Integrating ESG and Sustainability Reporting into Accounting Curriculum: A Step Toward Responsible Education

Background/purpose. As Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) standards become integrated into global business operations and regulation, the accountancy profession will need to evolve to confront new challenges around transparency, sustainability, and ethical leadership. In this study, the integration of ESG and sustainability reporting within five Vietnamese university accounting curricula is examined, with evidence found of a high demand for reform in emerging economies.

Materials/methods. Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, the research first undertakes a cluster analysis of 212 accounting students on their exposure, awareness, and interest towards ESG, and then explores the views of 20 accounting lecturers through a framework analysis and reveals structural, pedagogical, and institutional inhibitions towards curricular innovation.

Results. The findings reveal entrenched misalignments: students are keen on ESG while curriculum coverage remains thin and patchily presented. Lecturers, despite all the additional interest, are often not supported or institutionally trained. Strategic directions on integrating ESG into mainstream accounting education, for instance, include localized content production, experiential learning pedagogies, and building capacity for lecturers, as suggested by the research.

Conclusion. By plugging gaps between institutional readiness and student motivation, the research contributes to the debate about responsible management education and helps Vietnam's broader ambition towards sustainable development and integration internationally

Keywords: ESG, Sustainability Reporting, Curriculum, Education

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