This survey and associated discussion groups provided
some initial valuable insights to direct future research. With
this sample of Australian top-tier company respondents
(backed up by views from sustainability managers and
CFO focus group discussions) an overall desire to embed
sustainability in practice was found. While there was a
mix of appraisal practices, which drew on sustainabilityrelated
data, there was a continued use of traditional capital
investment appraisal models. While DCF and NPV models
continue to be the accepted capital appraisal methodology,
further investigation of the extent to which CFOs rely
on DCF models would be useful. Do CFOs believe
traditional DCF models can adequately capture significant
sustainability-related impacts and to what extent do other
sustainability-related models or non-financial data help with
their capital investment appraisals and associated decisionmaking?
The sustainability culture, relationship between
managers, employees and accounting system design are
other areas that require further investigation.
Further research is also recommended on the
interdependencies between the CFO and sustainability
manager. While the research found there are
interdependencies, this is only where sustainability impacts
are readily identified. Sustainability accounting still appears
to be a separate function; however, there was evidence to
indicate carbon emissions accounting was being devolved to
a line manager responsibility. Data on the collection, reliability
and trade-offs made between quantitative and qualitative
data in “indirect” investments decisions is required. Further
questioning, directed at sustainability managers, might
elicit more detail on the development and acceptance of
sustainability accounting tools in everyday practice.
Likewise it would be useful to discover the extent to which
specific qualitative data is weighted (equally or otherwise)
alongside the adjusted / unadjusted DCF models. What are
CFO decisions about future uncertainties? Given 40 per
cent of G100 CFOs would accept projects with negative
NPV, how important is qualitative data, as a conceptual tool,
in assisting this decision? How do the emerging models
enable the evaluation of certain material sustainability
impacts, those not necessarily captured by conventional
timelines, discount rates and cash flows?
In conclusion, it was raised in CFO group discussions
that the practice of continually isolating sustainability from
routine business operations contributes to maintaining
a distinction between the two. One CFO suggested that
as sustainable best practice becomes embedded in
routines, they are no longer recognised as “sustainabilityrelated”
impacts. Discussion is welcomed on the potential
avenues for future capital investment appraisal research as
well as the extent to which we should acknowledge this
comment and continue to draw respondent attention to
the notion of sustainability in academic research. Similarly
if / as sustainability impacts become embedded more
deeply in every day accounting activities, they increasingly
become a challenge for researchers to identify / isolate
with survey research. This report finds companies actively
(and proactively) include legislative and other sustainabilityrelated
efficiency factors (such as OH&S, energy, carbon
emissions and waste) in their routine cash flows and direct
investment decisions. However, the strategic and riskrelated
nature of sustainability investment appraisal still
requires further investigation. This is particularly so when
G100 CFOs are demonstrating they acknowledge other
factors not readily captured in their traditional financial
analysis. Exemplar case studies will help to expose the
variety of practices and plethora of sustainability issues
faced by organisations. In subsequent stages of this project,
efforts will be focused on extending the areas of research
interest proposed in this paper. The aim of this paper has
been to highlight emerging capital investment decision
model designs and begin to inform the development of best
practice guidelines for practicing accountants.