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Accountants: they're greener than you think
A departure from my usual topic to answer a critic. Last week Accountancy Age ran a special on the place of accountants in the battle to save the environment. Some readers were very complimentary, others took offence.
Let me quote you the views of Rigel Jenman:
I write in response to 5th July’s special green edition, which starts ‘Accountants are at the heart of efforts to preserve the environment…’ Who are you kidding ? This is nonsense , it is about as accurate as saying ‘Garden slugs are at the heart of Britain’s Olympic bid’ or ‘Eurovision song contest losers Gemini are at the heart of the music industry.
Rigel’s comments continue continue:
In my experience Accountants drive flashy cars into work (on their own), invest large pensions in arms / Oil companies , spend piles of cash on lavish offices , fly to New York for the weekend , avoid paying tax and help others avoid paying tax - and generally fill their boots greasing the wheels of greedy capitalism.
I have to apologise to the writer, because the letter arrived a little too late for inclusion on our letters page in Accountancy Age this week.
However, given the fervency of Rigel’s views I thought I would take the opportunity to respond. My argument is a simple one. I think the comment above actually proves the point about accountants being at the heart of efforts to preserve the environment. If they are as powerful and as potentially damaging to the environment as Rigel claims, then it goes without saying that they must be crucial to the effort to sort things out. Hence the introduction that Rigel is so angry about.
Another piece of proof. One FD wrote to me asking to be involved in any further coverage because he had just put his company through a planning exercise to reduce its carbon emissions 20% each year for the next three years. That's an accountant caring, taking the initiative and making a difference. Don't think he's flying to New York, don't believe his office is lavish and I believe his car is quite modest.
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obviously Rigel mixes with some well to-do accountants! Yes, some of the things he mentions could leave a huge carbon footprint (if they are not offset)... so where better place to start... I think the firms are working on what they can do as a company (good!), such as energy usage, lighting, travelling etc but getting individual accountants to change eg their car... hmmmm, it's the same as trying to get any one individual to change, but you never know, Live Earth may have had an affect...
think the rest of his points creep into moral territory, and are all things anyone can do (if they wish to) in a free economy...
Posted by :Spex | July 11, 2007 12:34 PM
Good point. Perhaps Rigel has confused accountants as individuals with accountants as corporate players. What are the green credentials of individuals accountants? Well, there must be as many as you like. What I'm interested in is how accountants incorporate an approach to the environment into their work, whether it become embodied in the very fabric of their everyday tasks. For instance it should become a given that part of the accounting process should a measure of carbon output. Or, if a CEO aks how he can cut costs, it should be a given that the FD or FD should look at carbon usage as a means of getting at efficient energy usage. That, I think, is the point behind my statement: 'Accountants are at the heart of efforts to preserve the environment...'
Think about this. If those questions were ingrained in the day to day work of every FD of every company in the country, or Europe, and north America - imagine the dramatic reduction in carbon emissions we could see.
Here's a new point. It needs to be embodied in an accounting standard, which means it would have to be included in training and education programmes, which means we no longer be arguing about because like, say, equal opportunities, it should be taken for granted.
Posted by :Gavin Hinks | July 14, 2007 12:00 PM