Does professional development of accountants improve human rights accounting?

Purpose This paper, on the one hand, aims to introduce a framework that helps to identify human rights accounting (HRA) factors and, on the other hand, investigates the effect of accountants’ professional development (APD) on HRA. Design/methodology/approach The research design consists of two main parts: (1) Identifying HRA factors through interviews and evaluating the validity and reliability of the presented framework dimensions and (2) Research hypothesis testing through partial least squares in selected firms listed on Tehran Stock Exchange. Findings Based on the mixed method of this study, the result in the qualitative part is to provide the HRA framework of the existence of three categories; There are 6 components and 32 themes during 12 interviews. In the quantitative section, the results of the study showed that APD has a significantly positive effect on HRA. Originality/value The study contributes to the literature on perceptions of human rights from a social accounting perspective in an emerging economy like Iran. Because human rights accountability is an urgent challenge for companies in today’s society. However, scholars have largely disregarded the role of accounting in the process of holding companies accountable for human rights violations. This study by questioning the relationship between accounting and human rights indicates that urgent measures need to be undertaken to mainstream the legitimate human rights obligations of business entities.