Environmental Accounting in Fiji : An Extended Case Study of the Fiji Sugar Corporation

This paper argues that accountants have the potential to play a crucial role in environmental management and reporting, through their managerial, performance measurement and evaluation, auditing and reporting skills. An in-depth study is undertaken to review the environmental accounting practice of the only public company in Fiji that discloses environmental information in its corporate annual report. The results indicate that environmental accounting in the Fiji Sugar Corporation (FSC) focuses on legitimising the environmentally sensitive nature of the company's operations rather than being an attempt to extend stewardship to the stakeholders that may be affected by the company's operations. There is also evidence of only limited involvement of accountants in the environmental management strategies of the FSC. The findings suggest that voluntary attempts at environmental accounting may not necessarily lead to an improvement in the quality of life for everyone. Hence, it is envisaged that the accountants' skills can be utilised more effectively in environmental matters if appropriate legislation and standards are used to provide a regulatory framework for environmental accounting