Special Issue of Accounting in Europe: Accounting for Instability – Transparency and Accountability in Corporate Reporting under Uncertainty

Guest editors: Alessandra Allini (University of Naples Federico II), Kees Camfferman (Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam), Ann Jorissen (University of Antwerp), Zoltán Novotny-Farkas (Vienna University of Economics and Business)
Submissions open 1 June 2027 · Full paper deadline: 31 October 2027

The global business environment has become increasingly characterised by instability. Geopolitical conflicts, regulatory fragmentation, energy price shocks, climate-related risks, technological transformation and growing regulatory complexity have altered the conditions under which firms operate, creating new forms of uncertainty for managers, investors, regulators, auditors and other stakeholders. This special issue seeks to advance academic understanding of the role of accounting in unstable environments.

We invite high-quality theoretical, empirical, experimental, survey-based, qualitative and field-based research that examines how different forms of instability affect accounting, auditing, corporate reporting, governance and accountability. Themes include, but are not limited to:

• Transparency and disclosure quality during periods of instability
• Corporate reporting responses to geopolitical, economic, climate-related or technological shocks
• Disclosure of risks, uncertainties, forward-looking information and anticipated financial effects
• Investor interpretation and use of uncertainty-related disclosures
• Accounting for sovereign, geopolitical, climate-related and systemic risks
• Accounting measurement, managerial judgement and accounting discretion under uncertainty
• Standard-setting responses to uncertainty and systemic risks
• Enforcement, assurance and monitoring under conditions of instability
• Risks and challenges of artificial intelligence in corporate reporting
• Spillover effects of risk and uncertainty disclosures on firms’ internal decision-making and performance evaluation

Submissions should articulate their relevance for European accounting, reporting, auditing, regulatory or policy debates. Submit through the Accounting in Europe portal and state in the cover letter that the paper is intended for the special issue. Questions may be directed to the guest editors.