The purpose of this study was to develop an environmental reporting framework for the Tanzanian industrial sector. To achieve the purpose, the study started by developing a disclosure index, which was used to measure the current extent of environmental reporting in Tanzania. There were two phases in the process of developing the environmental disclosure index (EDI) for the Tanzanian industrial sector. The first phase involved identifying and refining the items for disclosure from the literature. In particular the studies on environmental reporting/disclosure were reviewed and the items to be included in the initial disclosure index were identified. The second phase involved the development of the final disclosure index using the Delphi inquiry method. In the Delphi inquiry, knowledgeable experts in environmental issues were consulted and asked for their opinion on the items proposed, whether the item should be retained, removed or any addition of new item. Therefore, the role of the experts was, first to confirm and validate items to be included in the EDI, and second, to assess the importance of the disclosure of each item by allocating weight to every item. The extent of environmental reporting in Tanzania was measured by using the EDI developed. The annual and environmental reports from various organisations operating in Tanzania were requested and read to determine the current extent of environmental reporting. The results indicated that the information reported by organisations operating in Tanzania mostly came from the categories ‘Organisational context’ and ‘Management performance, policies and systems. The information from ‘environmental performance’ category was left unreported. After the current extent of environmental reporting has been explored, the environmental reporting framework (ERF) was developed. The framework intended to provide guidance on environmental reporting to organisations (from the industrial sector) of any size operating in the country. In particular the framework provided the guidance on four steps to be followed when preparing environmental reports and the content to be included in the reports. After the ERF was developed, it was tested to investigate its applicability using two case studies. The results indicated that the steps to be followed when preparing environmental reports were valid and implementable. / College of Accounting Sciences / D. Phil. (Accounting Sciences)

Due to the fact that corporate environmental reporting (CER) is largely voluntary and unregulated, practice has evolved in the absence of a meaningful conceptual framework. This lack of a normative theory stating what should be the content of CER as well as the methods for measuring reported information being largely volumetric or content based, is advanced as a major limitation in the existing literature. In this study, the wellestablished conceptual frameworks for financial reporting are adapted as the basis for a CER conceptual framework in which four characteristics of CER indicate its quality. Empirical methods for the measurement of such characteristics are also adapted from the financial reporting literature. The main aim of this research is to use the adapted framework to examine the extent of variation in the quality of CER and then to test its applicability to the key motivational theories. The empirical work involves a panel of US and UK firms over a two-year period. This allows cross-sectional comparison to be made between different financial accounting regimes (rules- vs. principles-based) as well as permits examination of the development of CER over time. Further, the empirical work is extended to investigate the interrelationship between the financial and environmental performance of a firm. Evidence in support of the legitimacy and institutional theory explanations for disclosure motivations is comprehensively found through the measures of the qualitative characteristics identified. That is, the use of a novel CER framework based on financial reporting quality here enables a more robust understanding of the reporting behaviours than previous work. Moreover, evidence for CER variation owing to the differences in financial reporting regimes is found and thus, it is reasonable to assert that the culture of financial reporting, to some extent, informs the nature of voluntary non-financial reporting. However, perhaps owing to the short time frame of the investigation, evidence of financial rewards from being environmentally effective or through providing CER is not found. The findings from this research will be of interest to preparers and users of corporate environmental reports as well as to policymakers, particularly in terms of enabling them to assess the quality of reporting and its level of fit with their expectations. Moreover, they also shed light on the link between environmental performance, as manifested in carbon emissions, and what is reported.

In March 2022, OECD published a public consultation document entitled Crypto-Asset Reporting Framework and Amendments to the Common Repoting Standard (CARF). This doucment proposed new and amended requirements covering reporting and exchange of information of crypto-assets as well as containing broader revisions to the existing Common Reporting Standard (CRS) for the automatic exhange of informaiton (AEOI) between countries. In recent years, there has been a mass adoption of crypt-assets for a range of invesment and financial activities. OECD believes that the use of crypto-assets threatens the Common Reporting Standard (CRS) since crypto-assets can be easily transferred without a central administrator and held inaccessbile crypto "wallets." In reponse, OECD drafted CARF in an attempt to retrofit regulations made for traditional financial institutions, a regulatory "choke point model," onto the nascent and quickly developing crypto-asset space. The thesis argues that CARF is flawed in several ways. First, the CARF's requirements deviate from CRS for unexplained reasons created extra costs and administrative burden for cryto-asset service providers (CASPs). Second, as crypto-assets are more in the nature of moveable assets, CARF's inartful attempt to retrofit CRS is onto the crypto-asset space is likely stifle innovation and technological development, especially critical for the developing world and shifting power away from banks and other large financial institutions back to individual consumers and merchants. Finally, CARF may not even materially meet its goal of increasing tax revenues and ensuring tax compliance.

Abstracts in English, Afrikaans and Southern Sotho / The purpose of this study was to develop a best practice corporate community involvement disclosures (CCID) framework for JSE-listed organisations in South Africa. An analysis of the literature underscored the need for quality CCID and revealed the paucity of research on this topic. The study adopted a mixed-methods approach employing three research stages. Firstly, an initial CCID framework was constructed on the basis of a content and document analysis of top-performing JSE-listed organisations. Secondly, 30 CCI experts refined and validated the CCID framework through semi-structured interviews. The developed CCID framework comprised 36 specific disclosure items in nine general disclosure categories. Thirdly, the CCID framework was applied to 116 corporate reports, including the integrated reports, sustainability reports and corporate webpages of 20 JSE-listed companies for the years 2015 to 2017. The findings indicated that the sample of JSE-listed organisations disclose some aspects of CCI in their corporate reports. However, there is no consistent reporting framework, and a number of CCID items were under-disclosed according to the CCI expert “best practice” to meet stakeholder expectations. In both the integrated and sustainability reports, general category 2, CCI strategy, and general category 4, CCI projects, were the best-performing categories. General category 8, Evidence of CCI, was one of the best-performing categories disclosed in the sustainability reports and on the corporate webpages. General category 5, Relevant regulatory measures, general category 6, CCI benefits/business value creation, and general category 7, Assurance of CCI reporting, contained no or limited CCID. The development of the CCID framework resonated with stakeholder theory, while the findings on the application of the CCID framework supported the theoretical perspectives of legitimacy theory. In addition to the identified legitimising drivers, the findings suggested that local tensions and expectations are impacting on CCID in South Africa. The findings of this study provide useful insights into CCID practices, guidelines and the quality of CCID. It is unique because it is the first of its kind to develop and apply a CCID framework in South Africa. The findings have a number of implications for stakeholders, corporate managers, regulators and policymakers in South Africa and internationally. / Die doel van hierdie studie was om ’n raamwerk van beste praktykte te ontwikkel vir korporatiewe gemeenskapsbetrokkenheid-openbaarmakings (KGBO) vir JSE-genoteerde organisasies in Suid-Afrika. ʼn Ontleding van die literatuur het die behoefte aan gehalte-KGBO beklemtoon en die gebrek aan navorsing oor hierdie onderwerp aan die lig gebring. Die studie het ’n gemengdemetode-benadering gevolg wat drie navorsingstadiums gebruik het. Eerstens is ʼn aanvanklike KGBO-raamwerk op die grondslag van ’n inhoud-en-dokument-ontleding van bes presterende JSE-genoteerde organisasies saamgestel. Tweedens het 30 KGB-kundiges die KGBO-raamwerk deur middel van halfgestruktureerde onderhoude verfyn en geldig verklaar. Die ontwikkelde KGBO-raamwerk het 36 spesifieke openbaarmaking-items in nege algemene openbaarmakingkategorieë bevat. Derdens is die KGBO-raamwerk toegepas op 116 korporatiewe verslae, insluitend die geïntegreerde verslae, volhoubaarheidsverslae en korporatiewe webbladsye van 20 JSE-genoteerde maatskappye vir die jare 2015 tot 2017. Die bevindings het aangetoon dat die monster van JSE-genoteerde organisasies enkele aspekte van KGBO in hul korporatiewe verslae openbaar het. Daar is egter nie ’n konsekwente verslagdoeningsraamwerk nie, en volgens die KGB-bestepraktykkundige is ’n aantal KGBO-items onderverklaar om aan belanghebbers se verwagtinge te voldoen. In sowel die geïntegreerde as volhoubaarheidsverslae was die algemene kategorie 2, KGB-strategie, en algemene kategorie 4, KGB-projekte, die bes presterende kategorieë. Algemene kategorie 8, Bewys van KGB, was een van die bes presterende kategorieë wat in die volhoubaarheidsverslae en op die korporatiewe webbladsye openbaar gemaak is. Algemene kategorie 5, Relevante regulatiewe maatreëls, algemene kategorie 6, KGB-voordele/besigheidswaarde-skepping, en algemene kategorie 7, Gerusstelling van KGB-verslagdoening, het geen of beperkte KGBO bevat. Die ontwikkeling van die KGBO-raamwerk het by die belanghebberteorie aanklank gevind, terwyl die bevindings van die toepassing van die KGBO-raamwerk die teoretiese perspektiewe van die egtheidsteorie gesteun het. Benewens die geïdentifiseerde egtheidsaandrywers het die bevindings daarop gesinspeel dat plaaslike spanning en verwagtinge ’n uitwerking op KGBO in Suid-Afrika het. Die bevindings van hierdie studie verskaf nuttige insigte in KGBO-praktyke, -riglyne en die gehalte van KGBO. Dit is uniek omdat dit die eerste keer is dat ’n KGBO-raamwerk in Suid-Afrika ontwikkel en toegepas word. Die bevindings het ’n aantal implikasies vir belanghebbendes, korporatiewe bestuurders, reguleerders en beleidmakers in Suid-Afrika en internasionaal. / Morero wa thutelo ye e be e le go tšweletša tlhako ya maitokiši a kaonekaone a dikutollo tša seabe sa dikgwebo setšhabeng (CCID) ya mekgatlo ye e lego lenaneong la JSE ka Afrika Borwa. Tshekatsheko ya dingwalo e gatelela tlhokego ya CCID ye e nago le mohola gape e utollotše nyakišišo ye e sa lekanago ka ga hlogotaba ye. Thutelo e tšere mokgwatebelelo wa mekgwa ye e tswakantšwego ka go diriša magato a mararo a dinyakišišo. Sa mathomo, tlhako ya mathomo ya CCID e hlamilwe go ya ka tshekatsheko ya diteng le tokomane tša mekgatlo ye e lego lenaneong la JSE yeo e šomago gabotse. Sa bobedi, ditsebi tša CCI tše 30 di kaonafaditše le go laetša boleng bja tlhako ya CCID ka mokgwa wa dipotšišo tšeo di sa latelego lenaneo leo le itšeng. Tlhako ya CCID ye e tšweleditšwego pele e dirilwe ke dintlha tša kutollo tše itšeng tše 36 magorong a kakaretšo a kutollo a senyane. Sa boraro, tlhako ya CCID e phethagaditšwe go dipego tša kgwebo tše 116, go akaretšwa dipego tše di kopantšwego, dipego tšeo di fago tshedimošo ka ga boemo bja tšwelelo ya kgwebo le matlakala a wepo a dikhamphani tše 20 tšeo di lego lenaneong la JSE mengwageng ya 2015 go fihla 2017 Dikhwetšo di šupile gore sampolo ya mekgatlo yeo e lego lenaneong la JSE e utollotše dintlha tše dingwe tša CCI dipegong tša tšona tša kgwebo. Le ge go le bjalo, ga go tlhako ya go bega ye e sa fetogego, gomme dintlha tše mmalwa tša CCID di utollotšwe ka mo go sa lekanago go ya ka “maitokišo a makaonekaone” a ditsebi tša CCI go kgotsofatša ditetelo tša bakgahlegi. Ka go dipego tše kopantšwego le tšeo di fago tshedimošo ka ga maemo a tšwelelo ya kgwebo, legoro la 2 la kakaretšo, le legoro la 4 la kakaretšo, diprotšeke tša CCI, di bile magoro ao a šomilego gabotse. Legoro la 8 la kakaretšo, Evidence of CCI, e bile ye nngwe ya magoro ao a šomilego gabotse ao a utollotšwego ka go dipego tšeo di fago tshedimošo ka ga boemo bja tšwelelo ya kgwebo le go matlakala a wepo a kgwebo. Legoro la 5 la kakaretšo 5, Relevant regulatory measures, legoro la 6 la kakaretšo 6, CCI benefits/business value creation, le legoro la 7 la kakaretšo, Assurance of CCI reporting, di be di se na le goba le CCID ya bogolo bjo beetšwego mellwane. Tšwetšopele ya tlhako ya CCID e kwana le mekgwaboitshwaro bolaoding bja kgwebo, mola dikhwetšo go tirišo ya tlhako ya CCID e thekga tebelelo ya ditlhalošo tša diteori tša go dira go ya ka mekgwa ya boitshwaro ya setšhabeng. Go tlaleletša go ditlhohleletši tše di šupilwego tša go amogelwa ka semolao, dikhwetšo di šišintše gore dithulano le ditetelo tša selegae di na le khuetšo go CCID ka Afrika Borwa. Dikhwetšo tša thutelo ye di fa ditshedimošo tše di ka thušago tša ditlwaetšo tša CCID, mekgwatlhahli le mohola wa CCID. Ke ya moswananoši ka gobane ke ya mathomo ya mohuta wa yona go tšweletša le go diriša tlhako ya CCID ka Afrika Borwa. Dikhwetšo di na le ditlamorago tše mmalwa go batho bao ba nago le dikgahlego, balaodi ba dikgwebo, basepetši go ya ka molao le badiramelaotshepetšo ka Afrika Borwa le kemong ya boditšhabatšhaba. / Management Accounting / D. Phil. (Accounting Sciences)