Sustainability Accounting and Integrated Reporting as Drivers for Comprehensive SMEs Disclosure and Growth

Accounting is a discipline that includes several techniques through which com panies account for and disclose their business operations. Each technique pro vides a specific representation of production and consumption processes, as well as the firm’s impact on society and the environment. Different from traditional financial accounting, sustainability accounting and the related reporting provide a system-wide perspective of company operations and impacts. These techniques may contribute to small and medium-sized enterprises’ (SMEs’) comprehensive disclosure by including non-financial aspects in line with the Sustainable Devel opment Goals (SDGs). This makes the entity more transparent toward its stake holders. Transparency increases the legitimacy of operations and credibility, boosts market efficiency, and offers easier access to (financial) resources. While very small businesses– like proprietorships– might not be interested in these benefits, fast-growing SMEs are. Given the limited amount of knowledge and practice on sustainability and integrated accounting/reporting in SMEs, this study aims to provide evidence of the opportunities and obstacles related to adopting such tools. This study mainly relies on legitimacy theory to reveal the reasons why SMEs do or do not pursue a comprehensive disclosure. It also reports an analysis of the sustainability and integrated reporting practices of a sample of Italian SMEs applying a qualitative research method.