Climate change disclosure and the impact on the accounting profession: Historical perspective

Global concerns over climate change have intensified the pressure on firms to enhance transparent environmental reporting. Climate change is recognized as a complex challenge for corporate governance, leading to the comprehensive exploration of its dynamics and impact on the accounting profession. However, comprehensive studies that investigate the history of climate change disclosure and its impact on accounting practices, including the role of the accounting profession, remain limited. Therefore, this study addresses this gap. It adopts a systematic literature review approach based on Scopus data and international reports. The results show that dynamic development has been observed over the past two decades. Additionally, pressure and regulation are the main factors influencing the transformation of disclosure toward a more structured and strategic reporting system. Both factors cause the accounting profession to perform administrative functions and support sustainable business decisions. This research proves that addressing climate change should not be left solely to companies. Instead, it requires collaborative actions from the government, the private sector, the accounting profession, and civil society.