Accounting for financial costs in electric power companies: the role of accounting in cost optimization

Abstract

The purpose of this work was to study the features of organizing the accounting of electric power companies within the framework of sustainable development. Within the framework of the study, information from the financial statements of companies from the United Kingdom and the United States was analyzed in comparison to the situation in Ukraine. It was concluded that energy companies implemented the ideas of sustainable development by reducing the carbon emission intensity and investing in alternative energy sources. Depending on the capacity of the companies, medium-term investments in green energy could have reached USD 11 billion, as in the case of Duke Energy, or USD 17 billion, in the case of ExxonMobil. Some companies, however, tried to adapt to changes in the energy market by optimizing investments or changing the focus. A reduction in annual investments from USD 7 billion to USD 1.5–2 billion was recorded at Shell, which also increased oil and gas production in response to the instability of the energy market. The redirection of investments was documented at DTEK, which allocated USD 1 billion to the development of critical infrastructure that had been damaged by hostilities. During the study, it was concluded that regardless of the type of costs, the effective managerial and financial accounting involved taking into account economic, environmental, social, and organizational factors. Quantitative and qualitative metrics for such accounting were also proposed, in particular, employee and community engagement, compliance with social standards of the supply chain, carbon footprint intensity, waste management, and so on.