Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881

Corporate social and environmental responsibility in

web-based reports: Currency in the banking sector?
Christine Coupland ∗
University of Nottingham, Nottingham University Business School, Jubilee Campus,
Nottingham NG8 1BB, UK

Received 7 February 2004; received in revised form 2 December 2004; accepted 15 January 2005

Abstract

The argument that accounting is an interested endeavour, premised on social practices, suggests
that an examination of the quantity of corporate social reporting (CSR) in shareholder reports is too
simplistic an avenue of exploration. An analysis of web-based financial and CSR reports, using a
discourse/textual analytic approach, has raised questions regarding how these issues are given (and
denied) prominence in this context by virtue of their physical positioning and persuasive language. In
the study, web-based forms of reports of five banking groups are examined, Lloyds/TSB, the Royal
Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Barclays and the Co-operative Bank. It is argued that, rather than the
production of stand-alone reports signalling the growing importance of CSR considerations, in this
context they function to peripheralise the information. Although it is evident that organizations are
beginning to articulate a stance with regard to CSR, as increasingly more attention is being paid to
social and environmental issues, simple articulation is no longer sufficient.
© 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction

In this paper web-based forms of the reports to shareholders and corporate social respon-
sibility documents of five banking groups, operating in the UK, are examined; Lloyds/TSB,
The Royal Bank of Scotland, HSBC, Barclays and the Co-operative Bank. Although these

∗ Tel.: +44 115 951 5198.

E-mail address: Christine.Coupland@nottingham.ac.uk.

1045-2354/$ – see front matter © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.cpa.2005.01.001
866 C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881

organizations’ activities are similar and they represent a major section of the UK banking
activity, their approaches to reporting corporate social reporting (CSR) issues differ. The
Co-operative Bank has been selected as a values-based organization1 to provide a contrast
to the other four, more profit-oriented, banking organizations. The aims of the study are; to
locate and make visible how distance is created between CSR issues and accounting prac-
tices in the web-based literature of these organizations; to examine how CSR is constructed
as a concern of the organizations and to investigate how this is legitimated, in part, through
accounting terms.
Other commentators have examined how attention has been paid to corporate social
reporting in annual reports and other corporate documents (e.g. Moneva and Llena, 2000;
Unerman, 1999), and have concluded that an examination of the quantity of disclosure
in shareholder reports is too simplistic an avenue of exploration. In keeping with this I
propose that some analysis of corporate web sites, in particular the financial and CSR
reports, premised on a discourse analytic approach, will raise fresh questions about how
these issues are given (and denied) prominence by virtue of their physical positioning and
persuasive language. For example, I suggest that the separation of CSR issues from the
shareholder’s report may indicate the allocation of particular (peripheral?) status to those
issues. Furthermore, I intend, by drawing on media analysis techniques (Fairclough, 1995;
Kress and van Leeuwen, 1998) and the analysis of argument and rhetoric (Billig, 1996), to
suggest that the language of accounting practice in these documents be rendered problematic
and thus underlying assumptions made visible.
The theoretical perspective adopted in the paper is that organizations are a socially
constructed, emergent, process (Berger and Luckmann, 1966; Tsoukas, 1994). Central to
this study is the role of language as a site of action (Austin, 1992), in the form of a text. It
derives its philosophical underpinning from Wittgenstein’s (1967) notion of language as a
game in that, although we are all rule followers in our language use we are also creative in
our requirement to be persuasive. This suggests that web sites, as examples of corporate text,
function as manipulative, or conscious, examples of talk and text. However, ‘success’ lies
in their persuasiveness in the light of available, alternative, versions of company behaviour.
Hence, for the purposes of the paper, it is the verisimilitude of the web page that is under
scrutiny, not whether and if it bears any resemblance to some otherwise determined reality.

2. Social and environmental reporting

This paper focuses on the language of CSR accounts. Other authors have argued that
as social and environmental responsibility is a broad concern, articulating it is a problem
(Capron and Gray, 2000). Overuse of the term ‘social audit’ has led to demands for clarifica-
tion of vocabulary (Owen et al., 2000). Furthermore, the managerial turn in environmental
regulation displaces an environmental audit task from direct forms of verification of physi-

1 The Co-operative Bank operates as a ‘values-based’ organization in that it claims to be committed to running

a responsive and responsible business which gives priority to ethical, social and ecological issues. In 2002 they
were the first UK Company to be named as the world’s most socially responsible business (Global Corporate
Conscience Awards).
 C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881 867

cal things, e.g., emissions, to indirect verification of the systems to control such verification.
For example, financial auditors cannot verify an assertion that emission levels were x on
such a day but they can conclude that the system to verify such emissions was in place and
working adequately (Power, 1997). This suggests that accountability and transparency are
subject to managerial interpretation, thus facilitating control through collecting and dissem-
inating the information deemed appropriate to advance a particular corporate image (Owen
et al., 2000). One problem that arises from this is that organizational legitimacy in terms
of accounting for social and environmental activities is supported by the process of being
audited rather than substance to the audit process itself. Furthermore, the use of abstract
and managerial definitions of social reporting in preference to scientific definitions has been
favoured by accountants, (Power, 2003), thus extending claim to expertise in this domain.
While Gray (2002) optimistically suggests that it would be useful to consider social
accounting as the opening up of new spaces in order to promote engagement and change
practice, some managerialist researchers privilege market forces, do not question the form
of the organization or its social and political environment and adopt a research agenda
set by business hegemony and pragmatism. Hence, social and environmental reporting is,
typically, regarded in the management literature as an instrumental mechanism or a by-
product in the pursuit of organizations’ main, conventional, business focused, purposes
(Capron and Gray, 2000). Nevertheless, managerialist accountings can have the, possibly
unintended, consequences of strengthening organizational legitimacy in this area and thus
permit the capture of social and environmental agendas within the business structure (Neu
et al., 1998).
Although it is commonly accepted that the main aim in ‘for profit’ organizations is
to generate acceptable returns for shareholders, there is an emergent understanding of a
requirement to satisfy a broader group of interested stakeholders whose interests are more
than just financial (O’Donovan, 2002). Organizations are social creations whose continued
existence depends on the willingness of society to allow them to continue to operate (Reich,
1998). The idea of a social contract suggests that, although the aim of business is profit, there
exists an intangible agreement between business and society. Other authors have examined
the role of communication in ‘disclosure’ between organizations, the state and individuals
(e.g. Deegan, 2002). Although this is also where the focus of this study resides, I argue
that the word ‘disclosure’ intimates a revealing of ‘real’ attitudes and behaviours. Hence, I
propose that the word ‘construction’ works well as it illustrates the socially and contextually
shaped nature of these accounts—without recourse to comparison with some otherwise
established ‘reality’. This is not to suggest that the material world and the day-to-day
activities of its inhabitants are unimportant, it is rather that the version of the organization that
we are presented with in this medium performs functions over and above simple description.
I intend to make visible and thus problematize how these functions may be performed
through language to do the discursive business of constructing plausible legitimacy.
As legitimacy is a resource that can be deployed and manipulated, Deegan (2002); it is a
comment on the managerial perspective of stakeholder theory, (see Segars and Kohut, 2001),
that disclosure of information may be employed by the organization to manage/manipulate
the stakeholder to gain approval and to distract opposition. Furthermore, there is an expec-
tation that particular organizations are more responsive to the demands, or concerns, of
financial stakeholders than to the concerns of environmentalists (Neu et al., 1998). As
868 C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881

banks are in the evident business of wealth creation, this is deemed to be of paramount
concern—a perception of a lack of attention to this endeavour may result in a serious loss
of confidence. Hence, the selection of this type of organization in order to explore how/if
social and environmental concerns are subsumed within traditional annual accounts in times
of economic squeeze is both relevant and timely.
The inclusion of voluntary information in annual reports is used to send particular sig-
nals to the reader (Salancik and Meindl, 1984, p. 351); “. . . benefits of disclosing social
and environmental information include; pre-empting attacks from pressure groups, enhanc-
ing corporate reputation, providing opportunities to lead debates, to secure endorsements,
demonstrate strong management principles and demonstrate social responsibilities”. I argue
that increasing scrutiny of these types of accounts (e.g., Bebbington et al., 1999; Unerman,
1999) incurs cost. Claims of social and environmental activity opens up the organization
to further scrutiny/criticism (Fineman, 1996; Robertson and Nicholson, 1996). However,
validity claims may be contested. Although accounting assumes sovereignty in an economic
sphere, rationality is to do with the provision of reasons for beliefs or actions like account-
ing (Arrington and Puxty, 1991). If acceptable reason is deemed plausible to an audience
it is viewed as rational, therefore plausibility is key—to render a taken for granted view as
problematic breaks the plausible stance.

3. The web as a context of organizational communication

The impact of the context of communication should not be underestimated, although

the World Wide Web, as a relatively new genre of communication, is still emerging as a
variant of more established genres (Orlikowski and Yates, 1994; Wynn and Katz, 1997). I
examine in the paper how the structures of the web-based systems, in terms of accessibility of
information, may impact on the message being constructed. I suggest that the web presence
of a company or an individual is still bound by social processes, such as the orderliness
of talk, shared understanding and accountability (Wynn and Katz, 1997). Furthermore,
corporate communications as socially recognised communicative actions are enacted by
members to serve particular purposes (Yates and Orlikowski, 1992).
Although it has been argued that the technology of the internet provides potential for
individuals to challenge large organizations (Crowther, 2002), the construction of these
sites presents information in a manner that enables a particular version of the organiza-
tion, through an account of their activities to be regarded as common-sense, legitimate,
behaviours. Other commentators, who have explored computer-mediated identity, have pro-
posed that, even in ‘virtual’ space, identities are constructed in relation to material and social
factors and that there is heightened sensitivity to the few cues that are visible (Correll, 1995).
Furthermore, the audience impacts on the claims that may be made on the web site, in so
far as wide interests and concerns create a discerning public and hence heightened surveil-
lance is rendered possible. Hence, the context of the web provides a site of organizational
communication that is worthy of some attention with regard to CSR and financial reporting
activities.
The current Zeitgeist of a moderate climate of opinion in favour of social responsibil-
ity, (Kernisky, 1997; Starik and Rands, 1995), has enabled/required new story lines to be
 C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881 869

developed which appear to be conducive to new forms of alliance between historically oppo-
sitional agents (Hajer, 1997). This creates an intriguing scenario where a once marginalized
perspective (of the environment) begins to challenge (on the surface at least) a hegemonic,
organizationally defined, perspective in interaction. The web site as an interaction is the
focus of the paper.

4. Research site and methods

The analytical approach adopted in the present study, in keeping with a constructionist
perspective, shares a discourse analytic concern with making visible how facts are worked
up in talk and text (e.g Potter, 1996). In addition, some techniques have been adapted from
media analysis in order to examine how ‘factual’ information is presented and positioned
persuasively (e.g. Fairclough, 1995; Kress and van Leeuwen, 1998).
As the data were collected and read, features of the texts began to ‘cue’ questions that
had already arisen during the reading of the CSR and accounting literature (Phillips and
Hardy, 2002). The data was searched for patterns of both occurrence and positioning on the
web page. Once an initial series of themes was identified I returned to the data to search
for further extracts using a method of constant comparison culled from grounded theory
(Glaser and Strauss, 1967). I drew on techniques from discourse analysis described by
Potter (1996), utilising a definition of discourse to include repertoires which function as
resources in talk (e.g. Billig, 1996; Taylor, 2001). In addition, the methodology adopted in
the study draws, in part, on Krippendorf’s (1980) definition of content analysis. That is,
I have conducted an inquiry into the meaning of the data while acknowledging that there
is no, one, single meaning that requires unwrapping, rather that subjective analyses are
acknowledged as inevitable.
Furthermore, the data is approached with a view that statements are made in response to
some, often unstated, argument that precedes what is said or written. Hence, an examination
of the rhetorical nature of the text surfaces common-sense ideologies (Billig et al., 1988;
Billig, 1996). The contrary themes, which give rise to ideological dilemmas when in
opposition to each other, were sought and examined in the data. In keeping with recent
applications of a similar methodology in organization studies (Phillips and Hardy, 1997,
2002; Oswick et al., 2000) the use of discourse to persuasive effect has also been examined.
This approach aligns with other commentators’ investigations into ‘discursive struggle’
(e.g. Hajer, 1997; Livesey and Kearins, 2002). From a sample of five web sites, claims to
the generalizability of the findings are problematic, however, an aim for resonance with
the reader’s interpretations is claimed and an argument is made for extrapolation beyond
the material at hand (Alasuutari, 1995).
In the study, web-based forms of the reports to shareholders and corporate social respon-
sibility documents of banking groups were examined. The cases were selected from this
industry as there was an expectation that banks may be focused on profit maximisation and
there have been few evident specific environmental crises that would single them out for par-
ticular adverse media attention instigating defence. Although one area in which contentious
issues were predicted to surface was around the notion of funding in what may be deemed
an irresponsible manner in search of greater returns. To illustrate this point, some examina-
870 C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881

tion of the Co-operative Bank’s stance is included as a contrast to other banking groups, in
order to make comparative examinations of the data. As the ethical position adopted by the
Co-operative Bank is generally well understood1 , it is presented in the paper as a contrast
to how other banks, operating from within a more traditional, profit-oriented, perspective
construct themselves as attending to CSR issues. An examination of annual reports from
the banking sector is relevant as there is an expectation that CSR issues would be framed
within a business case. This is not simply a financial case, but the ideology evident in the
language, which places the ‘for profit’ motive as the right and proper way to organize their
activities.
Over a period of 6 months, the web pages of the selected organizations were examined.
Although much could be gained from a simple content analysis of the data in which one may
identify patterns of argument, in addition to a preliminary search for pattern, an investigation
of some aspects of the reports was carried out in detail in order to explore how argument is
subsumed, captured and deployed in the service of maintaining and legitimising hegemonic
value systems. Furthermore, a particular feature of the web sites of these organizations is
their potential to be altered, or moved. These corporate arenas are subject to change of
location, thus rendering a return to a particular position on a web site problematic over a
period of time. The web addresses for initial contact were:

www.barclays.com
www.hsbc.com
www.lloydstsb.com
www.rbs.co.uk
www.cooperativebank.co.uk

5. Analysis

The following section of the paper is organised thus: first, access to financial and social
and environmental reports on the web is examined, second, three aspects of how CSR is
constructed in the reports as, ‘doing good’, ‘being good’ and ‘funding good’, is discussed
and, finally, the role of the language of accounting as a legitimising technique is explored.

5.1. Accessibility to information on the web

The home page is where most visitors will enter the web site, although search engines
provide alternative entry paths to web-based information. The focus of the analysis began
here by exploring the nature of the physical relationship between the locations of the financial
reports and CSR reports, focusing particularly on the relative ease of access and clarity of
signposting. As the clickable images that lead to information operate as ‘meaning-making’
labels, I suggest that they operate as ‘portals’ through which the web reader must pass. Each
portal in Table 1 represents a move from one page to another through a clickable heading.
Table 1 summarises ease of access to financial information for the banks in the study.
For all of the traditional banks financial reports are one or two clicks away from the home
page, the point of entry. That this is an item of interest to potential and/or current investors,
 C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881 871

Table 1
Accessibility to financial information
Home page First portal Second portal
Barclays Investor relations Downloadable document
HSBC Investor centre Financial results Downloadable document
Lloyds/TSB Services Investor relations Downloadable document
Royal Bank of Scotland Investor relations Downloadable document
Co-operative Ethics in action Partnership reports and accounts Downloadable document

visiting most of the banks, is signalled using ‘investor’ as part of the heading. However,
what is also pertinent here is the selection of the word ‘relations’ in the banks’ web sites. The
investor in relationship with the organization is a doubtful concept however it appears that
the sense that one exists is portrayed through the language. This is argued while acknowl-
edging that the analysis focuses on a unidirectional interaction rather than an exchange.
Whether and if this relationship is regarded as such by the web site visitors can only be
speculated upon. Furthermore, the information made available through ‘investor relations’
does not include or make reference to CSR issues. These are accessed from another pathway
initiated from the home page but wholly unconnected to the financial reports. I suggest that
rather than CSR issues gaining ground in terms of becoming a legitimate dimension in the
accountability of an organization (e.g. triple bottom line Elkington, 1998; Harte and Owen,
1991), they are re-located as separate from a more traditional measure, that of the financial
reports. In addition, I propose that it is with the audience in mind that access to these reports
is structured in this way. I argue that attention is drawn away from CSR activities, which,
it may be argued, detract from the ‘real’ business of increasing profit. Hence, separate and
physically distanced reports enable the corporate response for accountability, demanded by
two different and potentially opposing audiences, or stakeholders, to be relevant to each
audience. The web page facilitates this separation through subsuming CSR reports under
headings not apparently connected to CSR issues and some distance from financial infor-
mation. Hence, the potential investor seeking financial information about the organization
is directed through simple labelling to the financial reports.
In contrast, the home page of the Co-operative Bank does not refer to investment. The
potential investor instead has to interpret which of the (not immediately obvious) available
clickable images is most likely to provide the information required. In a similar way to the
other banks, the reader is directed through simple language towards the primary purpose of
the bank. The use of ‘ethics’ as part of a clickable item utilises an image in a status-relevant
position thus rendering it impossible for the web site visitor to access financial information
without going through this portal. In Table 2, I summarize the signposting of the banks to
CSR issues and reports.
An examination of the clickable images that led to CSR-related information suggested
that they operate as value-laden ‘portals’ through which the web reader must pass in order
to ascertain where CSR information was located. There is more diversity in the labelling
of these sectors of the web site. One question raised by this is what does the labelling
obscure? It is not self-evident that CSR issues will be contained in sectors entitled “about
us”, for example. Furthermore, this label suggests an inward focus whereas CSR is at least
to some extent concerned with the organization’s impact beyond its traditional boundaries.
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C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881
Table 2
Accessibility to CSR information
Home page First portal Second portal Third portal Fourth portal
HSBC In society Education environment community Sustainability social No downloadable documents
living our values —- responsibility responsible
financing
Barclays Policies and principles Social responsibility CSR report 2002 Downloadable document
Lloyds/TSB About us The community and the environment Social responsibility CSR report 2002 Downloadable
document
Royal Bank of Corporate responsibility Community and environment Community and environment Downloadable document
Scotland report
Co-operative Ethics in action Partnership reports and accounts Downloadable document
 C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881 873

In addition, the number of ‘clicks’ required to arrive at a downloadable form of a CSR

report are greater than those required to access a similar version of the financial reports.
I have provided a, necessarily brief, exploration of the proximity of CSR and financial
reports as positioned on the web pages. What is evident is that the banks, which operate
within a traditional business model prioritise financial performance as of primary impor-
tance. It is presumed, therefore, that financial information is of relevance to web site visitors
and hence is clearly signposted. The contrasting example of the Co-operative Bank locates,
at least in terms of the construction of the web site, financial matters as within a framework
of ethics. Potential investors are made aware of the bank’s ethical stance on entry to the
web site. Having examined how CSR and financial issues are separated on the web sites I
now explore what CSR is deemed to be according to the reports.

5.2. The construction of CSR

Having examined the web site reports in depth, three aspects of CSR have emerged as
prevalent throughout. I suggest that the corporate accounts of CSR behaviour are premised
on; doing good, being good and funding good. Each of the banks describes their CSR activ-
ities to a greater or lesser extent within these parameters. ‘Doing good’ denotes activities
beyond the bank’s remit of providing financial services. These are generally termed ‘com-
munity’ focused behaviours. ‘Being good’ refers to accounts of an environmental impact
that the organization may be having and typically includes some description of energy sav-
ing activities and equal opportunities policies. ‘Funding good’ is the area in which radical
differences appear between the values-based organization and the traditional organizations
in the study.
It is evident from the positioning and availability of the clickable items that they function
as status-evoking headings, (Kress and van Leeuwen, 1998). That is, they confer what may
be deemed relevant to be discussed in the area of CSR. This illustrates one way that a
critical examination of how an organization constructs its web page as attending to CSR
issues highlights the strategic and rhetorical potential of the activity, remembering that the
report itself is a version of the organization (Stanton and Stanton, 2002) in which ‘reality’ is
both communicated and constructed (Hines, 1988). In every instance the language of ‘we’
the organization was deployed. From a content analysis of the web pages it is relatively
clear that the banks all share a notion of the areas relevant to the construction of CSR
accounts as they are fairly consistent among all the organizations investigated. Whether
and to what extent these accounts are intrinsically related to everyday practices and are
monitored is not the remit of this paper, that they may be claimed in a CSR report signals
attention. More subtle analyses are required, if the focus is to remain on the account itself,
in order to understand where fissures exist in contemporary accounts of what CSR ‘is’. For
the majority of the banks, CSR is about community and the environment, that is doing good
and being good, whereas the values-based organization directs the web visitor to the issue
of ‘ethics’ under which all of the bank activities are reported. From within this initial signal
of difference, in the area of ‘funding good’ more apparent differences are made explicit.
Many of the traditional organizations’ web pages were silent on the issue of lending, the
language of assessment worked to obscure much of the detail (see Chwastiak and Young,
2003). However, there were some instances of clarity, which indicated that there were two
874 C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881

Table 3
Summary of constructions of CSR activities
Doing good Being good Funding good
All organizations All organizations Traditional organizations
Charitable work Energy consumption “avoid categories” e.g. arms dealers
Employee involvement Water consumption
Contribute to debates Waste production
Financial inclusion Gas emissions “in exceptional circumstances” e.g.
poor human rights record
Equality
Diversity (employees and customers)
Health and saftey
Values-based organization
“We will not invest in any business
involved in:”
“We will not support..”

categories of customer who were closely examined, those to ‘avoid’ and those deemed
acceptable ‘in exceptional circumstances’ (see Table 3). The language of this corporate
position should be contrasted with that of the values-based statement—ambiguous dexterity
versus unequivocal language. Further detailed illustrative examples of how definitions of
CSR are constructed through one bank’s descriptions are illustrated below.
Lloyds/TSB
“in the market that is now generally covered by the term CSR we believe that we are
a leader”
“being UK”s number one corporate giver” (doing good)
“having award winning policies in the fields of employee relations” (being good)
“leading innovation in the management of change and environmental risk”
However, these explanations are followed by a qualifier:

“It [being a leader in CSR] is also about the day-to-day business of listening to and
serving all our stakeholders, because corporate social responsibility does not exist in
isolation but is part of building a successful business.”
These examples are useful to illustrate several key points, which emerged consistently
throughout the web sites of the traditionally focused banks. I propose that by describing
CSR in an indeterminate way, ‘now generally covered by the term’, its status as a legitimate
concern is reduced and its nature constructed as temporally transient. Furthermore, by
describing it as a ‘market’ it is located within a business language, defining in an implicit
manner the bank’s approach to these issues. What CSR means is illustrated through examples
of doing good and being good, however, the introduction of the notion of ‘risk’ albeit couched
in managerial terms is intriguing and worth some consideration. ‘Risk’ was invoked as
 C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881 875

relevant to CSR throughout all of the reports, thus suggesting that environmental issues may
be calculated in a similar manner to financial ones. This is in keeping with Power’s (1997)
comment that accountants construct overlap between the skills required for financial and
environmental auditing. Accounting functions as a form of expertise that subordinates other
possible forms. In the reports, there was no recourse to measures and language of the natural
sciences. These may be alternative relevant voices in environmental reports. Furthermore,
‘risk’ suggests a calculated potential for damage attached to CSR relevant issues. Contrast
this with the potential outcome for mis-calculated credit risk. The consequences of tardy or
unpaid debt hardly seem comparable with ill-considered funding which has environmental
or social costs. Nevertheless, the language of accounting appears to render this description
as plausible and legitimate (see Power, 2003).
The final section of the above series of extracts summarises the status of CSR in relation
to a traditional business case. How this functions as a plausible explanation may be decon-
structed on several grounds, however I am limited to a few comments. First, it provides
an example of how CSR is subsumed within the ideology of what businesses are ‘really’
about (see Stanton and Stanton, 2002 for a discussion of values systems of principals being
attended to). Second, it presents these issues in what could be described as oppositional
terms. Davison (2002) has described textual antithesis with regard to the structure of annual
reports. There is an implied opposition in the above description, which is in keeping with
Billig et al’s (1988) notion of ideological dilemmas being evident in interaction. That is, an
argument exists, albeit unspoken, in the context that more attention may (should?) be paid
to CSR issues. The account given here defends against the unspoken argument. This may be
one example of how avowedly values-based organizations, such as the Co-operative Bank,
are beginning to elicit response from traditional, commercial organizations (Owen et al.,
2000). This is explicitly attended to in the following illustrative extract.

Lloyds/TSB
“unlike some of our competitors we do not believe that environmental improvement
is achieved by simply refusing to lend to certain industry sectors. We are not ‘environ-
mental policemen’ but we believe that by working with our customers, we can help
identify potential risks to both the environment and their business, and help them
develop appropriate and cost effective solutions.”

In the above extract, the perspective adopted by the Co-operative Bank is evoked in
a negative way in order to construct an alternative position. Leaving aside the negative
gender and power implications of the statement, the language of accounting is drawn on
to subsume CSR issues into those deemed relevant, legitimate and manageable within a
business perspective. The role that the bank constructs for itself is one of ‘helper’ to the
customer, that is, as responding to a need, this naturalises their activities and, arguably,
presents a reasonable case. An implied alternative stance in which some ‘competitors’ are
positioned as obstructive to business needs.
Finally, although ‘funding good’ was not signalled as particularly important for the
traditional banks through headings or status-relevant clickable images, a close examination
of their web sites led to just a few instances of the explicit discussion of this issue, illustrative
examples are shown below.
876 C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881

HSBC
“We offer socially responsible investments.”
Lloyds/TSB
“An environmental fund and an ethical fund are available for clients who prefer an
approach that excludes investment in companies in certain business areas.”
From a critical perspective, one could read these examples as suggestive of funding of
unethical practices being normative. That this was not clearly signalled is perhaps unsur-
prising, as a response to a growing awareness of environmental and social matters (Moneva
and Llena, 2000), it is unconvincing and is open to alternative interpretation. An indication,
perhaps, of how this type of research may attempt to deconstruct what is regarded as conven-
tional accounting and therefore more usually regarded as unproblematic (see Bebbington
et al., 1999).
How these activities are described is summarised in Table 3.

5.3. Accounting terms as legitimation

The final section of the analysis focuses on how the language and expertise of financial
accounting legitimacy is deployed in descriptions of the banks’ CSR-related accounting
mechanisms. Other commentators have suggested that there is a risk for the accountant in
adopting environmental reporting as within their remit (Buhr, 2002). However, I suggest
that, although this risk represents a dilemma for accounting professionals, a requirement
to expand into this field, presently at least, overrides this risk, which is mitigated through
the legitimacy of the accounting profession itself. As a concept, which is of concern to
organizations, the apparent self-monitoring of CSR behaviours and activities is described as
‘performance’. The role of accounting and auditing procedures and legitimation is apparent,
for example:
HSBC
“With the help of KPMG’s corporate social responsibility team, we are building robust
and auditable systems, so that we can gain an accurate picture of our environmental
performance worldwide.”
Another example is indicated below.
Royal Bank of Scotland
“Risk is at the core of the credit lending process and we have a formal procedure for
evaluating this. Environmental impacts are an important and integral part of the assess-
ment and approval process. We recognise the responsibility we have for the potential
environmental impact of our customers’ operations. However, it is the responsibility
of our customers to ensure they comply with the environmental legislation which
applies to their area of operations.”
We can examine the above extracts from many relevant perspectives; however, I shall
focus on a few pertinent issues. First, in the report a legitimate identity is constructed for
 C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881 877

dealing with CSR as it is related to financial risk assessment. Power (1997) has described
how the role of the accountant has developed in terms of CSR auditing. I suggest that
accounting expertise is implied in the accounting activities themselves. These have strate-
gic and rhetorical potential, which are drawn on in this instance to locate CSR issues as
measurable in the same way that credit lending may be evaluated, even though they have
uncertain economic meaning or potential. However, having ‘recognised the responsibility’
this is passed on to the customer (in the second extract). Finally, by resorting to ‘legislation’
as an arbiter of what is right and proper to do, the organization is devolved of responsibil-
ity. Working ‘within the law’ is deemed in many circumstances as an appropriate way to
conduct business. However, in the field of CSR where voluntary behaviours and reporting
are regarded as indicative of commitment to these issues (Gray, 2002), resorting to legal
requirements may be interpreted as performing to a minimum standard. The adoption of
procedures that go beyond what is required by law has been taken to indicate that the law
is merely responding to the prevalent Zeitgeist of attention to CSR, rather than prescrib-
ing appropriate standards. Drawing on legislation, therefore, fails to provide a convincing,
plausible, argument.
The final, following illustrative example is from the Royal Bank of Scotland, regarding
their CSR policy.

“the group is firmly committed to creating strong business growth which is not at the
expense of the environment, quality of life or social equity”

In this account the organization appears to attempt to serve two masters and perhaps
represents an example of the report providing information that advances an appropriate cor-
porate image (Owen et al., 2000), social and environmental issues being rendered innocuous
by dominant economic interests (Tinker et al., 1991) and a strengthening of organizational
legitimacy carried out through the deployment of a (subsumed) social and environmental
agenda (Gray, 2002). Bullis (1997) has suggested that academics need to consider how
communication works to preserve the rights and autonomy of organizations while the envi-
ronment is destroyed. There are contrasts that may be made between the traditional banks’
reports and the values-based bank. I propose that the stance adopted by the latter makes
visible the ‘absence’ in the other descriptions. This is in keeping with Gray (2002), who
suggests that social accounting is about the opening up of new spaces, but the spaces them-
selves are still up for negotiation. It may be that the impact of values-based organizations
(Owen et al., 2000) is a slow but steady influence on what CSR is by offering new social
and environmental agendas to be attended to by other organizations.
In Table 4 a summary of the findings is presented.

6. Discussion

In the analysis section of the paper I have examined some aspects of how the language
adopted in and the positioning of financial and CSR reports in web-based communications
contribute to constructing a plausible, legitimated, version of banking organizations in terms
878 C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881

Table 4
Summary of findings
CSR Issues on the Web
Investor Issues on the Web
Traditional banking Org
Opaque signposting
Side issue
Growth as good
Temporally transient
A market
A calculable risk
Clarity in signposting
Bank as helper
“Values” bank as obstructer
Financial ‘inclusion’
Values-based banking Org
Clarity in signposting
Main issue
Questions growth as good contributes
to profitability
Opaque signposting
Bank as arbiter
Modern but ethical
Selective investment

of these activities. The selection of the banking sector for investigation was based on an
expectation that profit-oriented concerns would predominate. The location of CSR informa-
tion supports this initial expectation. I suggest that, rather than the production of stand-alone
reports signalling the growing importance of CSR considerations, the information is periph-
eralised, marginalised and its location disguised which is in keeping with Crowther (2002).
This is illustrated as being facilitated particularly in a web-based communicative genre.
By drawing on understanding gained from media analysis it is evident that the clickable
items on a web page function in similar ways to newspaper headings. They offer oppor-
tunities to take the reader into further detail; the reader may select to do this. However,
the headings themselves also construct messages. This works in at least two ways. First,
if the reader decides not to pursue the detail, the heading becomes the message. Second
the heading, or clickable image, plays the part of a portal, through which the reader must
pass and from which meaning is taken. The reader is directed through the language used in
the clickable image to a particular view of what lies beyond. The location of CSR reports
as separate to financial reports functions to take different audiences to different parts of
the web page. In this way, particular versions of the organization are given credence to the
imagined audience. The contrast provided by the values-based organization in the study
is stark. Ethical matters are re-constituted as framed within doing business for traditional
organizations, whereas financial matters are subsumed within an ethical framework for the
values-based organization.
On exploration of the data, I have noted how the language of accounting is seeping into
social and environmental reports. In keeping with much of the critical accounting litera-
ture in which there is a call to challenge the hegemonic position adopted by accountants
as arbiters of business speak and measurement (e.g. Gray, 2002; Power, 1997) and where
accounting assumes sovereignty (Arrington and Puxty, 1991), I propose that accounting
terms are also imbued with legitimacy. This is not simply through imposing a classifica-
tion system of measurement; it is in the everyday use of words ordinarily associated with
accounting procedure, which are unproblematically applied to new areas of intervention.
However, contrarily, I argue that it is in their very use that their contestability becomes appar-
ent. Although accounting may assume the discourse of expertise, its entry to new arenas
 C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881 879

renders it most vulnerable to critique. While it is acknowledged that accountants’ behaviours

across a range of activities have been described as an ability to shape intervention, I sug-
gest it is one role of research to problematize the presumed legitimacy of one field upon
another.
It is evident that ‘for profit’ organizations are beginning to articulate a stance with
regard to CSR. This, I suggest, is an example of changing conditions that organizations are
compelled to consider (Cheney, 1991). However, as increasingly more attention is being
paid to social and environmental issues, simple articulation will not be sufficient. It is in
the interactions of organizations with others that the dominant stance previously taken by
businesses is challenged by having to attend to issues promoted by a once marginalized
minority. Although it is difficult to assess superficial gloss or actual ‘buy in’ to these issues
when focusing on language alone, I propose that a constructionist perspective to language
enables a making visible and questioning of terms, which would ordinarily remain taken-
for-granted. It is from this perspective that gaps in hegemonic argument may be located and
widened.
From examining the accounts of the contrasting organizations in the study, it has become
apparent that the role of values-based organizations is perhaps currently under estimated
(cf. Owen et al., 2000). The more traditional position is not easily defended in the light of
their continued existence. It cannot be disputed that they perform a function in terms of
setting a level of attention to be paid to social and environmental concerns. However, as
there are relatively few of these organizations, they do not currently operate in competi-
tion with similarly ethically concerned bodies. Hence, we should perhaps speculate upon
how differentiation may be constructed in an arena of growing numbers of like-minded
organizations.

7. Concluding comments

One further area of future research that the present study highlights is a focus on how
the organization is presented as operating independent of individuals, ‘we’ the organization
is the only voice apart from legitimating accounting bodies from beyond the organization.
I argue that the implications of obscurity vis-à-vis agency and accountability should be
considered with regard to particular constructions of the organization, CSR and accounting
behaviours as presented in annual reports. This may be both timely and relevant in the
present era of reduced confidence in organizational activity.
One aim of the paper was to make visible and problematize articulations of CSR activities
in the organizations’ web pages investigated in the study. This encourages the reader to view
other articulations with a critical eye. The question ‘why this, why now?’ should lead to a
reduction of CSR-related ‘fillers’ which currently have apparent kudos in organizations’ web
pages. Furthermore, a critical examination of the images through which the reader is directed
towards CSR-relevant information needs to be regarded as status-evoking information. A
step forward may be to locate the CSR report and a report containing financial information
in one area entitled, ‘Reports and Accounts’, for each year of business. The segregation of
information for intended audiences serves only to problematize organizations’ intentions
regarding CSR issues.
880 C. Coupland / Critical Perspectives on Accounting 17 (2006) 865–881

Finally, in contrast to ‘grand and bland’ ambiguously phrased CSR objectives, the
language, legitimacy and plausibility attached to all things accounting is a convenient mea-
suring system which retains a business-case focus and system of explanation. However,
simple articulations of CSR activities will cease to function as currency in the purchase of
legitimacy in this arena, as the continued and growing presence of values-based organiza-
tions question this as the only possible system of operation.

Acknowledgements

I would like to acknowledge the anonymous referees for most helpful suggestions and
advice and to thank Andrew D. Brown for his insightful comments on earlier drafts of this
paper.

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