Environmental Accounting Disclosures of Australian Oil and Gas Companies Eltaib Elzarrouk Eltaib University of Wollongong
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University of Wollongong Research Online University of Wollongong Thesis Collection University of Wollongong Thesis Collections 2012 Environmental accounting disclosures of Australian oil and gas companies Eltaib Elzarrouk Eltaib University of Wollongong Recommended Citation Eltaib, Eltaib Elzarrouk, Environmental accounting disclosures of Australian oil and gas companies, Master of Accounting - Research thesis, School of Accounting and Finance, University of Wollongong, 2012. http://ro.uow.edu.au/theses/3777 Research Online is the open access institutional repository for the University of Wollongong. For further information contact the UOW Library: [email protected] UNIVERSITY OF WOLLONGONG Environmental accounting disclosures of Australian oil and gas companies A thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of the degree of Master of Accounting (Research) From the University of Wollongong By Eltaib Elzarrouk Eltaib School of Accounting and Finance 2012 i Thesis certification I, Eltaib Elzarrouk Eltaib, declare that this thesis, submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the award of Master of Accountancy by Research, in the school of Accounting and Finance, University of Wollongong, is wholly my own work unless otherwise referenced or acknowledged. The document has not been submitted for qualifications at any other academic institution. Eltaib Elzarrouk Eltaib ii Contents Thesis certification....................................................................................................... ii Contents ..................................................................................................................... iii List of tables ............................................................................................................. viii List of Figures ............................................................................................................. x List of the Abbreviations ............................................................................................ xii Abstract .................................................................................................................... xiii Acknowledgment ....................................................................................................... xv Chapter 1. Introduction ............................................................................................. 1 1.1. Background ................................................................................................... 2 1.2. Theoretical framework ................................................................................... 12 1.3. Research Methodology .................................................................................. 13 1.4. Thesis structure ............................................................................................. 14 1.5. Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 16 Chapter 2. Literature review ................................................................................... 19 2.1. A general overview of environmental accounting ........................................ 20 2.2. The pattern of corporate environmental disclosure ..................................... 29 2.2.1. Mandatory disclosure ........................................................................... 30 2.2.2. Voluntary disclosure ............................................................................. 30 2.3. Ongoing research in environmental accounting literature ........................... 31 iii 2.4. Empirical research in environmental disclosure .......................................... 37 2.5. Environmental disclosure in Australia ......................................................... 46 2.6. Conclusion .................................................................................................. 52 Chapter 3. Theoretical framework .......................................................................... 54 3.1. Brief Introduction ......................................................................................... 54 3.2. General discussion of legitimacy theory ........................................................ 58 3.2.1. Social contract ......................................................................................... 60 3.2.2. Social expectations ................................................................................. 61 3.3. Corporate reports and communicating legitimation tactics. ........................... 63 3.4. Environmental disclosure as a response to the public expectations .............. 65 3.5. Implication of legitimacy theory in environmental accounting research ......... 67 3.6. Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 70 Chapter 4. Research design ................................................................................... 72 4.1. Brief introduction of extractive industry .......................................................... 72 4.2. Sample selection: .......................................................................................... 78 4.3. Content analysis: ........................................................................................... 82 4.3.1 Unit of analysis ......................................................................................... 85 4.3.2. Coding frame ........................................................................................... 86 4.3.2.1. Coding categories ............................................................................. 87 4.3.2.2. Coding the level of information ......................................................... 93 4.3.2.3. Coding the type of information .......................................................... 95 iv 4.3.2.4 Disclosure measurement ................................................................... 96 4.4. Conclusion ..................................................................................................... 97 Chapter 5. Application of content analysis ........................................................... 100 5.1. Woodside Petroleum Company ................................................................... 101 5.2. Origin Energy ............................................................................................... 107 5.3. Santos ......................................................................................................... 112 5.4. Oil Search .................................................................................................... 117 5.5. WorleyParsons ............................................................................................ 122 5.6. Karoon Gas Australia ................................................................................... 127 5.7. Aurora oil and Gas ....................................................................................... 132 5.8. Beach petroleum .......................................................................................... 137 5.9. AWE ............................................................................................................ 142 5.10. Eastern Star Gas ....................................................................................... 147 5.11. Conclusion ................................................................................................. 151 Chapter 6. Conclusion .......................................................................................... 158 6.1. Conclusions about the research question .................................................... 159 6.1.1. The key focus of the environmental disclosures .................................... 159 6.1.2. The level of detail and the type of information (financial and non-financial) ........................................................................................................................ 160 6.1.3. The applicability of legitimacy theory ..................................................... 161 6.1.4. The association between the size and the corporate environmental disclosure ........................................................................................................ 161 v 6.2. The contribution of the study to the body of knowledge ............................... 162 6.2.1. Contribution to the academic literature in the area of environmental disclosure ........................................................................................................ 162 6.2.2. Contribution to the methodology ........................................................... 163 6.3. Limitations of the study ................................................................................ 163 6.3.1. Limitations of sample selection ............................................................. 163 6.3.2. Limitations of data collection ................................................................. 164 6.4. Future research ........................................................................................... 164 6.5. Final word .................................................................................................... 165 Reference list ....................................................................................................... 1656 Appendixes ............................................................................................................ 194 Appendix 1: Environmental Performance