Environmental and social elements While these requirements do not explicitly require environmental or social accounting, they will inevitably require the accounting of some such issues, to the extent that they impact the balance sheet or profit and loss account. ‘Environmental’ and ‘social’ issues do not exist in a vacuum; they are business issues also. It is therefore important to recognise that the requirements for financial accounting will require the incorporation of certain ‘environmental’ and ‘social’ issues into overall financial accounts.