环境会计信息披露.docx

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1、Environmental accountingIssues，reporting and disclosure Abstract With cleanup costs of hazardous wastes expected to run as high as $500 billion to $1 trillion over the next 50 years, environmental reporting and disclosure by firms in the United States during the 2000s will become more prolific. This

2、 manuscript seeks to provide an understanding of the magnitude of environmental issues, a brief history of the EPA, discussion of environmental regulatory acts and enforcement, and reporting and disclosure requirements by the SEC and FASB. IntroductionOne of the biggest concerns that firms will face

3、 in the 2000s will be reporting and disclosing of environmental issues. By early 1996, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had identified over 36,000 hazardous waste sites in the United States, and the identification of additional sites continues. The EPA estimates that total cleanup costs of

4、all identified hazardous waste sites could run as high as $500 billion to $1 trillion over the next 50 years (Jensen and Unger 1991). Interestingly, some of the largest public corporations in the United States have been identified by the EPA as responsible parties. The 1,405 most seriously contamina

5、ted properties have been placed on the National Priorities List (NPL), and are commonly referred to as Superfund sites. From these Superfund sites alone, the EPA has identified more than 15,000 Potentially Responsible Parties (PRPs) (Jensen and Unger 1991). (A PRP is a person or entity designated by

6、 the EPA as potentially responsible for the costs incurred in cleaning up the site(s).) The average cost to clean up a Superfund site is estimated to be $35 million (Dixon, Drezner, and Hammitt 1993); more troublesome sites could run as high as $1 billion each (Jensen and Unger 1991). To date, only

7、about 498 of these Superfund sites have been cleaned up totally. In light of time and resource commitment costs to clean up these hazardous waste sites, the potential impact on some specific entities could be enormous. Accordingly, it is logical that the public would want to know about the existence

8、 of any environmental issues for which a reporting entity might be held responsible. With this in mind, the underlying purpose for this manuscript is to provide an understanding of the magnitude of environmental issues in the United States, a brief history of the Environmental Protection Agency, env

9、ironmental regulatory acts and methods of enforcement by the EPA, and current disclosure requirements for corporations by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). Magnitude of Environmental PollutionEnvironmental pollution in the United States

10、 is a major issue. In assessing environmental pollution, specifically hazardous wastes, in this country, the EPA made the following statements: There are approximately 240, 000, 000 people in the United States. Try to imagine a ton of hazardous waste piled next to each of them, with another ton adde

11、d each and every year. Hazardous waste is produced in this country at the rate of 700,000 tons per day. Thats 250 million tons per year-enough to fill the Superdome in New Orleans 1,500 times over. (Environmental Protection Agency 1987, p. 14) Although it is true that the amount of hazardous waste i

12、s large, most of this waste is not dumped directly into the environment. Given sufficient incentives, most of the hazardous waste produced probably could be recycled as energy sources or be chemically stabilized. However, in the past, public corporations were not as knowledgeable about the impact of

13、 these hazardous wastes on humans as they are now. Additionally, they lacked sufficient incentives to, and were not required to, properly dispose of hazardous materials. Today, these companies are being forced to address their lack of foresight by acceptance of responsibility and, therefore, liabili

14、ty for past wastes. This liability ultimately leads to disclosure by public corporations. The EPA is the principal federal agency responsible for identifying the companies to be held responsible for these past wastes. History of the Environmental Protection AgencyPresident Richard M. Nixon created t

15、he Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as an independent agency of the United States government by an Executive Order entitled Reorganization Plan 3 of 1970. While most federal agencies have been created by Congress, the creation of an agency by executive order was unique and implied lack of legis

16、lative support. Designed to ensure the protection of national environmental health, the EPA has not always received meaningful support from Congress. Early budgets were meager, and the agencys main headquarters in Washington, D.C. was located in an old condominium。 (once owned by Vice-President Spir

17、o Agnew, who had trouble selling it through regular real estate channels). Although it received minimal support originally, since its creation two decades ago, the EPA has witnessed a gradual and steady growth in public concern for the environment. During the 1970s, in its first decade of existence,

18、 the EPA focused its attention primarily on the implementation of major environmental legislation enacted by Congress. During the next decade, the 1980s, the agency began to turn its attention toward the problem of enforcing its many statutes. Today, environmental concerns have never been higher in

19、the countrys social, economic, and political agendas (Vincoli 1993). In addition, there have been several laws passed that are directly concerned with environmental issues. Environmental Regulatory ActsSome of the more significant environmental federal regulations in the United States include: Clean

20、 Air Act (CAA) - 1963 (revised and amended in 1967, 1970, 1972, 1977, and 1990); Clean Water Act (CWA) - 1972 (amended in 1977 and 1987); Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA) - 1949 (amended in 1972 and 1978); Hazardous Material Transportation Act (HMTA) - 1975; Toxic Substance

21、s Act (TSCA) - 1976; Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) - 1976 (amended in 1980 and 1984); Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) (Superfund) - 1980; Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act (SARA) - 1986 (amended 1991); Hazardous Waste Operation

22、s and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) - 1990; Pollution Prevention Act (PPA) - 1990. Each of these federal acts gives the EPA and other federal agencies the ability to enforce cleanup of abandoned and existing hazardous waste sites and to impose liability on responsible parties to pay for the cleanup.

23、 As the enactment dates of these federal acts indicate, prior to 1970 environmental regulation was limited. Since the creation of the EPA, there has been a substantial increase in environmental awareness by the public that has led directly to a large number of governmental regulations. Each of these

24、 environmental acts has contributed directly to our countrys overall intent to control hazardous wastes. One of the most significant acts related to environmental issues is the Superfund Act (CERCLA). Financial Reporting and Disclosure This manuscript will now review disclosure requirements of the S

25、ecurities and Exchange Commission and the Financial Accounting Standards Board. The similarities and differences of these requirements and how they interface with EPA requirements is emphasized. These topics contribute The SEC disclosure requirements for environmental liabilities have evolved differ

26、ently from those of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB). The SEC mandates that corporations file a report if pollution expenditures have a material effect on their earnings. SEC regulation S-K requires that certain types of environmental information be disclosed: The material effects tha

27、t compliance with federal, state, and local environmental laws may have upon capital expenditures, earnings, and competitive position.Litigation pending or known to be contemplated by a government authority pursuant to federal, state, and local environmental regulations. Any other environmental info

28、rmation of which a prudent investor ought to be informed. (Williams and Phillips 1994, p. 31) For sustainable progress of a company, constructive information disclosure is required as the social responsibility of the company, particularly for the information that has important social meaning. At the

29、 same time, such an approach establishes the social evaluation of the company. High expectations are imposed on environmental accounting as one of the environmental information systems involved with companies and introduction of the system in as many companies as possible and accumulation of announc

30、ements are strongly requested.This guideline clarifies the significance of environmental accounting in Chapter 1, indicates environmental costs, environmental effects, and economical effects associated with environmental measures in Chapters 2 and 3 as the elements that form the environmental accoun

31、ting system. The guideline has discussed the concept of measuring each element. Companies try to install the environmental accounting system and use the systems for various cases using the information.Enterprises using their databases, which are developed using an environmental accounting system, ca

32、n use them for their internal environmental management or administration management and for announcing the implementation status of environmental conservation externally as a part of information disclosure. In the internal use, since the independence and uniqueness of the company can be demonstrated

33、, this guideline simply indicates the basic concepts described in Chapters 1 to 3.When disclosing information externally, companies must consider integrity and commonality that enable the system to be a social system for distribution of correct information to users. While recommending positive annou

34、ncement of environmental accounting information, this guideline also discusses as required the concept for the framework of environmental accounting required for announcing information associated with summarized environmental accounting, concept regarding the framework of environmental accounting, t

35、he items to be measured and the concept. This guideline also assumes users of environmental reports, that is, consumers, investors, and local residents as the main receivers of environmental accounting information.When an environmental accounting system is summarized based on the concept that has be

36、en described in this guideline, the formats shown below can be used for announcing environmental accounting information. Of course, the idea is to use the method that can most appropriately express individual information and the method is not restricted. This guideline suggests three announcement fo

37、rmats to enable selection of a format according to the policy for summarizing environmental accounting information and the degree of implementation progress. The contents announced by environmental accounting and the descriptions in environmental reports must be appropriately linked according to the

38、 framework of the environmental accounting applied by the company.(1) Environmental cost oriented type: Announcement format A This format was prepared for announcement of information based on environmental costs. It is desirable to describe the summary of the contents and effects of environmental me

39、asures as well as supplementing the information by entering applicable pages of the environmental report containing the details. Announcement format A-2 is also attached as the format for announcing information in more concrete categories.(2) Environmental effect correlation type: Announcement forma

40、t BThis format was prepared for clarifying cost effects of environmental measures taken by companies by mainly correlating environmental effects with environmental costs. Certain quantification applies to the effects and the effects must also be linked with the description in the environmental repor

41、t to actually back up the information.(3) Comprehensive effect correlation type: Announcement format CThis format was prepared for clarifying cost effects of environmental measures by correlating environmental costs with economical effects that are associated with environmental effects and environme

42、ntal measures and measuring the comprehensive effects. Although abundant information is made available, in terms of effects, appropriate measures are necessary for the presentation method since numeric values of different units are simply listed.This guideline provides examples of simple announcemen

43、t formats as summarized above. Announcement of more detailed environment accounting is required according to the attitude of information disclosure by companies. Economical effects in a wide range may be correlated with environmental costs, without restricting to the economical results calculated ba

44、sed of the credible basis only. In this case, it is mandatory to consider cost effects of the environmental measures by linking with environmental performance indexes in the environmental report.ConclusionToday, many firms are encountering environmental issues and seeking guidance on reporting and d

45、isclosing this information to the public. This manuscript reviewed the magnitude of environmental pollution in the United States, a brief history of the EPA, environmental regulatory acts including the Superfund Act, and reporting and disclosure requirements by the SEC and the FASB. By gaining a bet

46、ter understanding of the state of environmental issues in the United States, firms may be proactive in reporting and disclosing environmental information in the future. Suggestion For Future Research There are several future research studies that should be undertaken in the area of financial reporti

47、ng for environmental disclosures by publicly held corporations. Studies could be conducted to assess whether the stock market impounds information when a firm receives a General Notice Letter or a Special Notice Letter. Another study could examine the state of environmental disclosures by publicly-h

48、eld corporations today and in the past. Research could also be conducted to compare reporting and disclosure of environmental issues in the United States with other countries around the world. Finally, an assessment could be made to determine firm motivations in regards to disclosure of environmenta

49、l information to the public. 环境会计的问题、报告和披露摘要随着未来50年清理危险废物的费用将高达五千亿美元到一万亿美元，所以21世纪美国公司在环境披露和报告方面将进一步完善。这篇文章的写作目的主要是对美国证券交易委员和财务会计准则委员会的环境管理行为和执法措施，以及信息披露的要求和报告，环保署的历史和环境问题有个简单的了解前言部分21世纪对企业关注的焦点之一就是，将面临环境问题的披露和报告。早在1996年，美国环境保护局就确定了36000多个在美国存在的危险废物的工厂，并且这项工作继续进行着.1991年时，美国环保署就顾及所有已经查明了的存在危险废物的工厂的清理费用在为未来50年内将达到五千亿美元到一万亿美元。有趣的是，在美国一些最大的公共企业已经被环保署确定为责任方。1405种污染最严重的产业已经被视为不良土地放到污染名单。仅从这些超级场所上，美国环保署又确定了15000多家潜在的责任方。每清理一个不良地点需要3500万美元，而有些更麻烦的地点的清理费会高达10亿美元。到目前为止，仅有498个地方被完全