Accounting for Natural Capital: Government dialogue on natural capital 2018

While robust accounting processes are available for financial capital, the natural resources which underpin business operations and economic activity are seldom considered in the same way. Natural capital accounting provides a means of managing these essential resources to maintain their inherent natural values and ensure the ongoing provision of benefits to business and society into the future. 

 

Central to the efficacy of accounting practices is the use of a common framework, standard definitions, shared language, and repeatable processes. While these have been well established for national and business financial accounting, natural capital accounting is relatively recent and its processes are still evolving both in the public and the private sector. 

 

This paper describes progress in both public and private natural capital accounting and explores potential synergies and gaps between them.