The role of accounting in ensuring financial and social sustainability during crises: a multi-actor perspective

The search for the key to financial sustainability has always been a critical issue and a fortiori now, as our world enters a phase of endemic crises. The growing need for ensuring social equity and public value was developing in parallel and has never been as challenged as by contemporary turbulent times. This article provides a viewpoint on the role of accounting in balancing financial and social sustainability during crises from a multi-actor perspective. By focusing on actors and accounting tools used to respond to and manage the multiple effects of crises, this article explores how financial sustainability unfolds together with social sustainability in critical situations. We also locate the articles included in this Public Money & Management (PMM) theme, identifying avenues for further research. Our analysis is extremely relevant for practitioners as we discuss the ways that different actors can balance social and financial sustainability during a crisis.