Environmental, Social and Governance Awareness and Organisational Risk Perception Amongst Accountants

The relationships between accountants’ environmental, social and governance (ESG) awareness and their perceptions of organisational risk are examined in this study. The emphasis is on the operational, strategic, financial and compliance risks of business organisations. A total of 462 accountants in Hong Kong were included via stratified random sampling and snowball sampling to ensure population diversity. A stratified random approach was used to include factors such as age, gender, income and experience, and snowball sampling amongst professional networks was used to ensure representativeness. A significant positive relationship exists between ESG awareness and risk perception, with environmental and governance factors emerging as the strongest predictors. Accountants with deep ESG awareness, especially in the aforementioned areas, can successfully identify and manage nontraditional risks such as regulatory changes and environmental threats. The findings highlight the need for institutionalising ESG-focused education in accounting and corporate governance to improve risk management capabilities. Increased ESG awareness can ensure responsible and sustainable business behaviour. Future research can expand the sample of accountants to executives and use longitudinal designs to capture the dynamic nature of ESG awareness and risk perception.