Sustainability Reporting and Fair Presentation
DETAILS
Call for Papers
Sustainability Reporting and Fair Presentation
Journal: Meditari Accountancy Research
Publisher: Emerald Publishing
Manuscript Submission Opens: 1 September 2027
Manuscript Submission Deadline: 30 November 2027
Meditari Accountancy Research invites submissions for a Special Issue examining fair presentation as a potentially unifying principle for improving the quality, credibility, transparency, accountability, and decision usefulness of sustainability reporting.
About the Special Issue
Sustainability reporting has evolved from a largely voluntary corporate communication practice into an increasingly institutionalised reporting system. Frameworks such as the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS), International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards, and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) have increased expectations for transparent, comparable, reliable, and decision-useful sustainability information.
Despite these developments, concerns remain around greenwashing, selective disclosure, narrative bias, incomplete reporting, and gaps between reported commitments and actual organizational practices. This Special Issue explores whether fair presentation can provide an overarching conceptual framework for evaluating whether sustainability disclosures offer balanced, neutral, complete, and meaningful representations of organizations' sustainability impacts, risks, opportunities, and performance.
Topics of Interest
Submissions may address, but are not limited to:
The concept of fair presentation in sustainability reporting
Fair presentation versus faithful representation
Fair presentation under ESRS, ISSB, and GRI frameworks
Fair presentation and double materiality
Decision usefulness of sustainability information
Fair presentation and sustainability assurance
Governance mechanisms supporting fair presentation
Greenwashing and impression management
Narrative reporting and balanced sustainability disclosures
Internal control systems for sustainability reporting
Connectivity between financial and sustainability reporting
Digital reporting and fair presentation
Artificial intelligence and sustainability reporting
Data analytics and reporting quality
Industry-specific challenges in fair presentation
Cross-country and regulatory comparisons
Role of assurance providers in evaluating fair presentation
Fair presentation of climate-related risks
Biodiversity impacts and reporting
Human rights and social sustainability disclosures
Stakeholder perceptions of fair presentation
Fair presentation and corporate accountability
Future sustainability reporting regulation
Preferred Article Types
The Special Issue particularly welcomes:
Theoretical contributions
Empirical research
Interdisciplinary studies
Critical research
Contributions may investigate the conceptual foundations of fair presentation, its relationship with existing sustainability reporting principles, implications for standard-setting and assurance, and its potential role in shaping future reporting research and practice.
Submission Information
Submission Opens: 1 September 2027
Submission Deadline: 30 November 2027
Manuscripts should be submitted through the Meditari Accountancy Research ScholarOne Manuscripts system.
Authors must select “Sustainability Reporting and Fair Presentation” from the Special Issue options during the submission process.
Submitted manuscripts must strictly follow the journal's author guidelines, be original, and must not have been previously published or be under consideration elsewhere while under review.
Guest Editors
Richard Barker
Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, United Kingdom
Email: richard.barker@sbs.ox.ac.uk
Alessandro Lai
Department of Management, University of Verona, Italy
Email: alessandro.lai@univr.it
Riccardo Stacchezzini
Department of Management, University of Verona, Italy
Email: riccardo.stacchezzini@univr.it
Posted on ServiceSetu Academics — Premier Platform for Academic Opportunities & Research Collaboration.
COMMENTS (0)
Sign in to join the conversation
SIGN IN TO COMMENT