Constructing Professional Legitimacy: The Role and Challenges of Accountants in Integrating Carbon Accounting into Corporate Reporting Systems in Vietnam

Hong Van Tran PhD

doi:10.56201/jafm.vol.11.no12.2025.pg132.140

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Constructing Professional Legitimacy: The Role and Challenges of Accountants in Integrating Carbon Accounting into Corporate Reporting Systems in Vietnam

Hong Van Tran PhD

Abstract

This study aims to explore the roles, challenges, and legitimacy-constructing strategies of Vietnamese accountants in the context of integrating carbon accounting into corporate reporting systems. Using an interpretive qualitative research method, the paper analyzes data from in-depth interviews with 18 accountants directly involved in this process, based on the theoretical framework of professional legitimacy. The results show that accountants are not passive actors but have established themselves as agents of change at the micro-level. When faced with role ambiguity and multi-faceted challenges in professional, organizational, and governance aspects, they have proactively applied sophisticated and systematic strategies to consolidate their roles. These strategies include: constructing pragmatic legitimacy by translating carbon data into the language of financial benefits; constructing moral legitimacy by linking their work to social responsibility and professional standards; and constructing cognitive legitimacy through the standardization and systematization of reporting processes. The study affirms that the integration of carbon accounting is a complex social process. From there, the paper proposes important practical implications, emphasizing the need for professional associations to develop training programs, for managers to recognize this as a strategic function, and for educational institutions to update their curricula to support the accounting profession in adapting to the low-carbon economy.

Keywords

Carbon accountingsocial and environmental accountingrole of accountantsVietnam.

References

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Constructing Professional Legitimacy: The Role and Challenges of Accountants in Integrating Carbon Accounting into Corporate Reporting Systems in Vietnam

Abstract

Keywords

References

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