2022 CARE Conference

Presented by Center for Accounting Research and Education (CARE)

The world has changed a great deal since the 2021 conference on Accounting for Sustainability and Responsible Investing. The goals of the Paris Agreement, ESG, CSR, and responsible investing remain as important today, and global warming is still a threat; but energy and food crises, as well as war in Ukraine, have shifted political priorities and the attention of the world. For many countries, the Agreement is simply no longer a critical topic. It is more important than ever we continue to work towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement.

The 2022 CARE Conference, Accountability in a Sustainable World, was again held during New York Climate Week in conjunction with Sustainable Investment Forum North America 2022. The Forum is the largest finance forum during Climate Week NYC, in partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative (UNEP-FI). The 2022 virtual Accountability in a Sustainable World Conference aired in September 2022, and included 12 plenary speeches, 4 panel discussions, and 12 contributed talks.

Climate Week NYC 2022 marked its 14th year as the largest global climate event of its kind, bringing together the most influential leaders in climate action from business, government, and the climate community in conjunction with the United Nations General Assembly. The conference convened at a critical juncture, six weeks ahead of COP27, where the commitment to deliver on the promise of $100bn annual funding for developing nations was center stage, with private finance becoming a crucial part of that promise.

Building upon the incredible success of the 2021 conference, Accountability in a Sustainable World is the leading conference in the accounting for sustainability and responsible investing academic research space. The 2022 conference formed a firm foundation for the exchange of ideas about pressing questions surrounding investment, assurance, measurement, regulation, and target setting which have the potential to be answered/informed by academic research. The organizers of Accountability in a Sustainable World recognize the immediate need for dialogue among academics and practitioners about sustainability, accountability, measurement, assurance of the measures, data to inform (responsible) investment decisions and accountability in setting personal, corporate and public sector goals. The aim of Accountability in a Sustainable World is to meet this need. The accompanying journal, Accountability in a Sustainable World Quarterly, will advance the creation and dissemination of knowledge and understanding of issues of topical practical relevance through the publication of rigorous, peer-reviewed, research and thought-pieces written by cutting edge academics and practitioners.

The goals of the conference, as well as the journal, are to (1) build and strengthen the links between academia (both teaching and research) and practice, (2) encourage younger academics by providing an opportunity to present their work to both other academics and practitioners, and (3) provide opportunities for practitioners to communicate with academics and influence their work. The journal is cross-disciplinary, with a focus on measurement, assurance of the measurements, and use of the measures.

As with other CARE conferences, this conference brings together accountants, finance-professionals, law-professionals, law-makers, standard-setters, economists, investors and scientists as well as academics from the sciences, accounting, finance, law and economics. The main goal sets a research agenda for many emerging scholars which addresses key issues related to accounting for sustainability and responsible investing. The conference must have a large global reach, and virtual is the best way for academics and non-academics alike to share in the discussion of the critical issues facing accounting for sustainability and responsible investing.

To view any of the video recordings from the 2022 CARE Conference, please click here.

Opening Remarks and Welcome – Peter Easton

Peter Easton, Accountability in a Sustainable World Quarterly Editor in Chief, Center for Accounting Research and Education Academic Director, and Notre Dame Alumni Professor of Accounting, University of Notre Dame Professor Easton’s expertise in accounting and valuation is widely recognized by the academic research community and by the legal community. He is a qualified expert witness in the Delaware Chancery Court and has consulted on valuation issues for investment and accounting firms in Australia, the UK, and the USA.

He, together with John Wilde, Mary Lea McAnally, and Robert Halsey, is author of Financial Accounting for MBAs, now in its sixth publication; Financial & Managerial Accounting for MBAs, authored with Robert Halsey, Mary Lea McAnally, Al Hartgraves and Wayne Morse is in its fourth edition; Financial Statement Analysis and Valuation, authored with Mary Lea McAnally, Patricia Fairfield, Xiao-Jun Zhang and Robert Halsey is currently in its third edition; Valuation Using Financial Statements, written with Gregory Sommers and Philip Drake is in its second edition; and “Estimating the Cost of Capital Implied by Market Prices and Accounting Data,” was published in Foundations and Trends in Accounting in 2009. He is the Editor-in-Chief one of the founding editors of Accountability in a Sustainable World Quarterly.