Externalities and the Water Industry.

This paper commences with a brief review of environmental issues in Australia, and then turns to the origins and development of socio-economic accounting incorporating environmental accounting. The attempts of accountants, economists and others are identified and, in particular, the work of Linowes (1968) and others at that time is identified as the point of departure for this paper. Linowes argues the case for the incorporation, within the traditional balance sheet of environmental, social and financial data. Since the time of Linowes however, this thread within the literature of accounting and environmental accounting seems to have been lost. This paper seeks to redress this apparent gap in the literature. Following a theoretical examination of the suitability of traditional accounting for extension, a model is developed closely modelled upon the Linowes 1968 paper together with the contribution of others writing at that time which are identified within the literature review. The measurement model proposed is then applied to a preliminary case study of Central Highlands Water (CHW), a regional water authority in Victoria, Australia. The paper concludes by noting further research issues identified within this paper. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]