Special Forum Conference
The Digital Transformation of ESG Reporting
Journal of Accounting and Public Policy and Journal of Information Systems

Increasingly stakeholders, such as investors, regulators/policy makers, and service providers are demanding greater reporting on environmental, social and governance (ESG) related matters. This enhanced need for ESG related information, combined with challenges associated with consistency and comparability in the required information, has reignited discussion of this topic and led to the drafting of new policies concerning ESG reporting. Herein despite advancements in information technology, and organizations increasing use of digitization of systems and processes to facilitate ESG reporting, factors such as data collection and data quality potentially affect ESG reporting. This creates a need to look at the intersection between ESG reporting and information technology.

In advancing our understanding of this critical issue, the Journal of Accounting and Public Policy and the Journal of Information Systems present this special forum as a collaboration between the two journals. Topics of interests include, but are not limited to:

• The impact of requirements for internal vs external information on ESG reporting.
• Digitization and digital transformation of systems and processes, and ESG reporting.
• Benefits or consequences of advances in information technology and their impact on ESG reporting.
• The impact of recent changes in ESG regulation on organizations’ data collection and IT strategies.

All types of research design and methodologies are welcome. The conference will be jointly hosted by both journals and their publishers (Elsevier and the American Accounting Association) at Pace University (New York, US). Further details about the conference will be announced in the summer of 2023.

Important dates:
Submission due: Sep 15, 2023
1st round revision due: November 17, 2023
Special forum conference: December 1, 2023 (Friday) and December 2, 2023 (Saturday)

Journal publication:
The special forum is expected to be published in summer 2024. While submitting authors are encouraged to identify the target journal (i.e., either Journal of Accounting and Public Policy or Journal of Information Systems) in their cover letter, the editors reserve the right to make the final recommendation regarding the journal based on fit between the paper and scope of the journal.

Submission:
Please email your submission to JAPP.JIS.2023@gmail.com and copy the editors.

Special forum editors:

• Journal of Accounting and Public Policy

Marco Trombetta Marco.Trombetta@ie.edu, IE Business School, Spain

• Journal of Information Systems

David Wang david.wang@depaul.edu, DePaul University, USA,
Carla Wilkin carla.wilkin@monash.edu, Monash University, Australia