The main objective of this research is to design an internal environmental accounting audit procedure for the Las Tunas Stainless Steel Company. It begins by showing the state of the art related to the conceptualization of Accounting and Environmental Auditing, as well as its degree of progress in Cuban companies. Based on an environmental diagnosis in the company under study, a procedure is presented for the execution of the internal environmental accounting audit, which was not available, that adapts and solves the need for information for decision-making by managers and others. personnel involved in the environmental management of the organization, through a methodological structure that subsequently finds its viability in the aforementioned entity. By last,conclusions and recommendations are reached that contribute to the search for solutions to environmental problems and to the benefit of environmental socio-economic development.
Key Words: Environmental Accounting and Environmental Internal Audit.
THEORETICAL REFERENCES AND DEVELOPMENT OF ACCOUNTING AND ENVIRONMENTAL AUDITING. PARTICULARITIES AND DEGREE OF PROGRESS IN CUBA.
The purpose of this chapter is to characterize the development of environmental accounting and auditing, its main trends at present where the author reviews various criteria of researchers and makes her own judgment that ratifies the importance of the topic addressed. Emphasis is placed on the particularities of the legal and regulatory framework existing in Cuba, the advances in the accounting issue, and the importance of the issue as a tool for decision-making by entrepreneurs is highlighted.
For the research, it was necessary to review specialized literature that allows the analysis of the topic addressed, facilitating the preparation of the Theoretical Reference Framework.
Environmental Accounting and Auditing. Source: Own elaboration based on the proposed objectives.
Environmental Management Considerations
The evolution of society, driven by the development of the productive forces, was assumed by the different human groups according to their condition of possessing or not the means of production, which determines their behavior patterns, their values, their ways of Organize socially, their conception of the world, in short, their culture, and the impact on nature. During the course of the 1960s, environmental concerns began to reveal themselves with greater intensity and the development of a growing sensitivity to these problems by all sectors of society began.
In this process, a series of events take place on an international scale, initiators of a new course in the way of treating and interpreting the environmental deterioration of the planet; among others, the following stand out:
1971 - Report of the Club of Rome: "The limits to growth" ; The latter questions the rationality of the usual goal of economic growth and argued that if the trends of world population growth, industrialization, pollution, food production and the depletion of natural resources continue unchanged, the limits of the planet's potential for human survival over a period of approximately 100 years.
1972 - United Nations Conference on the Human Environment: the great existing environmental problems were summarized in 27 principles and the need to become aware of them by all spheres of society was expressed. The environment was defined as the set of physical, chemical, biological and social components capable of causing direct or indirect effects, in a short or long term, on living beings and human activities.
1973 - Creation of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP): organization in charge of disseminating environmental problems to the entire international community and encouraging the participation of society in the care and protection of the environment.
1973 - 1984 - International conferences and events: include Summits
Programs on Population and Human Settlements, the Convention on the Law of the Sea and the Intergovernmental Conference on Environmental Education, held in Tbilisi, Georgia, in 1977, sponsored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Educational Organization. Culture (UNESCO) and with the collaboration of the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), where the definition of the Environment was again addressed : “… it has now been agreed that the concept of the environment should encompass the social environment and cultural and not only the physical, so the analyzes they carry out must take into account the interactions between the natural environment, its biological and social components and also cultural factors… »
1987- Presentation in the General Assembly of the United Nations of the report Our common future: it made it possible to begin to broaden and deepen the debates on environmental problems in political forums.
1992- Conference on Environment and Development: known as «Earth Summit» or «Rio Summit», it rescued the content and concepts of the report «Our common future» (poverty and environment, concept of sustainable development) and postulated a new international environmental regime. This Summit approved the Rio Declaration, which formulated new postulates and principles on environmental issues: the adoption of Agenda 21, which defined goals to be achieved for the 21st century and the Framework Conventions on Climate Change and Biological Diversity. The most momentous achievement achieved was that greater awareness was created about environmental problems and the links between the environment, the economy and society.
2010- Copenhagen Summit: ended with a vague and fuzzy document, hatched behind closed doors by a few, with the leadership of the empire. The promise to "seal a covenant" was deferred for at least a year. One more year !, knowing that large areas of the Amazon rainforest (which produces 20 percent of the oxygen that humanity breathes) could disappear, due to the pressure of drought or the uncontrolled spread of fires.
External weather events or glacial retreat would accelerate the decline in productivity in the food sector, by more than 20 percent in low latitudes. The significant decrease in the flow of the rivers and, consequently, in the availability of water and what to say about the wrong way of the sea rise for the 600 million beings that live in places less than 10 meters above the level of the east. Why have the large industrialized countries not been able to agree on reducing emissions? Why has the largest polluter, the United States, not yet acceded to the Kyoto Protocol?
In Cuba, the Environment is defined in Law No. 81/1997, where in Article 8 it states that it is a “system of abiotic, biotic and social elements with which man interacts, while adapting to it, He transforms it and uses it to satisfy his needs ”.
Analyzing the above considerations, the author defines the Environment as a complex and dynamic system of ecological, socio-economic and cultural interrelationships, which evolves through the historical process of society, encompasses nature, society, historical-cultural heritage, what is created by humanity, humanity itself and as an element of great importance social and cultural relations.
This interpretation of its content explains that its study, treatment and management must be characterized by integrity and the link with development processes. The economic elements determine the way of life and the differences of the ideals and aspirations of men, which are conditioned by the mode of production in which they carry out their activity.
The environmental management is a process that is geared to solve, mitigate and / or prevent problems of an environmental nature, with the aim of achieving sustainable development, understood as that which allows man the development of their potential and their biophysical heritage and cultural, guaranteeing its permanence in time and space.
Environmental Management, according to Law No. 81/1997 of the Republic of Cuba in article 8, is defined as the “set of activities, mechanisms, actions and instruments, aimed at guaranteeing the administration and rational use of natural resources through the conservation, improvement, rehabilitation and monitoring of the environment and the control of human activity in this sphere. It applies the environmental policy established through a multidisciplinary approach, taking into account the cultural heritage, the accumulated national experience and citizen participation ”.
It is the author's opinion that environmental management is the set of mechanisms, actions and instruments to guarantee the rational control and administration of natural resources, based on the use of regulations, norms, economic, institutional and legal provisions, with the objective of improvement and conservation of the environment.
By integrating with the economic objectives, environmental management pursues the efficient use of resources, the reduction of costs, increasing profitability and competitiveness, as well as the identification of economic opportunities, organizational techniques to prevent and reduce pollution and risks.
Environmental accounting has been a consequence of the development and complexity achieved by economic activity, which has also had an impact on the criteria that accounting specialists follow in the different stages in which this progress is framed.
The foregoing explains the need to assume criteria regarding environmental accounting. Below, a series of elements on this matter are supported.
Environmental accounting. Current trends in the topic.
Accounting has had an active development in recent years, motivated by changes and dynamics in the business context of behavior patterns. However, it has not lost its essence, it maintains its regulatory nature under conditions of relevance, transparency and reliability of economic facts. In this regard, authors such as Tua Pereda (2010) and Navarrete (2011) coincide in corroborating the rational nature of this science. An important edge has emerged in this science, which has motivated scholars, businessmen and researchers: Environmental Accounting.
It arises in the 70s of the 20th century and maintains its improvement to this day, says Bebbington (2010) and Gray (2011), which is being an area of influence in different countries due to the expectations of providing information for suppliers from its origin, clients and shareholders around a corporate image of the companies with respect to the conservation of the environment.
The author considers that the conceptual treatment given to this area for purposes of relevant information and managerial decision-making is still insufficient, and there are differences in this regard. It is reflected in the knowledge of which are the ideas that some authors take and what theoretical limitations exist in such sense, reason why next some criteria are offered:
| Authors | Criteria issued | Theoretical Limitations |
| Frontis (2007) | A specific area of accounting dedicated to the use of environmental accounting information | The use of environmental accounting information for external company purposes is not explicitly supported. |
| Gray (2009) | Relevant information is issued to third parties, only in the scope of suppliers and customers. | The concept is limited only to the scope of suppliers and customers, being the widest spectrum. |
| Llull Gilet (2010) | Provide information for internal and external use for the participants. | It does not refer to what type of participants can use the information and in what way. |
| Full (2011) | Provide relevant type of accounting information on environmental aspects of a company. | What type of accounting information is referred to, what use could the information have |
| González Larrinaga (2011) | The use of environmental information is focused on economic and preventive actions. | Economic and preventive aspects are taken into account, the vision must be based on sustainability criteria and patterns. |
Table 1: Criteria of analyzed authors on the use of environmental accounting information.
Source: Own elaboration from bibliographic reviews.
In the previous table, the inconsistencies on the true use of environmental accounting information are exposed, therefore, the author considers that the treatment of the following aspects is still insufficient if it is taken into account that:
- The role played by the environment, both internal and external, in the company with a view to giving adequate use to environmental accounting information. The issuance of information and its use, as well as the hierarchy of it for different users: suppliers, customers, shareholders, auditors, and society in general. The role of environmental accounting information to make integrated judgments regarding economic, social and financial aspects.
Authors such as Llull Gilet (2011) González Larrinaga (2011), Moneva (2012) coincide in identifying that these issues are affecting the conception of the problem in all its dimensions, the author is of the criterion that limits the very conceptualization of this area, and that is why it is assumed and agrees with the author Ortíz Paniagua (2013) that environmental accounting in accounting sciences is intended to provide information on economic events with an environmental focus for users and in favor of the objectives and goals of organizations towards sustainability.
The advancement of environmental accounting has had its identification in several stages, being the following:
First Stage (1971 - 1980):
Social and environmental accounting appears less delimited than it appears today, prioritizing social aspects over environmental ones. Empirical works dedicated to analyzing the quality and quantity of social information published by companies abound, as a descriptive approach (González Larrinaga, 2002).
Social behavior patterns are established over economic ones.
Second Stage (1981-1990):
There is a constant specialization in social and environmental accounting; reason why the social aspects generate abundant bibliography in relation to the states of added value and the reports on the employees (Llull Gilet, 2003). Many scholars claim the need to define different lines and particularities associated with the social and environmental area (Moneva, 2006), insists on the need to report on specific environmental cost / benefit patterns.
Concern for environmental aspects takes precedence over social ones from the second half of the decade; however, there are no advances in the evaluation of externalities or in their internalization. Empirical research is less descriptive, deeper, and analytical. The conclusions obtained reinforce the hypothesis that the companies that report their environmental impacts do so mainly concerned with their image and (or) their results and that this information is unreliable. Towards the end of the decade, fundamental contributions were made in the field of environmental economics, where the latest studies on the subject were presented, which would bear fruit in the next stage.
Third Stage (1991-2000):
It is characterized by a clarity of environmental accounting on that of social content in harmony with international awareness of environmental problems (Frontis, 2006, Larrinaga, 2007, Llena, 2008)
At this stage, numerous environmental management systems and tools appear, such as the ISO 14000 Standards and for Europe, EMAS, which have helped accelerated development in this area; however, their approaches to accounting regulations continued to be limited.
Fourth Stage (2000 to present):
An approximation to environmental accounting regulations is originated through International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), with the following appearing: (Larrinaga, 2002):
IFRS 1: Presentation of Financial Statements: companies are advised to present environmental reports, based on a conceptual framework that clarifies the relevant aspects to be taken into account in accounting information.
IFRS 16: Property, plant and equipment: some elements of which make up the property, plant and equipment, may be acquired for safety or environmental reasons and that would have a direct impact on the analyzes in each of the companies.
IFRS 36: Impairment of assets: recoverable amount of assets: considered of great importance and value, due to the repercussions that assets in deterioration capacity may have from the financial point of view and their influence on the overall results of the business.
IFRS 37: Provisions, contingent assets and contingent liabilities: recognition of provisions, will be recognized as provisions only those obligations, arising from past events, whose existence is independent of future actions, example of such obligations are environmental fines or costs associated with the repair of environmental damage caused against the law.
This regulation has also had wide repercussions in the business environment due to the environmental contingencies that arise in companies every day, as well as the need to declare the necessary provisions.
Derived from the above, it follows that in the field of environmental accounting and despite global efforts, initiatives are still insufficient, especially in relation to the framework such as models, procedures, etc. where the existing regulatory instruments are not explicit. In the author's opinion, there are gaps that need to be resolved to improve the normative criteria.
Advances in the field of environmental accounting in the world are incipient, despite the efforts made in the field of research by specialists and by initiatives of organizations associated with environmental strategies and policies, the results are still limited, as they are not A consensus has been reached to obtain an accounting model that covers these matters. Hence the need arises to develop procedures that seek initiatives in this regard.
According to the author, the fundamental gaps are given by:
- The terminological inconsistencies derived from inadequate interpretations of technical concepts and terms, for example: the denomination of environmental assets, liabilities and contingencies. The degree of advancement of the accounting regulations of different countries makes it impossible for the same pace of development and insertion of companies in this area. There continues to be a tendency to assume environmental information from a voluntary perspective, an aspect that hinders the regulatory scope of this area.
From the foregoing, it is concluded that, within the gaps exposed, attention should be given to the degree of progress of accounting in environmental management in companies in the country, since the following section is dedicated to this matter.
Degree of progress in accounting and environmental management of the company in Cuba
Traditional accounting differs from environmental accounting, since the first measures results from the human consumption of capital resources and the second is oriented towards measures to protect the environment, it aims to measure all natural capital resources committed to the production process.
The main objectives of environmental accounting are: the recognition and disclosure of negative environmental effects in conventional accounting practice; separate identification of environmentally related costs and revenues within conventional accounting systems; taking actions to create initiatives in order to consider existing environmental effects in conventional accounting practice; developing new ways to measure, report and value; to fulfill internal and external purposes; the development of new financial and non-financial accounting systems,Information and control systems to take advantage of the environmental benefits of administrative decisions and to fulfill these objectives require the commitment of each and every one of the interest groups that are in charge of exerting pressure in the great spheres of power, who Ultimately, they are responsible for making the application of the new accounting system mandatory.
It is a consequence of the management exercise, particularly of the environmental one that has as goals the protection and correction of the impact on the environment by company actions.
From the outset, this environmental management is considered as a cultural and operational strategy of the companies that through specific action plans insert environmental values in the daily operation. This action plan frames the sustainability style that is practiced, distinguishing preventive and corrective styles.
Therefore, the sustainability style speaks of the interpretation of the environmental responsibility of the company reflected in current actions in the use and protection of natural resources, whose mission is to allow future generations to operate continuously.
When environmental management is formalized in the company structure, the environmental commitment is solid and integrated with specific environmental plans parallel to other types of internal management. This formal existence theoretically supports the existence of an environmental accounting system.
To reach this ideal vision of environmental management, it is necessary for the company to have the capacity to adapt its formal structure and exercise controls over its possible causes of environmental risk. However, this adaptability according to Hannan and Freeman (1992) can only originate in selected units of the organization structure with particular characteristics to adjust the organizational structure, or produce internal arrangements for investment, information, and redistribution of resources, through internal regulatory agreements.
The environmental approach is derived from the company's understanding of its operating relationships with its inputs and its environment, from the use of specific internal environmental strategies that adapt, adjust or affect the structure of the company, whose costs and benefits are in reason for the adequacy of the structure and internal arrangements.
Cuba, like the rest of the third world countries, makes efforts to achieve a stable position in the international market. Some industries, such as: oil, mining, metallurgy, and tourism, have achieved the Certification of the Environmental Management System. (SGA) and others work for it, an essential requirement to market a product on the international market.
Some companies in the search for efficiency and effectiveness have begun a business improvement process, in which the Environmental Management System (SG M) is inserted, a premise to be able to opt for the Certification of the Environmental Management System.
Environmental management plays an important role in the current conditions for the commercialization of a product, constituting a requirement for the implementation of the International Standards of the ISO-14000 family.
According to the author, the main cause of the delay in the maturity of the implementation of the accounting models and theoretical procedures with an environmental focus is that currently most companies continue to use traditional accounting. Furthermore, integration should be achieved through a systemic approach, between accounting and the environmental management system.
Cuban environmental laws establish adequate measures for the preservation of the environment and natural resources, but we must work for a greater social environmental culture of these laws with an education and awareness campaign for businessmen.
The environmental problem in the country must be a concern of all sectors, which cannot remain oblivious to the processes of sensitization and awareness that are being carried out worldwide. One cannot speak of quality and advocate “Sustainable development” if strategies aimed at mitigating the impacts derived from productive, business and social processes are not addressed in a deep and systematic way.
From the accounting point of view, it is important to reconsider, regarding the advances in environmental accounting that are still incipient in the country and, therefore, despite the efforts made in the field of research by specialists and some initiatives of bodies associated with environmental strategies and policies, the results are still limited since a consensus has not been reached to obtain a procedure that can meet these expectations. Factors influencing this include:
- The disparity of the criteria and actions tending to a regulation by sectors. The lack of adequate training and culture of businessmen and other participants on this subject. The absence of national regulations by the Ministry of Finance and Prices.
However, and taking as a reference the conceptualization and state of the art of the subject in Cuba, work has been done on some issues, among which the following stand out:
- Business context where the organization is located, since the characteristics and environmental treatment differ by sector. There is no doubt the difference in the treatment of environmental resources in hotel, extractive, thermo-energy, steel companies, among others. Accounting system in companies with adequate organization where basic and elementary documents, such as financial statements (Statement of Position and Statement of Financial Performance), are reflecting the economic facts in real time.Minimum business culture that makes everyone involved aware of the need to control environmental resources and their faithful reflection on the overall results of the company.The implementation process must be known and welcomed by customers, suppliers, etc.,they are the ones who become the participants in this type of information.
However, it is important to bear in mind that the majority of Cuban entities do not introduce the analysis of environmental accounting in their annual management, motivated by the non-use of indicators that allow them to assess, measure and report the quantitative and qualitative aspects related to these costs. Not analyzing them in a differentiated way means that senior management does not have certain and updated information to make decisions aimed at protecting the environment.
As can be seen at the national level, the need to assume environmental accounting criteria has been emphasized, and specifically in the sector under investigation where there is a legal body that could undoubtedly be improved, depending on specific and real conditions. However, the author considers that it is essential to highlight some academic proposals with a view to achieving consensus on this topic, highlighting the following research:
- Contributions developed by researchers from the Universities of Camagüey, Cienfuegos, and Granma, referring to the need to configure accounting regulations in mining, metallurgical, and polluting steel companies. Research associated with the management of environmental costs for companies in the tourism, energy and iron and steel.Elaboration of environmental audit programs in the agriculture and iron and steel sectors.
These investigations have not found all their support in achieving their total applicability in business activity, hence the need to continue insisting on addressing this issue from the academy and towards business practice, especially regarding implementation of accounting procedures and models for such purposes.
Cuban companies, involved in the process of improving their management, in search of valuable control tools to carry out internal environmental accounting audits in the steel industry, this item is offered in the following section.
Internal environmental accounting audit as a tool for decision making in the current context.
Accounting is a useful tool that contributes to the need to quantify, record and report on natural, financial, human, technical, service, communication resources, as well as costs and liabilities, all related to the environment. For its part, the audit, as an auxiliary tool, provides the degree of certainty and credibility of the elements described to become a guarantor before the entity and society.
To achieve the compatibility of economic development and respect for the environment in the business sector, environmental management must be included in global management.
In Cuba, the environment constitutes a new strategic factor that must be taken into consideration in the planning of short, medium and long-term actions and must be integrated into the entity's management, which is established in the Regulations of the Law. No. 107/2010 of the Comptroller General of the Republic (CGR) in its Chapter IV OF THE AUDIT, THIRD SECTION, Of the types of audit, article 43, paragraph g) defines that the environmental audit is the process to verify the use, administration, protection and preservation of the environment and natural resources with the aim of evaluating compliance with the rules and principles that govern its control and, where appropriate, quantify the impact of the deterioration caused or that may occur.
It is the author's criterion why the CG R declares an environmental audit concept as provided in its Law No. 107/2009 from technology and social knowledge and planning, registration, calculation, the analysis and control of all the facts focused on the environment?
It is an internal evaluation that allows obtaining objective and evident information on how the environmental accounting situation is progressing and contributes to a greater environmental awareness. At the same time, it covers the tasks of information search and data collection, visits and meetings, sampling and material balancing; Its main objective is to collect sufficient, reliable, relevant and useful information.
The environmental management system, accounting and environmental accounting audit, as a tool for designing an internal environmental accounting audit procedure.
The relationship between the environmental management system, accounting and auditing with an environmental focus promotes the acceptance of a control approach when developing, implementing and improving the effectiveness of a procedure, to increase customer satisfaction by meeting its expectations. or your demands.
These procedures that are designed must be based on three basic elements for environmental accounting performance:
- self-assessment, the focus of the internal client (the auditors in their relationship with the partner and the supervisors) and the external client's approach (the receiver who can see the audit of any kind).
Based on these elements, the need to establish measurable criteria that enable historical and cross-sectional comparisons of the results and that provide information on the intensity in the manifestation of compliance with the rules and principles is also considered. Consequently, the evaluation of the environmental accounting performance is carried out based on measuring, (through indices and indicators) whether the existing difficulties with respect to compliance with the rules and principles are detected.
The procedures should be designed to examine the improvement processes and sub-processes in which the relationship with environmental management is included, where it is observed how said improvement is applied and manifested, since it is a successful approach to sustainable competitive advantage, for The following are the connections with the procedure for executing internal environmental accounting audits:
- The environmental accounting improvement is achieved through the effectiveness in the execution of the processes and subprocesses related to it, an aspect that permeates the entire philosophy of the procedure. The analysis of the processes and subprocesses by the environmental management system allows to accurately reveal the problem areas. of the company, those most in need of corrective actions from the environmental accounting point of view to achieve its execution. The analysis through processes and sub-processes allows reducing the superfluous resources consumed in the execution of those capable of generating added value in environmental matters.
Optimal environmental management is achieved in the development of preventive actions in order not to make mistakes. Evaluation actions are also encouraged, errors are detected and litigation is avoided.
The proposal of the design of the procedure for the execution of internal environmental accounting audits allows the organization to obtain information, defined and timely, taxing the accounting and the business management and administration system, therefore it constitutes an effective control tool for taking decisions.
The author maintains the criterion that the proposed procedure that is designed helps the organization to reduce the costs associated with waste and emissions, which, therefore, improves its environmental performance and contributes to sustainable development, making it a high standard. value to make the link between accounting, auditing and the environment, necessary for today's companies.
Pursuant to Law No. 107/2009, title 1, chapter 1, article 11, the concept of auditing is defined as a systematic process, carried out in accordance with established technical norms and procedures, consisting of obtaining and objectively evaluating the evidence on the statements contained in legal acts or technical, economic, administrative or other, in order to determine the degree of correspondence between these statements, current legal provisions and established criteria.
In order to search for a legal definition of environmental auditing, at the international level, a consultation was carried out with different sources of information and, subsequently, a structured analysis of the main components and scope of the definitions found was prepared. Internet searches, which lead to the same objectives, which are cited below:
The environmental audit arises as a result of growing concern about environmental problems and the role assumed by companies in terms of their responsibility. It is a powerful tool, capable of evaluating and laying the foundations for a careful policy with the environment, taking into account the environment that surrounds industries.
They represent and certify the guarantee that good management of environmental variables is carried out in companies. The best guarantee of quality, safety and productivity of a company is focused on good management, in its broadest sense and, in the case of environmental auditing, constitutes a basic instrument for the environmental management of the company.
The objectives and strategies aimed at providing information on the degree of compliance with environmental regulations and their risks are currently being discussed among professionals in environmental and industrial auditing. The truth is that the existing reports show that the information provided by companies about their degree of respect for the environment can play an important role not only for the company itself but also for all those who are interested in it. For many companies, environmental auditing is among the instruments that evaluate and value their management and represents an important contribution when considering their status.
The concept is closely linked to that of an environmental and quality management system. This could be defined as "an organizational structure, planning activities, responsibilities, practices, procedures, processes and resources to develop, implement, carry out and keep up to date the environmental policy of a company" (ISO 14001: 2004) Therefore, the systems audit is a basic tool for the environmental management of a company, be it public or private.
The success of the implementation of an environmental management system will depend, among other factors, on the establishment of adequate and coherent policies and objectives that good communication is implemented that reaches all spheres of the company and encourages participation by all workers, the creation of responsibilities for each of the members involved and the use of environmental auditing as a control mechanism that assures those responsible for compliance with the established policy and objectives and the suitability of the system implemented, which is why it is Their process is of utmost importance in the context of comprehensive auditing.
Today, environmental management is in the process of being transformed and will eventually become an independent function that will have to distribute its priorities with all the company's processes until guaranteeing its completeness. The environmental audit is also being influenced by a fourth factor: the increasing confidence of managers in the usefulness of this discipline as a measuring instrument that it values, helps to change and improve performance, according to the opinion of the author of the research.
In a way, the environmental audit comes to close a complete cycle: it was the industry that first felt the need to foresee the environmental aspects of its operations and now it is also the industry that expects the audit to play an important role in the next phase environmental management.
When auditing industries, their primary purpose is to reconsider the treatment, care and improvement of their production processes, which allows them to show the degree of compliance with regulations, especially the environment, trying to go beyond mere regulated aspects in order to enter new markets. Through implementing the programming of actions for care, minimizing risks of modification to the environment, individuals and their property and avoiding emissions, spills, losses, etc., through the proper management of their goods and the substantial savings they achieve of the raw materials used in finished products are becoming more efficient and sustainable.
In response, many companies that carry out activities prone to contamination (oil, mining, food, pharmaceutical, steel, chemical, textile, tanning industries, among others) have established environmental quality policies and standards, using these internal efforts in training of an advertising image, that places them in the preference of the public, each day more aware of the protection and restoration of the environment. This is framed within the concept of social responsibility of the company, that is to say, its relations with its members, other entities, the state and the community in general;According to the author, she agrees when she understands that the company's social responsibility derives in the obligation to duly inform the different users of activities with immediate or future environmental impact.
Thus, to analyze the environmental risks that the performance of an activity could generate and evaluate its impact, environmental audits are carried out in order to formulate programs that allow compliance with current legislation on these issues in each country, activity sector, region, etc.
Companies that want to know and analyze their situation with regard to the environment carry out audits of this type, whether internal, carried out by the company itself or external, requested from specialized organizations. (Ríos Gual: 2006)
The regulation of the European Union N ° 1836/93 defines the Environmental Audit as: “A management instrument that includes a systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation of the efficiency of the organization, the management system and procedures for protection of the environment, and which aims to: Facilitate control, by management, of practices that may affect the environment and assess their adequacy to the company's environmental policies ”. (Gaviño 1999).
"The Environmental Audit constitutes a tool of the upper management that consists of a systematic and objective evaluation of how satisfactory is the environmental performance of the organization, its management, its system and products with a view to safeguarding the environment" (Prando, 1996)
“The Environmental Audit is a systematic review of facilities, operations, procedures through documents and personal interviews that help reveal legal compliance, (regulatory or political), risk status, (all events for the community, the environment or employees) and the management practices of the facilities subject to the audit. ”(Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection of Mexico, 1996).
The ISO 14010: 1997 Series of Standards maintains that it is defined as a systematic and documented verification process in order to obtain and objectively evaluate the audit evidence that allows determining, if the activities, events, conditions, management systems specified with respect to the environment or information about the issues, make up the audit criteria and communicate the results of this process to the client ”.
Although each author defines it in their own way, it can be concluded that in each definition the objective of the environmental audit process is undoubtedly addressed in the contribution of improving environmental quality and there is consensus regarding its role as an evaluation procedure and systematic and periodic verification.
In ISO 140001 Standards, the concept of auditing the environmental management system is collected and synthesized as a systematic and documented verification process, to obtain and objectively evaluate evidence with which to determine if the organization's environmental management system complies with the audit criteria of the environmental management system established by the organization and communicate the results of this process to management.
In any field, environmental auditing is an instrument for environmental assessment and improvement. Doing an environmental audit is, therefore, undertaking a voluntary self-assessment process that allows you to reflect on your own practice and identify ways to make improvements in the immediate environment. In addition, an environmental audit allows any organization to know the degree of compliance with the legal obligations in environmental matters derived from its activity, as well as the state of the organization for strategic decision-making, such as the implementation of an environmental management system..
When studying contemporary business practice, it is found that the preservation, conservation and protection of the environment requires a clear policy and a firm commitment on the part of the company, bearing in mind that for many years, this has become a determining element of their competitiveness, beyond the ethical and legal reading that can be done on the subject.
Hence, in one way or another, companies in the world have incorporated environmental management systems in an integrated way to their administration models, which allows them to generate a better position in the market, perfecting the different mechanisms that guarantee that it satisfies the expectations of the environment with which it interacts.
Taking into account the aforementioned, it can be stated and summarized that then the environmental audit constitutes a management tool that includes a systematic, documented, periodic and objective evaluation of the organization's operation from an environmental point of view, provided that it foresees the implementation management, as well as the necessary control teams in order to facilitate the management control of environmental practices and declare compliance with the organization's policy in accordance with environmental regulations, according to the author's criteria.
Chapter Conclusions:
- The theoretical reference analyzed allows us to consider that there are important gaps associated with the terminological treatment of environmental accounting information, which means that progress in this area continues to be limited. In the Cuban context, the results associated with this problem are still insufficient, despite the fact that Some regulatory aspects are inferred by regulatory agencies. It is necessary to work with greater emphasis on matters related to the accounting record and analysis of environmental items.The metallurgical industry is not immune to this phenomenon, where even when there are a series of laws in force, the accounting treatment of environmental items is very limited,which infers the need for the sector to take qualitative leaps especially when its productions occupy an important place within the competition market in Cuba and the world. The internal environmental accounting audit is a management tool that includes a systematic, documented evaluation, periodically and objectively how the company complies with the purpose of safeguarding the environment, on the one hand and on the other, how it plans, records, analyzes and controls the resources necessary for the prevention, evaluation, mitigation, failure and / or rehabilitation of the environment, both internal and external to the company.periodically and objectively how the company complies with the purpose of safeguarding the environment, on the one hand and on the other, how it plans, records, analyzes and controls the resources necessary for the prevention, evaluation, mitigation, failure and / or rehabilitation of the environment, both internal and external to the company.periodically and objectively how the company complies with the purpose of safeguarding the environment, on the one hand and on the other, how it plans, records, analyzes and controls the resources necessary for the prevention, evaluation, mitigation, failure and / or rehabilitation of the environment, both internal and external to the company.
