29 Jun 2016

Redesigning corporates to count more than just dollars

From Nine To Noon, 9:31 am on 29 June 2016

Jane Gleeson-White  is the author of the book Six Capitals: The Revolution Capitalism Has to Have - or Can Accountants Save the Planet?

In it, the Sydney-based writer argues that traditional cost accounting and a focus simply on profit has to change, to take into consideration other non-financial factors such as a company's impact on the environment.

And she says accountants are the ones who are best placed to spearhead the revolution.

Six Capitals is the sequel to her internationally acclaimed prize-winning Double Entry, a history of accounting from around 7000 BC to the 2008 financial crash and the environmental crisis.

Since the latest book was published two years ago, Gleeson-White has been in demand around the world talking about new accounting.

She's just back to this part of the world from Brussels where she spoke at an EU forum - from November this year, 700 of the biggest companies in the EU will have to issue sustainability reports.

She talks to Kathryn Ryan.