A Review of the Social and Environmental Accounting Research in the Past 25 Years

Companies work within societies and use rare resources, thus they should be accountable for the activities and actions they carry out which have external influences. One of the major issues in the field of social responsibility is the accountability of companies to society and environment surrounding the company. This study provides a reflection on 25 years of social and environmental accounting (SEA) research within critical accounting. It is shown that critical accounting has been a major vehicle for disseminating SEA research with the published research coming from a variety of ‘critical’, ‘middle-of-the-road’, and ‘managerial’ perspectives. A number of topic areas attract attention with the most populated topic area relating to ‘new imaginings’ of accounting, with useful insights provided in terms of the use of counter, shadow, and dialogic accounts’ which reflect multiple voices and perspectives. It is emphasized within the study that SEA researchers need to examine the political foundations of their work. Important issues associated with SEA researchers’ role with engagement (both in terms of how they are undertaking their research, as well as where they are disseminating their results), in challenging existing practice, and in fostering a more enlightened and balanced form of education are addressed.