This course introduces students to the roles of corporations in society and their accountability, accounting and reporting issues in the context of sustainability and social justice. It examines issues in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), emphasising accountability for, and reporting of, the social and environmental effects of a corporation’s economic actions to stakeholders. This extends the corporation’s accountability beyond financial disclosures to shareholders and is predicated on the assumption that corporations have social responsibilities that are much broader than generating shareholder wealth.

This course provides students with an appreciation of the broader issues of corporate performance and disclosure in the context of sustainability and social justice, and with a solid understanding of:

1. the socio-economic context and roles of corporations.
2. the relevance of stakeholders in corporations and concepts of responsibility and accountability.
3. developments and practices in corporate social responsibility, accountability and reporting.
4. regulatory and voluntary action in CSR accountability and reporting.

Students taking this course are expected to commit at least 10 hours per week to completing the work. This includes:

• 3 hours class attendance and participation
• 7 hours per week, on average: reading, research, writing and assignment preparation

There are no specific course pre-requisites. Students are required to have completed 72 units of study before taking this course to ensure they have the necessary academic skills. It is assumed that students taking this course have a working knowledge of the corporate sector and the nature of the various markets in which commercial corporations operate.

COMM3017 Environmental Accounting and Reporting

There are no prescribed textbooks for this course. Notes and prescribed readings will be made available via the course website.

See Course Website

See Course Website

For further information please see Course Website