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The aim of this paper is to analyze the phenomenon related to business ethical purposes from a different perspective, using the philosophical lens developed by Immanuel Kant. This work is also oriented to identify the most important research topics related to business ethics through the combination of a different framework. The present paper intends to offer a conceptual contribution to the ongoing debate on the theme of ethics in corporate social responsibility, highlighting the main problematic aspects that emerge from the analysis of the literature and the observation of reality in the light of the philosophical framework of Kant. This paper, therefore, examines and applies the deontological view of Kant and his distinction between the ‘categorical’ and ‘hypothetic’ imperative. This ethical view is useful to prevent instrumental acceptance of ethical codes and sustainability reports; in fact, during the making of the work, several well-known practices are presented, which are far from behaving in a moral way (i.e., General Electrics, Lehman Brothers, and so on).

Design/methodology/approach – The methodology followed is eminently qualitative-exploratory based on the administration of questionnaires, aimed at knowing which strategies have been implemented or what strategies are in the process of implementing by the companies to adapt to the challenge. Findings - Our findings show how large companies adapt their business to changing environmental conditions within a short period of time and what they expect in the future. Originality/value - The work presents elements of novelty, as an empirical study in managing the impact of SDGs framework on businesses belonging to the Italian territory.

Keywords: professional auditor judgment, risk, internal audit, Bulgaria This paper is focused on the analysis of Bulgarian accounting system and practices. More specifically, it is aimed at investigating the main environmental factors, which led to the development of such system. The approach is therefore both descriptive and causal. The findings suggest that the changes in the socio-economic and the cultural tradition mainly affect accounting systems and practices, as well as the status of the accounting profession.

Research Question: How will the Substance-over-Form (SoF) ‘organism’ survive, mutate and develop in a new and unfamiliar ‘environment’? Motivation: Our study is motivated and inspired from a previous study published by Alexander et al. (2018) on “philosophy of language and accounting”. Alexander et al. (2018) used the “Substance-over-Form” principle as a case study investigation of the practicability, or non-practicability, of harmonising changes in accounting regulation across seven countries (and six languages). The objective of this paper is to investigate on a very different context: Albania (an EU candidate country, an ex-communist “Balkan state”, a different socially-constructed reality). Idea: This analysis shows the evolution of the SoF concept, by emphasizing the importance of the translation of official documents from English to Albanian and vice versa, comparing the content, the quality, and the level of translation in accounting. Data: We first analysed the main Albanian legislations on accounting from 1990 (opening year of the country to the free market economy) until 2021. Then, in order to assess the quality of translation from English to Albanian, we also critically examined the content and the level of translation of the 2018 IASB Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting. Tools: The paper follows a deductive approach, as the results come from contextual data or clauses. A manual content analysis is implemented. Subsequently, a critical semantic analysis and an in-depth investigation on the level of translation of the accounting concepts, with an explicit focus on SoF treatment, is performed. Findings: The exposition, analysis and results are fully consistent with our theoretical framework, “social Darwinism”. We add the Albanian case to previous studies, providing a contrasting scenario in that Albania has a significantly different history over recent decades. We illustrate a different socially-constructed reality from the seven countries of Alexander et al. (2018), and extend the overall understanding and the overall picture. The Albanian “organism” (accounting GAAP system) is consistent with its socially-constructed reality/environment. SoF seems to be distorted in its passage from Directive/IFRS originating sources, and this may well be fully consistent with local needs, realities, and cultures. Contribution: This research contributes to academic debate in three ways. First, it adds evidence to the literature on harmonisation processes, analysing the evolution of financial reporting regulation for a specific country and the application of a fundamental concept, such as SoF, comparing it to other national regulations. Second, this work contributes to further research, being a pioneer for the application of the “social Darwinism” to the analysis of a GAAP system. Finally, the paper contributes to the development of research on translation issues in accounting, by technically analysing the level of translation of the IASB Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting and back-translating from national Laws.