Exploring the Evolvement of Environmental Management Accounting Practices for Achieving SMEs’ Sustainability in an Emerging Economy.

Abstract

It has been recognised that the information derived from Management Accounting Practices (MAPs) is invaluable for the strategic decision-making processes of businesses and thereby enables better environmental performance. Businesses have recognised MAPs as a viable approach to drive their businesses towards sustainability. Hence, this study was carried out in an emerging economy i.e. Sri Lanka where the aim of this research is to explore the application of MAPs within SMEs for managing ecological issues. Two qualitative studies, netnography followed by semi structured interviews, were implemented to obtain an in-depth perspective of the application of MAPs and their impact of managing ecological issues of SMEs. The findings imply that although MAPs assist SMEs for their internal control in terms of ecological costing, there remains some challenges for SMEs especially regarding waste management due to other barriers.