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Sustainability has become strategic since companies are aware that they must make a positive contribution to society and the environment in which they operate. At the same time, alliances have been formed and pacts have been made among nations to attempt to solve the social, economic and environmental problems that today's society faces. This is the case of the UN's 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). This action plan entails the development of different initiatives to help face the challenges of this century, which have increased notably with the COVID-19 pandemic. The objective of this study is to carry out an analysis of Spanish companies' commitment to the 2030 Agenda and the SDGs and verify what types of activities they propose to ratify their commitment in an uncertain period for firms. For a sample of 100 observations of Spanish firms in 2020 and 2021, we evidence that SDGs 4 (Quality education), 8 (Decent work and economic growth), 9 (Industry, innovation, and infrastructure), 13 (Climate action) and 17 (Partnerships for the goals) have been adopted by many companies, which have presented initiatives, projects and programmes to achieve their goals. Commitment to the SDGs had a positive evolution in 2021, i.e., firms created economic value, protected the environment and contributed to greater social well-being. Our results show companies' preferences in terms of stakeholders as their SDGs' actions focus on women, older people, young people, workers and trade unions, local governments and researchers in issues related to climate change. The paper contributes with a global assessment of companies' initiatives and helps to determine the impact of uncertain environments on business commitments to the 2030 Agenda.

Purpose In view of the significant deficiencies that have been observed in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reporting practices, some companies have undertaken a new communication strategy based on a combination of the GRI guidelines and the IFC Performance Standards (termed the GRI-IFC strategy). This paper aims to analyse the role of the CSR committee and of assurance services in promoting this novel practice. Design/methodology/approach The authors use an unbalanced sample of 750 international companies that operate in emerging markets for the years 2011-2016, in which logistic and ordinal regressions are applied to the panel data to test the research hypotheses. Findings The results show that the existence of a CSR committee facilitates adoption of the GRI-IFC strategy, thus promoting sustainable management policies and systems and enhancing communication with stakeholders. In addition, these specialised committees often commission assurance for sustainability reports, to reinforce strategies aimed at improving corporate transparency. Research limitations/implications The analysis of mediation shows that diverse characteristics of corporate governance mechanisms interact in improving sustainability and business transparency. Practical implications There is an evident need for greater commitment by institutions to sustainability, for example by requiring greater specialisation of the members of the CSR committee in social and environmental issues. In addition, consideration should be given to including the creation of a CSR committee as a good practice, within the code of corporate governance and to establishing a specific framework for the committee’s actions. Social implications The previously cited impacts of this paper all contribute indirectly to a greater social welfare by generating higher levels of transparency, ethics and corporate performance. Specifically, higher quality verification services will have an impact on the improved functioning of the financial and capital markets, as well as in decision-making by internal and external stakeholders with more reliable information that will favour the implementation of more sustainable processes that in the short and long term will mean more companies who are responsible towards the environment and society. Originality/value This novel study explains why companies adopt voluntary strategies in compliance with GRI guidelines, seeking to provide better CSR disclosure.

The aim of this paper is to analyse the role played by independent directors and their decisions regarding the disclosure of information on corporate social responsibility (CSR). We posit that these directors (i) drive the creation of a CSR committee to advise them on social and environmental issues, and (ii) promote the use of the Global Reporting Initiative guidelines and the International Finance Corporation Performance Standards (jointly, the GRI-IFC strategy) in their CSR disclosure. The GRI-IFC strategy requires the disclosure of key indicators, and is expected to strengthen stakeholder engagement and to enhance the firm’s internal monitoring. Our analysis of an unbalanced sample of 750 international companies, spanning the period 2011–2016, in which logistic and ordinal regressions are applied to the panel data, reveals a generalised absence of direct involvement by independent directors in the adoption of the GRI-IFC strategy. However, in many cases these directors promote the creation of a CSR committee to advice the board on the voluntary implementation of the GRI-IFC strategy. Our evidence shows that the CSR committee plays a mediating role in the cause-effect relationship between independent directors and their adoption of the GRI-IFC strategy.

The aim of this paper is to extend the Industrial Corporate Social Responsibility Practices Index proposed for the 10 main industries in the 39 sectors of activity that comprise them. This extension will provide more detailed information on CSR practices at the industrial level, especially about sustainable development and environmental concerns. In addition, this paper stablishes an aggregate measure of industrial classification and mimetic typologies. It will tabulate the overall impact that the economic activity of a company has on society and environment. Thereby, the relationships between these indicators and the mimetic institutional forces are studied, testing these forces indicate that companies from sectors considered to have greater impact/risk have higher corporate social responsibility (CSR) scores than companies from other sectors. Additionally, using the MetaBiplot statistical multivariate technique, which by the comparison and integration of several subspaces provides a global view of sustainability at a sectoral level, it was found that the most polluting companies with the highest environmental risks—forestry and paper, mining, oil and gas producers, gas, water, and multi‐utilities, tobacco and electricity sectors—show their predilection for environmental policies and reports, human rights, and stakeholder participation. Moreover, the less polluting companies—banks, insurance, media, telecommunications, real state, and general retailers—are more intensive on staff and implement policies aimed at favoring: the personal and work‐life balance with systems for employee training and promotion; the equal opportunities and participation; the maintenance of good customer and supplier relations; and the fight to counteract bribery.

This chapter explains the Portuguese tax system for the Non-Profit Institutions (NPI or in Portuguese, ESNL), with an emphasis on the Private Institutions of Social Solidarity (PISS or, in Portuguese, IPSS). By comparing the legislation over time and space, the authors find that the current legislation of several Portuguese tax codes is fragmented and that, besides a few individual legislations, no tax regime concentrates on the various regiments, benefits and tax exemptions. A revision of the legal instruments governing the tax regime of the NPI/PISS in Portugal is carried out. These institutions assume various positions in the periodic tax relations within the Tax Administration, as taxpayers of income, wealth and consumption, as well as lenders of taxes and fees. The results show that NPI/PISS have a specific tax system and that their ability to pay tax depends on their social purpose and their public interest. Most institutions have fundraising drives or operate business activities, or both, in order to generate income to carry out their philanthropic activities. The area of NPI/PISS is complex due to the law and legislation. Although with the accurate theoretical framework, this study is not sufficient to provide an empirical evidence of the NPI/PISS tax system in Portugal. The chapter focus on the literature concerning the systematization of the tax system for the NPI/PISS in Portugal, and how these institutions can be proactive in their relationship with the Tax Administration. Thus, the present chapter aims to provide an understanding of the Portuguese tax system for the NPI/PISS, which will helpfully provide the international academic researchers and the professionals with a reference study in order to help them making more informed tax decisions.

Aware of the information needs of stakeholders, and of the important deficiencies often present in corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports on economic, social, and environmental issues, companies leading in sustainability have initiated a new communication strategy in which their CSR reports take into account both the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines and the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standards, in an approach termed the GRI‐IFC disclosure strategy. We examine whether this innovative practice provides a better reflection of a firm's social and environmental dimensions and therefore improves the forecasts made by financial analysts, who are significant stakeholders in this respect. Our analysis of an unbalanced sample of 750 international companies, located in 19 countries and operating in 22 business sectors during the years 2011–2016, in which a logistic regression is applied to the panel data, reveals the existence of a two‐way relationship between the adoption of the GRI‐IFC disclosure strategy and the level of analyst coverage. Moreover, the use of this strategy, and the resulting increase in coverage, has a positive impact on the accuracy of analysts' forecasts.

This research explores the framework of the marine knowledge, in general, and the blue accounting, in particular. On the one hand, the seabed, the ocean floor, and the subsoil allow to promote several activities to explore these resources. On the other hand, the pollution and degradation of the marine environment due to human intervention which damage and harm the marine life and produces strong risks and threats to this environment. In this context, marine resources are a public good which is available to everybody, at all time, but without payment or compensations to this collective pressure of human activity. In order to reinforce the marine knowledge, the blue accounting will provide to the citizen, to the organization and to the society valuable information based on accounting standards that identify, measure, value, and report this blue growth that is the ocean strategy with new opportunities for marine and maritime sustainability. The fast evolution of the marine knowledge demands profound accounting researches that will study the increasing impact on the use, the management, the associated costs, and the new report opportunities of these resources and its value. This research will reduce the negative effect of politics and Governments that forget the blue accounting as essential to support the blue economy and ocean strategy, because sciences are interdependent and scarcity of marine resources demands knowledge to emerge these first insights and then mitigate uncertainties and risks.

The quality of information reported by the public companies has been highly discussed along the last decade. The center of this discussion is the implementation of International Financial Report Standards (IFRS) in many countries around the world, searching for reports that could be read for the investors and bring enough information to decide rationally the resource allocation inside the financial system.

This research aims to analyze the grown of the Portuguese higher education system, as well as the courses diversification, after the implementation of the Bologna Process in 2006. On the one hand, the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic of April 2, 1976, gives to all citizens a right to equal opportunities for school success and to access to the higher education. On the other hand, the Bologna Process aims to construct a European higher education area that establishes comparability, compatibility and coherence between the higher education system through the harmonization of academic degrees and the guarantee of quality in all the European institutions. Thus, methodologically, this research relied on a two-track approach. The first approach takes the form of a literature review, based in the legal regime of Portuguese and European higher education system. The second approach takes the form of an empirical research based on a descriptive statistical analysis, supported on the statistical information provided by Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science that shows the increases of the Portuguese’ qualifications and the courses diversification, after the implementation of the Bologna Process in 2006. Indeed, the research provides empirical evidence about the Portuguese higher education institutions engagement in the Bologna process.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the issues of accountability, social responsibility and law related with local action groups (LAGs) to achieve local economic and sustainable development.Design/methodology/approachThe literature review justifies the conceptual frame of the issues under discussion. Thus, on the one hand, the LEADER+ programme system statistics were used and, on the other hand, the Portuguese Government and European Union laws, regulations and official documents were used.FindingsLAGs represent civil society in its various aspects and interests, assuming many times as privileged partners of the State, strengthening the rights of individual citizens against the political and economic power. Also, the LAGs as partners have specific local conditions, such as historical, social and cultural identities, governance and geography, that should be equally considered.Research limitations/implicationsThe results of the paper show accountability limitations, but the LAG is developed as a source of indispensable and fundamental information for the decision‐making process of local sustainability.Practical implicationsLAGs sometimes, forgetting their real purpose, follow socially responsible practices, often, to apply the strict compliance with the law, regulations and norms, even if social responsibility strategies are arguably recognized as crucial to promote economic success, social and life quality, and environmental sustainability.Social implicationsThe challenges of local development in which the citizen, firms, entities and policy makers are merged need sophisticated and comprehensive strategies and socially responsible best practices to promote the welfare of the society.Originality/valueThis paper identifies case studies that highlight different strategic approaches to recognize the importance of the LAGs in the implementation of sustainable policies and social responsibility strategies. Also, different levels of accountability, social responsibility and law are applied and promoted by LAG.

Traditionally, accounting remains focused on the actions of the firm and ignores the effects of the firm upon its external environment. However, a growing number of researchers have accepted that several effects of the firm influence the external environment and have suggested that one of the roles of accounting should be to report the impact of the firm in this respect. This paper researches the effect of ownership on the liability decision concerning the increase of the knowledge on the accounting literature.

All over the world, corporate governance is adopting a new process of leadership and simultaneously propagating responsible governance for the welfare of stakeholders. This research has allowed us to identify new directions for future research. It examines the influence of several contextual factors in the framework of the financial decisions, where company has the right to have a transparent accountability, based on the influence of the founder, dispersion and type of ownership, size, economic sector and environment.

This research aims to analyses the women’s participation in Portugal politics in consequence of its educational attainment. On the one hand, the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic of April 2, 1976, gives women (and men) a right to equal opportunities for school success, to access to the higher education and to better working conditions. On the other hand, the same Constitution defends, in article 9, that fundamental task of the State is to promote equality between men and women and, in article 109, refers the citizens’ rights to political participation. However, despite the expansion of the education system, showing the rapid progress in improving baseline qualifications, women's educational attainment in certain working areas remains a challenge. Thus, methodologically, this research relied on a two-track approach. The first approach takes the form of a literature review, based, primarily in the legal regime of Portuguese higher education system and, in addition, on the gender parity law, considering that, according to Decree-Law nº 402/73 of August 11, Portugal promoted the democratization of education that was consolidated in the expansion and diversification of higher education to match the need to ensure economic development of the country. The second approach takes the form of an empirical research based on a descriptive statistical analysis, supported on the statistical information provided by Portuguese Ministry of Education and Science that show the increases of the Portuguese’ qualifications as well as the Portuguese Assembly of the Republic that provides important insights on the adoption of gender quotas in Portugal. In this sense, the research provides empirical evidence about the role of women’s education in advancing their interests at the Government and politics.

The purpose of this paper is to answer the importance of fraud that arise from the use of e-banking services more ethical behavior applied to everyday moral problems. On the one hand, the theoretical framework of this paper is based on literature about ethics and fraud, in general, and information and communication technology of the e-banking services, in particular. On the other hand, the empirical framework reflects the practices in this field of research used by banks with public data available on the Portuguese Banking Association. The results of the paper mitigate risks, such as show several threats, vulnerabilities, incidents, impacts and responses that face e-banking services.

This chapter discusses social responsibility taking into account the role of women as statutory auditors. Indeed, auditors are expected to confirm whether the financial statements are true and fair and, in accordance with the law, adopt a responsible attitude to the society. Methodologically, this research relied on a two-track approach. The first takes the form of an editorial review and argument which allows the authors to explore social responsibility literature along with implications for the role of women as statutory auditors. The second takes the form of a field research based on an exploratory longitudinal analysis, over the period 1973–2013, and support of the legal regime of Portugal, with public available sources of statistics and reports relating to the statutory auditors. The authors provided a glimpse of the role of women in this profession and, in the last years, the results show a weak increase of women on the statutory audit exercise.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of ethics applied to everyday moral problems arising from the use of e-banking services. These services have advantages in financial transactions, but security threats and vulnerabilities must be constantly reduced. In this framework raises the “good citizen” that desires to do well and needs to avoid harmful behavior [1]. While the “bad citizen” promotes the lack of transparency, wrong attitudes and “hidden” awareness of the nature, level and scope of the financial impact which claims to reduce the social responsibility [2] and produces high level of degree of materialistic values were less likely to acquire moral [3]. Indeed, the integration of fraud on all aspects of the e-banking services requires the profound revision of the traditional commercial paradigms that have been prevailed for last years. Thus, on the one hand, the theoretical framework of this paper is based on literature about ethics and fraud, in general, and information and communication technology of the e-banking services, in particular. On the other hand, the empirical framework reflects the practices in this field of research used by banks with public data available on the Portuguese Banking Association. The results of the paper show several threats, vulnerabilities, incidents, impacts and response that face e-banking services. To mitigate these risks, the main challenge is the public discussion that will promote prevention and disclosure evidence-based incidents, not only to endorse an adequate behavior but, also, to develop guidance on practical evidence on ethics and reduce fraud.

Health care is an essential need of the society and it is an integral part thereof. In this sense, everybody is entitled to medical services to provide health and well‐being that improves lifestyle. Policymakers and researchers focus substantial attention on hospitals and public spending of financial resources, because they recognise the political power and the general collective obligation of preserving a health care for the present and future generations. The empirical analysis used a sample based in the 31 corporate hospitals that belong to the Portuguese health care system as a National Health Service in the period 2002–2003. The disclosure of information allows comparability and identifies similarities between the hospitals in the sample. Relevant organizational variables were managed statistically through the multivariate analysis. The geographical analysis shows inequalities of the distribution of hospitals facilities in Portugal, with marked concentration in the urban coastal areas, affected by the number of persons that live there. The financial analysis is supported in the Portuguese Official Accounting Plan that follows the same accounting trend of corporations. So, the disclosure and the accountability system are not opened up to a new field for accounting in health care based in the Health Official Accounting Plan. The research shows implications at the operational level, the efficiency and the effectiveness of the health care strategy with differences between hospitals. The authors believe that, as complex organizations, hospitals must based their disclosure police in transparency to allow patients to identify their own orientations that should be driven mainly by corporate social responsibility as a public service and not by the economic perspective of a business. This research confirms that as a global strategy for the health care system, corporate social responsibility is urgently needed. As a finite resource, the health should demand a permanent attention from society, as well as the Government in accomplishment prevention and monitoring systems, with a view to the defence of a sustainable health care system. More than merely investing efforts in fighting for political changes, without any advantage for society it is crucial to invest in prevention of the quality of life as a basic requirement to honour the corporate social responsibility in hospitals. Especially needed are health care improvements and infrastructures. In summary, the health care system exists as a fundamental element that assures life and high standards of living, so it should be available to everybody and for everybody…

This chapter focuses on the social entrepreneurship, in general, and the social entities, in particular, to promote a detailed accounting analysis for understanding the decision value of the investment, due to the economic impact generated by these entities on the economy. The methodology presents a literature review that will outline the contribution of accounting for Non-For-Profit entities (NFP). Within the main results of the chapter, the demonstrations of the potential benefits of accounting for NFP raise the awareness of the social answers. In addition, the higher level of competition between the private versus public sector and NFP originate important economic distortions that lead to inequitable results. Then, the best assessment, within market dynamics, makes more pressure to the appraisal of the investment decision. Finally, it is necessary to consider that the integration of accounting for NFs implies that society must use entrepreneurship as a resource to regenerate the economy itself.

The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate the importance of recent developments of Information Technologies in Education (ITE), particularly in higher education, to answer students and teacher’s needs, according to the real time rapidity characteristics of the process of learning and teaching. The internet, mobile computing, social networks and many other advances in human communications have become essential to promote and boost education, technology and industry [1]. In this sense, the learning and the teaching process have to take such developments into account. As a consequence the teaching profession is evolving from an emphasis on delivering information to an emphasis on creating learning environments [2]. Indeed, the new challenges related with the integration of ITE into all aspects of the learning process require revising the traditional educational paradigms that have been prevailed for last years. Thus, on the one hand, the theoretical framework of this paper is based on literature about information technologies, in general, and information technologies in higher education, in particular. On the other hand, the empirical framework reflects the best practices in this field used in the Polytechnic Institute of Guarda (IPG, Portugal). The results of the paper show that the Higher Education Institutions (HEI) are facing new challenges, not only to promote an adequate education in each field of study to the students, but, also, to develop them with skills and knowledge required to leverage information technology effectively to the workplace on firms.

This research focuses on a tool, referred as e- Taxation, to promote taxation citizenship through Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) applied to the accounting and taxation area. In the current economic and financial situation in Portugal, it is essential that citizens and organizations develop a responsibility strategy for the fulfillment of obligations to the Autoridade Tributaria e Aduaneira (AT). Therefore, this strategy ensures greater fairness, equal opportunities and cohesion. Also, it implies a permanent interaction between the citizen, the organization and the AT, reducing the compliance costs (time, monetary and psychological), circumscribing the complexity of the tax system and projecting greater transparency and disclosure. Full Paper PDF: http://www.contecsi.fea.usp.br/envio/11contecsi-files/papers/735/submission/director/735-2456-1-DR.pdf

Accounting for citizenship focuses on citizens’ best interest to include both protecting their future financial well-being and ameliorating some of the harsh projections of what the world might look like for future retirees (Williams and Conley, Cornell Int Law J 38:493–551, 2005) and increasingly pressure the company strategic decisions to invest in sustainable practices (Aguilera et al., Corp Gov 14:147–158, 2006) and the better functioning of corporate governance (Aguilera and Cuervo-Cazurra, Corp Gov Int Rev 17:376–387, 2009).

This paper examines annual reports of the Caixa Geral de Aposentacoes (CGA) that administers the Portuguese pension program for civil servants (retirement, survivor and other minor special pensions). Our results suggest that constant changes in laws and regulations distort the real purpose of the CGA to the extent that the continued survival of the Portuguese pension programme is threatened. The CGA has implemented new questionable strategies for the maintenance of the programme to prevent its failure despite the existence of several limitations and social, economic and political constraints. Thus, future social responsibility and prudent policy are required to ensure the collective welfare of current and future generations.

O objetivo principal desta investigação é percecionar o modelo European Quality in Social Services (EQUASS), bem como analisar os critérios para a certificação da qualidade no âmbito do EQUASS Assurance e os respetivos indicadores chave de desempenho. Como metodologia de investigação desenvolveu-se uma análise teórica relativa à revisão de literatura científica e de normativos legais para contextualizar os Sistemas de Gestão da Qualidade (SGQ), em geral, e o referencial EQUASS Assurance, em particular. Os resultados obtidos permitem concluir que a qualidade é uma importante estratégia encontrada para responder às exigências, quer a nível económico, quer a nível da sociedade. Deste modo, as organizações implementam SGQ de modo a conseguirem disponibilizar produtos e/ou serviços de qualidade que marquem a diferença em relação a outras organizações do mesmo setor.

Os estudos de governanca corporativa identificam que os credores ja consideram no custo de capital a influencia da concentracao de capital nas decisoes financeiras das empresas. Alem disso, evidenciam que as empresas que possuem concentracao de capital nas maos de um unico dono possuem caracteristicas especificas que trazem decisoes nao aliadas as teorias classicas de financas O objetivo geral deste artigo e identificar diferencas no endividamento de empresas que possuem controle concentrado, influencia significativa e controle disperso. A populacao estudada foram as empresas listadas na BMF&Bovespa no ano de 2010 e a amostra final constituiu-se de 356 empresas. Foram analisados 6 (seis) anos (de 2004 a 2009), num total de 2136 observacoes. Foram testadas as variaveis de endividamento relacionadas com concentracao de controle (acima de 50% das acoes ordinarias) e influencia significativa (empresas com acionistas que possuem entre 20% e 50% das acoes ordinarias) no comando da empresa. Os resultados comprovam que o nivel de controle acionario pode influenciar positiva ou negativamente no endividamento das empresas brasileiras.

Comunicação apresentada em 16th International Conference on Enterprise Information Systems (ICEIS 2014); Paper #: 301; 27-30 April 2014, Lisbon, Portugal This paper focus on the environmental disclosure (ED) promoted by firms, due to the strong demand for information and identification of the relevant data that pursuit the new legal requirements. The methodology is separate, by one side, on the theoretical framework based on the disclosure of environmental information (EI) and the true and fair view based on the accounting perspective. Indeed, the paper provides an understanding of the Patten (2002), Clarkson et al. (2008) and Monteiro (2007) researches. And, by the other side, the empirical analysis, at longitudinal and exploratory level, measures the degree of disclosure of the environmental information based on the report perspective. The authors present an Environmental Disclosure Index (EDI) and discuss the increase of the environmental reporting (ER) over the time and disclosure level of items published in the firms’ annual reports listed on the Lisbon Euronext Stock Market, during the period of 2007-2009.