IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eme/aaajpp/aaaj-11-2017-3242.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Accounting for modern slavery: an analysis of Australian listed company disclosures

Author

Listed:
  • Katherine Leanne Christ
  • Kathyayini Kathy Rao
  • Roger Leonard Burritt

Abstract

Purpose - Given the impending introduction of legislation requiring large Australian listed companies to make supply chain disclosures about modern slavery, the paper aims to reveal current voluntary practice. The purpose of this paper is to provide a benchmark for assessing the current engagement of large companies with modern slavery in Australia. Design/methodology/approach - Institutional theory provides the foundation for assessing current voluntary practice in relation to modern slavery disclosures by large Australian listed companies. Content analysis is used to identify quantity and quality of modern slavery disclosures of the top 100 companies listed on the Australian Stock Exchange. The contents of annual and standalone reports available on websites, as well as other online disclosures, are examined using terms associated with modern slavery identified from the literature. Findings - Evidence gathered about modern slavery disclosures by ASX 100 companies shows information in annual and standalone reports reveal far less than other disclosures on company websites. Overall, the volume and quality of disclosures are low and, where made, narrative. A wide range of themes on modern slavery are disclosed with bribery and corruption and human rights issues dominant. Although currently in line with institutional theory, as there appear to be mimetic processes encouraging disclosure, results support the idea that legislation is needed to encourage further engagement. Research limitations/implications - The paper provides a baseline of understanding about the volume and quality of modern slavery disclosures as a foundation for future research into the practices of Australian companies prior to the signalled introduction of legislation mandating reporting. It also identifies potential lines of research. The sample only examines large Australian listed companies which restricts generalisation from the results. Originality/value - This is the first academic research paper to examine quantity and quality of modern slavery disclosures of large Australian companies. Results add support for the introduction of legislation by government.

Suggested Citation

  • Katherine Leanne Christ & Kathyayini Kathy Rao & Roger Leonard Burritt, 2019. "Accounting for modern slavery: an analysis of Australian listed company disclosures," Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 32(3), pages 836-865, April.
  • Handle: RePEc:eme:aaajpp:aaaj-11-2017-3242
    DOI: 10.1108/AAAJ-11-2017-3242
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AAAJ-11-2017-3242/full/html?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

    File URL: https://www.emerald.com/insight/content/doi/10.1108/AAAJ-11-2017-3242/full/pdf?utm_source=repec&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=repec
    Download Restriction: Access to full text is restricted to subscribers

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1108/AAAJ-11-2017-3242?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Christ, Katherine L. & Burritt, Roger L., 2023. "Exploring effectiveness of entity actions to eliminate modern slavery risk – Early Australian evidence," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 55(1).
    2. Charl de Villiers & Jing Jia & Zhongtian Li, 2022. "Corporate social responsibility: A review of empirical research using Thomson Reuters Asset4 data," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 62(4), pages 4523-4568, December.
    3. Bruce Pinnington & Amy Benstead & Joanne Meehan, 2023. "Transparency in Supply Chains (TISC): Assessing and Improving the Quality of Modern Slavery Statements," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(3), pages 619-636, January.
    4. Tantawy Moussa & Amir Allam & Mahmoud Elmarzouky, 2022. "Global modern slavery and sustainable development goals: Does institutional environment quality matter?," Business Strategy and the Environment, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 31(5), pages 2230-2244, July.
    5. Gabriela Gutierrez-Huerter O & Stefan Gold & Alexander Trautrims, 2023. "Change in Rhetoric but not in Action? Framing of the Ethical Issue of Modern Slavery in a UK Sector at High Risk of Labor Exploitation," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 182(1), pages 35-58, January.
    6. Walaa Wahid ElKelish*, 2023. "Accounting for Corporate Human Rights: Literature Review and Future Insights," Australian Accounting Review, CPA Australia, vol. 33(2), pages 203-226, June.
    7. Edward Wray-Bliss & Grant Michelson, 2022. "Modern Slavery and the Discursive Construction of a Propertied Freedom: Evidence from Australian Business," Journal of Business Ethics, Springer, vol. 179(3), pages 649-663, September.
    8. Jenny Jing Wang, 2020. "How managers use culture and controls to impose a ‘996’ work regime in China that constitutes modern slavery," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 60(4), pages 4331-4359, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eme:aaajpp:aaaj-11-2017-3242. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    We have no bibliographic references for this item. You can help adding them by using this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Emerald Support (email available below). General contact details of provider: .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.