The Structure of ESG Reporting Research within Accounting Journals: A bibliometric review

Abstract

Purpose – The paradigm shift in accounting has integrated Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) aspects as critical indicators of corporate value. However, scientific publications discussing ESG specifically within the accounting discipline remain fragmented, calling for a comprehensive mapping of this academic territory his study aims to objectively map the intellectual structure, keyword co-occurrences, geographical contributions, and future research gaps regarding ESG reporting within reputable accounting journals..

Design/methodology/approach – Utilizing a quantitative approach with bibliometric analysis, metadata from 60 selected articles published up to June 2026 were extracted from the Scopus database. The study adopted the PRISMA 2020 framework for rigorous screening and employed VOSviewer software for network visualization.

Findings – The findings reveal an exponential surge in scientific publications after 2021, driven by the establishment of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the global adoption of IFRS S1 and S2. Geographically, while developed nations like the United Kingdom and the United States lead the literature, developing nations such as Indonesia show strong research performance by ranking seventh globally. The keyword co-occurrence analysis identifies four major thematic clusters that link ESG disclosure to corporate governance, financial performance, digital transformation, and greenwashing risks.

Keywords:  ESG Reporting, Corporate Governance, Bibliometric Review, PRISMA Protocol, VOSviewer.