Zugl.: Berlin, Freie Universiẗat, Diss., 2007.

Thesis (doctoral)--Universität Heidelberg.

Zugl.: Oldenburg, Univ., Diss., 2009

Thesis (M.A.)--Brigham Young University. Dept. of Communications, 2005. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 64-69).

Bachelor-Arbeit Univ. St. Gallen, 2008.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Wisconsin, 1967. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S.)--West Virginia University, 2006. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains vi, 99 p. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 94-99).

The thesis investigates the broad areas of accounting's adaptability in handling and reporting environmental effects. The main purposes of the study are: firstly. to draw together the literature of environmental concern and accounting: secondly to establish whether the use of environmental accounting is practised. to ascertain whether there is a suitable medium for environmental reporting and lastly to formulate a theoretical environmental performance model. The overall orientation of the research was to consider whether accounting should break away from its traditional economic and financial principles and broaden its scope to embrace a system that echoes with "environmental concern". In order to address these issues. the methods of evaluating environmental effects are looked at, together with the methods for accounting and reporting them. For these purposes, data were collected using a cross-sectional corporate methodology. The instrument used for the survey was the postal questionnaire. The construction and content of the questionnaire were influenced by the information gleaned from the literature review and, in the main, it covered qualitative, quantitative and financial information. The evidence gathered from the research has shown that environmental accounting and reporting are being practised by a variety of companies and are also becoming more widespread, which demonstrates that accounting is playing an important role in handling environmental transactions. The research has also shown that environmental accounting and reporting are gaining a broader perspective and now embrace environmental management systems. resource efficiency, and general environmental stewardship. Overall, the study recognises and concludes that environmental accounting and reporting, although spreading. should now be supported by environmental accounting and reporting guidelines from the accountancy profession, and in time, by legislation. Also environmental reports should be verified by external auditors in order to improve their integrity and prevent them from being used as a public relations exercise.

During the last three decades, financial reporting, performance measurement and accountability for the use of resources by the public sector have received a great deal of attention in numerous countries, especially in the developed world. This study is concerned with exploring these issues in the public sector of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and, specifically, its central government. Following an initial introductory chapter a detailed analysis of the literature relating to financial reporting and performance measurement in the public sector is undertaken. This is then developed through a detailed study of the financial reporting and auditing requirements specified under UAE law. This analysis reveals a number of weaknesses in the system of governmental reporting adopted in the UAE. As a result of the literature survey and the findings relating to the system of financial reporting by central government practiced in the UAE two key areas are then developed through the research methodology outlined in the text. Firstly, issues relating to government financial reports are examined. These include the: importance of financial reports, frequency and purposes of using financial reports, quality of financial reports, potential ways of improving financial reports, external potential users of financial reports and, finally in this section, reasons that prevent the users from reading or using governmental financial reports in the UAE. Secondly, various issues relating to performance measurement in the public sector are also discussed. These concern: the importance of non-financial information, methods of comparison, reasons for conducting performance measurement, users of performance measurement reports, reasons that prevent government units from carrying out performance measurement, procedures undertaken by the external audit for measuring performance, the quality of audit reports, ways of improving audit reports, the external potential users of government audit reports, and the reasons that prevent the external auditor carrying out performance auditing in governmental units in the UAE. Finally appropriate conclusion on the basis of the analysis is presented.

Research to date has focused on explaining disclosure and accountability practices mainly in liberal market economies. Accountability and disclosure studies have been embedded in Western/Euro-centric economic and social theories. Although there have been a growing number of theoretical accountability studies, few empirical studies have been conducted to explore the nature of accountability in the public sector and the private sector. Disclosure and accountability practices in non-competitive markets have been given little attention in the literature. The focus of this thesis is to understand information disclosure practices and accountability construction processes in the predominant socialist and Arabic context of Libya. This study contributes to knowledge by explaining how the practices of disclosure and accountability in such context occur. Explaining disclosure and accountability practices in relation to the state and the public contributes to the current debate around these practices. This study reported on data collected from two case studies conducted in Libya: the Secretary of Industry (SI) and the National Trailers Company (NTC). The Secretary of Industry's responsibilities included supervising thirty-one companies including the National Trailers Company. The National Trailers Company was a joint venture company where the State, represented by the Secretary of Industry, owned 75 per cent of the capital and an Italian company, Calabrese, owned 25 per cent of the capital. The aim of the study was to understand how information was disclosed and accountability was constructed and to explain the relationships between disclosure and accountability in the SI-NTC context. The study used Sinclair's (1995) forms of accountability as a point of reference to explore whether these forms were identified and understood similarly in the Libyan context. The study's observations showed that disclosure and accountability practices within the SI-NTC context were different from those identified in the literature. Information was disclosed upon request and followed mainly accountability routes. The role of managerial and financial accountability in this process was emphasised. The study proposed an explanation for the SI-NTC disclosure and accountability practices that took into consideration the role of not only economic, but also social and cultural aspects in these practices. This explanation encompassed values and beliefs that were related not only to secular, but also to sacred activities. The observations showed that Islamic construction of identity and accountability of a person (all persons) to Allah was embedded in the accountability process. The study's contribution was two-fold. The first was related to the process and the practice of disseminating the company's information - information enclosure - and the second was related to the accountability construction process - accountability webs. Information enclosure theory was proposed to explain the company's disclosure (enclosure) practices. The proposed theory was different from the conventional disclosure theories in that it reflected the role of not only economic but also social relationships in the information provided. Information was provided to those who constituted "the organisational web" of accountability where the influence of social relationships and personal connections - "the social web" - was present.