Can accounting save the world?

How can the world’s largest corporations do their bit for sustainability? Two experts in social and environmental accounting will examine the area of corporate responsibility at a public lecture at the University of St Andrews.

The second inaugural lecture of the semester at the University will focus on the increasingly important field of “social accounting”.

Professors Rob Gray and Jan Bebbington will deliver the joint inaugural lecture ‘Can Accounting Save the World?’ tomorrow (Wednesday 15th March).

Rob Gray is a Professor of Social and Environmental Accounting and Director of the Centre for Social and Environmental Accounting Research at the University’s School of Management. He is the author/co-author of over 250 books, monographs, chapters and articles – mainly on social and environmental accounting, sustainability, social responsibility and education.

Jan Bebbington is Professor of Accounting and Sustainable Development at the School of Management. Her research interests focus around the dual themes of corporate social reporting on sustainable development and full cost accounting and modelling.

The pair will deliver two short lectures introducing a range of crucial theoretical and practical matters surrounding the field.

Professor Gray will focus on how accountability, sustainability and social responsibility are currently manifest in the world’s largest corporations and what needs to be done to advance this practice.

Professor Bebbington will focus more on the applied end of the concerns and review experiences of working with a range of large and small organisations which are seeking to discover what sustainability and responsibility mean to them and how they can work towards its achievement.

The lecture ‘Can Accounting Save the World?’ by Professors Rob Gray and Jan Bebbington will take place at 5.15pm on Wednesday 15th March at School III, St Salvator’s Quadrangle, North Street, St Andrews. Members of the public are welcome.

ENDS

Issued by Beattie Media – www.beattiegroup.com On behalf of the University of St Andrews

Contact Gayle Cook, Press Officer on 01334 467227 / 462529, mobile 07900 050 103, or email gec3@st- andrews.ac.uk

Ref: Accountancy inaugural.doc

View the latest University press releases at http://www.st- andrews.ac.uk