Two research questions were investigated through the conduct of this study. These research questions were as follows:
1. Is incorporating non-market values through ASD into financial accounting analyses in support of commercial bank decision-making processes for the extension of commercial loans feasible from the perspective of financial accounting practice? In essence, the issue concerns the likelihood that such incorporation can occur while maintaining the integrity of both financial accounting and ASD.
2. Will incorporating non-market values through ASD into financial accounting analyses in support of commercial bank decision-making processes for the extension of commercial loans create an effective link between accountability and corporate responsibility for protection of the physical environment? In essence, the issue concerns the probability that such incorporation will make any significance difference in business loan decisions made by commercial banks.
Each of the research questions was answered in the affirmative. The experiences of corporations, such as Fujitsu, that have implemented ASD systems have demonstrated the compatibility of ASD systems with standard financial accounting systems. The ASD system also has proved to be both effective and valuable to the companies. The experiences are strong indications that the implementation of an ASD system is not inconsistent with preserving the integrity of both the financial accounting system and the ASD system within a company.
Survey research found that the majority of financial accounts in both public and banking practice agreed that ASD is compatible with standard financial accounting to an extent that the integrity of neither system is compromised. Variations in the responses of the two groups were not statistically significant at p < .05. Therefore, agreement was solid that the introduction of ASD is compatible with standard financial accounting.
The ...