Premium
The climate change‐related disclosures and accountability practices of NGOs: Evidence from Australia
Author(s) -
Haque Shamima,
Irvine Helen
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
financial accountability and management
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.661
H-Index - 44
eISSN - 1468-0408
pISSN - 0267-4424
DOI - 10.1111/faam.12145
Subject(s) - accountability , accounting , public disclosure , code of conduct , business , index (typography) , social accounting , climate change , public relations , political science , public administration , law , accounting information system , mechanical engineering , ecology , world wide web , computer science , biology , engineering
This paper focusses on non‐governmental organisations’ (NGOs) broader social accountability, investigating their public disclosures on climate change commitment and performance. Using a synthesised disclosure index, we analyse the annual reports of 30 NGOs, all signatories to the Australian Council for International Development's Code of Conduct. Overall disclosure rates from 2008 to 2013 were higher for commitment than performance, but were very low overall. However, the number of NGOs disclosing information rose markedly over the period. Although it is not directly possible to attribute the change in disclosure levels to the implementation of the Code, the enactment of the new Code could be one of the motivating factors for NGOs’ disclosure practices and their demonstrations of greater social accountability.