Center for Advancing Accounting

ESG Reporting Projects for Introductory Accounting

• In Event: Integration of ESG/Sustainability into Accounting Courses

Abstract

ESG is important to integrate into the introductory accounting courses. Our students care about sustainability – and it is important to show how accounting supports ESG measures in the introductory courses. The two introductory courses are typically full of content already, so we have taken the approach that integrates ESG material into the existing framework in these two courses.
We have developed introductory ESG project materials that are modular and can be used at various points in the introductory course sequence. The materials are suitable for students to do on their own without requiring any class time. We have developed a set of company ESG reports for an industry that are based on real companies. We provide students with information about how they should find the information within those provided reports that is needed to prepare an ESG dashboard. We also provide step-by-step instructions about how to prepare an Excel dashboard representing the ESG information gathered. We provide tutorial videos about ESG and accounting. We also discuss how to interpret the metrics presented. In addition, we provide multiple-choice items and discussion questions to make assessment for these projects easy for the instructor. When students complete these projects, they gain experience in data gathering, visualization creation, and ESG metric interpretation. They will also gain insight into ESG reporting from an accounting standpoint.

Authors

• Wendy Tietz, Kent State University

• Tracie Miller, Franklin Universtiy