Embedding ESG, sustainability and ethics in accounting assessment: Bridging global standards and educational practice

Abstract

The growing prominence of environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting, sustainability, and ethical accountability is reshaping expectations of accounting and management graduates. While these competencies are increasingly embedded within global professional standards and competency frameworks, their translation into educational assessment remains underexplored. This study examines how ESG, sustainability, and ethics are embedded in documented assessment across global standards, professional competency frameworks, and Australian university accounting education. Using qualitative comparative document analysis, the study analyses the International Federation of Accountants’ International Education Standards, the competency frameworks of CPA Australia and Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, and assessment documentation from 104 undergraduate accounting units across 26 Australian universities. The findings reveal partial and uneven alignment. Although sustainability and ethics are explicitly articulated within global and professional frameworks, they are frequently embedded implicitly within technically oriented assessment tasks rather than explicitly assessed as judgement-focused competencies. To explain this pattern, the study introduces the concept of differential assessability, which explains why some professional competencies are more readily translated into assessment than others despite comparable prominence within professional standards. By reframing ESG integration as an assessment design challenge, the study extends assessment theory and offers practical implications for responsible management and accounting education.