CUBE - Livros e Partes de Livros / Books and Books Parts
URI permanente para esta coleção:
Navegar
Entradas recentes
- Complementary, not interchangeable: impact accounting and financial reportingPublication . Cruz, Matilde Campos da; Lancastre, FilipaThis research note examines whether Impact Accounting (IA) can be incorporated into companies’ financial statements. Based on conceptual analysis and existing academic and practitioner literature, the study finds that although IA has gained increasing relevance as a tool to translate environmental, social, and economic impacts into monetary terms, its integration into financial reporting remains conceptually and practically unfeasible. IA is increasingly used to support internal decision-making, sustainability strategy, and stakeholder communication by making corporate impacts more visible and comparable. It is also positioned as a complementary approach to existing ESG reporting frameworks, including the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The study identifies three key barriers to the integration of IA into financial statements. First, impact measurement and valuation rely heavily on assumptions, proxies, and contextspecific judgments, limiting reliability and auditability. Second, the lack of standardized methodologies significantly reduces comparability across firms and reporting periods. Third, IA is fundamentally misaligned with financial accounting principles, particularly regarding recognition criteria, verifiability, and entity-specific reporting boundaries. To address these limitations, IA is currently evolving as a complementary reporting and decision-support tool rather than a financial reporting mechanism. Companies and standardsetting initiatives are working to improve methodological consistency and strengthen data infrastructure, while practical applications such as impact valuation pilots and internal management use cases are increasing familiarity with the approach. Despite this progress, adoption remains driven primarily by voluntary initiatives rather than regulatory requirements. The study argues that IA should not be understood as an extension of financial accounting, but rather as a complementary framework that enhances sustainability management and corporate transparency without being suitable for inclusion in formal financial statements.
- Investment opportunities in infrastructurePublication . Caetano, Herculano; Reis, Ricardo F.; Xavier, Rute
- Structural trends shaping Portugal’s economy and growthPublication . Reis, Ricardo F.; Gouveia, Miguel; Borrego, Jorge; Santos, Aníbal; Caetano, Herculano; Xavier, Rute; Andrade, Gonçalo Santos de
- Faster and smarter budgeting in higher education: a data-driven approach to strategic financial planning based on design science research methodologyPublication . Faustino-Mendes, Tiago; Pedrosa, Isabel; Ribeiro-Campos, Miguel; Lopes, RafaelIn Higher Education Institutions (HEI), the dynamics of knowledge and the need for innovation co-exist with of sustainability and efficiency challenges. Information is difficult to consolidate and interpret because the environment is growing increasingly complex and fragmented. As data is scattered across multiple systems, the processes of collecting, cleaning and integrating are time-consuming and require significant resources. This makes it difficult to aggregate information for more effective decision-making. Therefore, the use of Business Intelligence (BI) is essential for facing growing competitive and operational pressures. This paper presents the development of ERPBI Budget Control Map, which is intended to support decision-making in the administrative HEI departments. Based on Design Science Research Methodology, the artefact was developed to centralise financial, human resources and academic data, optimizing the budgeting process and facilitating the identification of deviations and cost-saving opportunities. The findings demonstrate increased operational efficiency and reduced costs, as well as the importance of fostering a data-driven culture and adopting an integrated strategy in HEI. Beyond these technical outcomes, this project revealed that true innovation in BI in HEI goes beyond processes and tools: real transformation requires a deep understanding of organizational dynamics and the surrounding context, combining digitalization with strategic insights.
- Implementing impact accounting: opportunities and challengesPublication . Conde, Sofia; Ferreira, Nuno; Lancastre, FilipaThis research note explores the opportunities and challenges involved in the implementation of Impact Accounting (IA). Based on interviews with practitioners and secondary sources, the study finds that while IA remains in an early phase, leading organizations increasingly view it as a strategic tool to inform resource allocation, generate differentiation and leadership, clarify trade-offs, enhance transparency and stakeholder communication, improved data comparability and relevance and complement ESG reporting frameworks, such as the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Nevertheless, IA faces some difficulties, such as its still limited adaptation, mainly due to challenges around data availability, methodological inconsistency, and operational complexity. To overcome these barriers, companies are piloting IA on a small scale, improving internal data systems, and aligning impact valuation with existing ESG data. Participation in standard-setting initiatives, such as the Value Balancing Alliance, is helping address the lack of methodological convergence, while internal use cases, such as scenario analysis and product-level insights, are building confidence and utility. In the absence of regulatory mandates, IA adoption is being driven by leadership ambition and peer influence. As data infrastructure improves and methodologies mature, IA has the potential to move beyond internal experimentation and become a critical tool for aligning financial performance with long-term societal value.
- State of the art of non-financial reporting and impact accountingPublication . Conde, Sofia; Ferreira, Nuno; Lancastre, FilipaNon-financial reporting has become a global norm, with regulatory and societal pressure driving companies to disclose their sustainability performance. Since early 2024, over 250 firms have reported under the EU's Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), reflecting a broader shift toward mandatory ESG disclosures. Today, 95% of the world's largest companies publish sustainability reports, and over half have a sustainability director. ESG reporting, rooted in CSR efforts since the 1950s and formalized by the UN in 2004, has evolved through global frameworks such as GRI, ISSB, and the EU's ESRS. While these standards promote transparency and long-term value creation, challenges remain, including fragmentation, limited outcome measurement, and greenwashing concerns. A promising development is impact accounting, an emerging approach that monetizes environmental and social externalities to reveal a company's full value creation. It translates non-financial data into financial insights, promising better decisions and strengthening stakeholder trust. The field is advancing rapidly, led by organizations like IFVI, VBA, and IEF, with support from global coalitions and initiatives. Through collaborative efforts such as the Value Accounting Network, actors are building the foundations for consistent, rigorous, and actionable sustainability measurement, marking a critical shift toward impact-integrated business and financial systems.
- IFVI and VBA’s impact accounting methodology: implementation guidePublication . Conde, Sofia; Ferreira, Nuno; Lancastre, FilipaThis research note presents the methodological foundations and practical implementation framework of the Impact Accounting (IA) methodology developed by the International Foundation for Valuing Impacts (IFVI) and the Value Balancing Alliance (VBA). It explains how this approach enables companies to measure, value, and report their impacts on society and the environment in monetary terms, bridging the gap between sustainability disclosure and business decision-making. The note outlines a five-phase development process that ensures scientific rigor, expert validation, and stakeholder legitimacy for each impact topic. It then details a six-step implementation framework that guides companies through context analysis, material impact identification, data collection, outcome assessment, impact valuation, and aggregation into unified impact accounts. Crucially, the methodology is designed for straightforward implementation. When a value factor validated by the Valuation Technical & Practitioner Committee (VTPC) is available, companies simply multiply their existing data points, often those already reported under the CSRD, by the corresponding value factor. This eliminates the need for complex modeling or outcomes definition, making impact accounting both practical and scalable. By combining robust valuation techniques and standardized value factors, the IFVI and VBA methodology provides a clear, comparable, and decision-useful tool for embedding impact accounting in corporate strategies. It enables organizations to move beyond compliance-driven sustainability reporting and toward impact-driven decision-making, creating measurable value for both business and society.
- Relatório anual 2024: observatório dos ODS nas empresas portuguesasPublication . Cantarino, N.; Beltrão, P.; Zani, A.; Sarmento, M.; Lucas, A.
- Relatório anual 2023: observatório dos ODS nas empresas portuguesasPublication . Almeida, F. Pires de; Cantarino, N.; Borges, A.; Lucas, A.; Sarmento, M.; Estronca, C.
- Relatório de sustentabilidade: incorporação e comunicação estratégica dos ODSPublication . Cantarino, NatáliaSustainability Reports have become a critical tool for companies to communicate their sustainability strategies, initiatives, and progress. With the rising importance of sustainable business practices, the introduction of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) has established new reporting standards and requirements, significantly affecting companies that operate or have business relations in the European Union. This research note aims to explore the relevance of these reports, the new reporting context introduced by the CSRD, the importance of reporting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and how companies can integrate them into their reports. Additionally, it offers practical guidelines and examples for successfully incorporating the SDGs into Sustainability Reports, enabling companies to align their actions with the objectives of the 2030 Agenda.