REPORTING AND SUSTAINABILITY ACCOUNTING

The course contributes to the educational objectives of the Master Degree, which, by integrating finance and sustainability, allows students to measure, understand and manage the dimensions of sustainability by considering risks and opportunities, both at the individual institution level and at the economic/financial system level.
The course deals with sustainability reporting and aims to develop knowledge and understanding of the current theoretical and practical issues of sustainability reporting and corporate accountability in general.
At the end of the course, students will be able to understand and discuss the key issues related to sustainability accounting and reporting, with particular reference to the application of international reporting standards and regulations.

1 KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

- Know the historical origins and theories on sustainability reporting
- Know the role of sustainability reporting in corporate reporting
- Know the objectives, principles, reporting process, and limitations of the sustainability report and the integrated report
- Know the main international standards on sustainability reporting
- Know the evolution of sustainability reporting regulation.

2 ABILITY TO APPLY KNOWLEDGE AND UNDERSTANDING

- Know how to identify the information needs that sustainability reporting must satisfy, in light of the specific characteristics of the individual company
- Know how to apply international best practices in the field of sustainability reporting
- Know how to identify and apply the relevant regulatory sources and the main standards for sustainability reporting
- Know how to identify the main critical issues in the sustainability reporting process.

3 MAKING JUDGEMENT

- Know how to frame hypotheses and judgments regarding the effectiveness of the sustainability reporting process
- Know how to determine the level of quality and reliability of a sustainability report.

No pre-requirements, but fundamental notions of business administration and corporate reporting are recommended.

- Introduction to sustainability and sustainability accounting
- Sustainability accounting: key concepts
- Sustainability management accounting and control
- Sustainability reporting: history, framework and regulation
- The sustainability reporting process
- EU regulation on sustainability reporting: from NFRD to CSRD
- Global Reporting Iniziative (GRI) Standards: principles and content
- European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS)
- EU Taxonomy on sustainable activities
- ISSB: International standards on sustainability reporting
- Integrated Reporting framework
- Sustainability reporting assurance
- Accounting for human rights and sustainability due diligence

Textbook:
Chiara Mio (ed) Integrated reporting. A new accounting disclosure, Palgrave 2016
Sustainability Accounting and Accountability, by Matias Laine, Helen Tregidga, and Jeffrey Unerman (third edition, 2022).
Slides of classes and readings will be provided.

The verification of the learning outcomes is based on the following mix:
- Evaluation of group and/or individual projects
- Written exam with open questions

Lectures, project works, case studies, presentations by students and guest speakers.

English

The course is carried out in collaboration with the extended partnership GRINS - Growing Resilient, INclusive and Sustainable, code PE0000018, CUP H73C22000930001, public notice no. 341/2022 of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan ("NRRP"), Mission 4 - Component 2 - Investment 1.3, funded by the European Union - NextGenerationEU.
As part of the course, meetings with companies’ testimonials involved in the project may be offered, focusing on the development of practical knowledge in the subject matter, as well as the results of the project itself.
This course covers topics related to the Spoke 1 Firms' sustainability - Work Package no. 4.

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Cities, infrastructure and social capital" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development