Nasir, Sidra (2026) Are Accountants Ready for Sustainability Reporting? Evidence from Pakistan. Masters thesis, N/A.

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Abstract

Sustainability reporting is becoming an important part of the accounting profession, but there is limited research on how ready accountants in developing economies like Pakistan in reality feel to take on this responsibility. This study looked at accountants' readiness for sustainability reporting in Pakistan and tried to explain it using five factors: regulatory awareness, technical competence, perceived confidence, organisational support, and sustainability-specific training.
A quantitative, cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from 54 professionals and trainee accountants in Pakistan. The data was analysed using Cronbach's Alpha, Spearman's correlation, multiple regression, and hierarchical regression, following a positivist, deductive approach.
The results showed that the regulatory awareness and technical competence were both significant predictors of readiness. Perceived confidence was related to readiness on its own, but lost its significance once technical competence was included in the model, most likely because the two overlapped closely in how respondents answered. Organisational support did not moderate the relationships tested as expected, but turned out to be the strongest direct predictor of readiness in the whole study. Sustainability-specific training showed no significant relationship with readiness at all.
Overall, the findings suggest that Pakistani accountants' readiness depends mostly on what they personally know and can do, and on the support their organisation provide, rather than on training or demographic factors such as age or experience. The study adds evidence from a developing-economy context that has not been generally studied before, and offers some practical suggestions for accounting professional bodies and employers in Pakistan. Limitations of the study, including its small sample size and cross-sectional design, are also discussed.

Keywords: sustainability reporting, accountants' readiness, regulatory awareness, technical competence, organisational support, Pakistan

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Status:	Published
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HG Finance
School/Department:	London Campus
URI:	https://ray.yorksj.ac.uk/id/eprint/16238

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