Environmental Accounting Recognition and Market Informativeness: Insights from IFRS and USA GAAP Settings

About the Project

Project Details

As global climate risks intensify, regulators and standard-setters are strengthening sustainability reporting requirements. The introduction of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 by the International Sustainability Standards Board marks a significant shift toward globally standardised sustainability disclosure. However, a fundamental question remains unresolved: does enhanced environmental disclosure alone improve the quality of financial reporting, or is formal recognition of environmental obligations within audited financial statements necessary to improve market transparency? This project investigates how the financial statement recognition of environmental costs and liabilities shapes market informativeness, particularly by improving analyst forecast quality and enhancing the broader information environment faced by capital market participants. Moving beyond broad ESG disclosure scores, the study focuses specifically on the recognition of environmental obligations within financial statements - including provisions, remediation costs, decommissioning liabilities, impairments, and related expenditures. These recognised items directly affect earnings and balance sheet positions and therefore may have measurable consequences for investors and analysts. The study adopts a research design that compares firms listed in the United Kingdom and the United States, enabling a rigorous examination of how IFRS and US GAAP may differ in shaping the recognition and usefulness of environmental accounting information. This cross-country settings comparison provides a unique opportunity to evaluate how variations in accounting standards influence the informativeness of environmental information disclosure and its capital market participants. This doctoral project offers an outstanding opportunity for a motivated candidate to engage in rigorous empirical research at the forefront of sustainability accounting, financial reporting, and international regulation.

Person Specification

The successful applicant should hold, or expect to achieve:

A First or Upper Second Class Honours undergraduate degree, and a Masters degree with Merit or Distinction, both in relevant subjects.

Qualifications from overseas institutions will be considered, but performance must be equivalent to that described above, and the University reserves the right to ascertain this equivalence according to its own criteria.

Desirable / Essential Skills or Experience

Required characteristics

Strong quantitative skills, including familiarity with statistical analysis (e.g., using Stata, R, Python, or similar). Solid understanding of financial reporting and accounting principles, including familiarity with IFRS and US GAAP. Ability to work with large datasets and an interest in empirical archival research and textual analysis.

Desirable characteristics

Prior experience in sustainability/ESG reporting. Awareness of current developments in sustainability reporting. Experience with data collection and coding (e.g., content analysis of annual reports). Experience using financial databases (e.g., Bloomberg, LSEG Workspace, Compustat, or similar).

Submitting an application

We can only consider applications that are complete and have all supporting documents. Applications that do not provide all the relevant documents will be automatically rejected.Your application must include:

1. English language copies of the transcripts and certificates for all your higher education degrees, including any Bachelor degrees.
2. A Research Statement detailing your understanding of the research area, how you would approach the project, and a brief review of relevant literature. Be sure to use the title of the research project you are applying for. There is no set format or word count.
3. A personal statement which outlines any further information which you think is relevant to your application, such as your personal suitability for research, career aspirations, possible future research interests, and further description of relevant employment experience.
4. A Curriculum Vitae (Resume) which details your education and work history.
5. Two academic refereeswho can discuss your suitability for independent research. References must be on headed paper, signed and dated no more than 2 years old. At least one reference should be from your most recent University. You can submit your references at a later date if necessary.
6. Evidence that you meet the English Language requirements. If you do not currently meet the language requirements, you can submit this at a later stage.
7. A copy of your passport. Where relevant, include evidence of settled or pre-settled status.

Contact Information

For enquiries about this project, contact a.allam@aston.ac.uk

Location

This position will be based on the Aston Campus in Birmingham, UK. The successful candidate will need to be located within a reasonable distance of the campus, and will be expected to visit in person regularly.

Interviews

Interviews will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams. If you are shortlisted, you will be contacted directly with details of the interview.

Funding Notes

This project covers all tuition fees.

Please note that the successful candidate will be responsible for living expenses, and any costs relating to moving to Birmingham and/or visiting the Aston campus. International students must meet the financial requirements for the visa, flights, and NHS Surcharge. Applicants should be confident that they can meet these costs before applying.

Further information can be found here: Financial Requirements | Aston University