics and blockchain implications.
•    Cloud computing in the financial sector and manufacturing sector, and decision-making processes in cloud environment

Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted through the journal's online submission system: https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jfra.
Submissions must adhere to the Journal of Financial Reporting and Accounting's guidelines for formatting and citation: https://www.emeraldgrouppublishing.com/journal/jfra.

Guest Editors 

Dr Fadi Alkaraan, University of Lincoln (UK), Gulf University for Science & Technology (Kuwait)

Dr Judith John, Senior Lecturer in Accounting & Finance, University of Lincoln. 

Dr Tony Abdoush, Bournemouth University

Deadline: 30th November 2024