Reporting under Islamic Practices, a Path forward to Environmental, Social, and Corporate Governance (ESG) Considerations

Islamic principles are heralding a variety of implications for business and accounting. Reflecting upon Islamic practices, this study engages with the notion of ESG conduct and its disclosure in accounting reports. While drawing from key Islamic texts and relevant prior literature, the present research elaborates and discusses fundamental Islamic principles of relevance and delineates what they suggest for ESG reporting. A grounded theory method was used for data collection. Online in-depth semi-structured interviews were deployed to 16 Islamic "finance and accounting specialists." Primary data analysis was done with MAXQDA. In the next step, the three-step encoding method was accomplished. The survey revealed 53 reporting implementation codes in three dimensions comprising environmental, social, and corporate governance. In addition, a comparative view of corporate governance under Islamic and non-Islamic economic schools was illustrated. The execution of ESG accounting practices might be beneficial in overcoming the problem of traditional accounting, which fails to incorporate environmental, social, and ethical hidden costs. The conclusion discusses the perspective of the Islamic view in ESG reporting by incorporating the concept of Tawhid, which provides holistic guidance based on Islamic beliefs, values, and concepts. The obtained framework contributes to Islamic accounting at the intersection of sustainable strategies.