BUACC5933 Cost and Management Accounting Semester 2, 2019 Assignment Contribution to overall assessment: 25% Due Date: 26 September, 4 pm Your text includes discussions on “People, Planet and...

Synopsis:
    The essay has been presented on the sustainability in the business. The business never acts in seclusion and act as a part of the community, so it is its responsibility to look after the community and the environment it is working in. So, it is important to take up sustainable activities like using renewable sources of energy and using sustainable supply chain. Doing the charity works and spending for the community is also equally important.
    Accounting professionals can take up a major role in the sustainable practices of companies since they are at the ad juncture of all the departments and so can easily control the whole system. Accounting bodies can also take control by initiating standards, law and regulations for the sustainable development in the business. It will be beneficial when the act will be voluntary and the business houses will be able to realize that only making profit will not be able to make them survive in the long run and they need to gain the trust of the people and the community so that they can attract more consumers. Some issues can arise in sustainable reporting yet those can be overcome for the greater good.
Introduction:
This report stand from a view point of ‘People, Planet and Profit’, that is business should be carried out not just with the profit motive; it should be responsible enough to consider the welfare of the people of the community and the planet it is operating in (Carroll & Shabana, 2010). Awareness among the business is important to adopt the sustainable reporting. Appropriate skill is required for this purpose both in words as well as in deed. Proper commitment is also necessary to reach the goals.
First it is to be understood as to what actually corporate social responsibility (CSR) is and sustainability. Accounting professional associations along with the accounting professions can take a significant role in implementing sustainability reporting and can implement guidelines and take up procedures so that the business can follow sustainability (Hancock et al., 2010). But there are also some issues with sustainability reporting since it can often interfere with the profit of the organization. It is important to remove such issues so that the business enterprises can take up sustainability reporting voluntarily and without any issue.
BHP Billiton has been considered as an example of discharging the social and environmental accountability. So, analysis will be made as to the procedures and actions taken by the company so that the other companies can learn from it. BHP is trying to act responsible and reduce the impact of its operation on the environment. Several media reports have been analyzed to understand the scenario and get into the depth of the fact.
Sustainable Management:
Sustainability means looking into three aspects, people, planet and profit. Management is planning and controlling the operation of the business. Sustainability management is planning and controlling the business operations in such a way so that all the three aspects people, planet and profit grow and prosper in the future (Seuring & Gold, 2013). The concept refers to meeting present demands without disturbing the demands of future, which means that all the resources cannot be replenished to meet current demands without leaving anything for future. Corporate social responsibility is a way to achieve the sustainable management by a business enterprise.
Corporate Social Responsibility:
First it is important to understand corporate social responsibility. Actually it is a business model in which the company self regulates itself to be more responsible towards itself, to its stakeholder as well as to the general public at large. The company contributes to the social goals by carrying out philanthropic activities in terms of charity and supporting volunteering and ethical practices (Aguinis & Glavas, 2012). A company has internal as well as external stakeholders. Internal stakeholders include employees, shareholders, creditors, suppliers, lender, etc where as the external stakeholders are environment, community at large it is operating in. A business house has responsibility both towards the internal as well as external stakeholders. CSR helps to build a strong connection between the employees of the enterprise with the enterprises so that they remain loyal to the enterprise and discharge their duties properly. In fact internal stakeholders are also a part of the external stakeholders, so working for the external stakeholders will benefit all the parties.
CSR boost up both the community the business is operating in by benefitting the public at large and it also benefit the brand by building its reputation among the public. Its potential customers are also from the public at large. When the company becomes successful in building trust among its consumers then its revenue also ultimately increases (Bénabou & Tirole, 2010). Business enterprises take from the society and so it is also important to give something back to the society.
Role of Accounting Professions in Sustainability:
Accounting profession is almost in the intersection of all the departments in an organization and all its area of activities. It can be considered as a unique position and so is extremely important in bringing a change. Accounting professionals develop business models and generate information, so they can make the organization operate with the principles of sustainable management. The framework of the business can be developed by the...