Accounting and Sustainable Development Goals: Discovering future research trends through a systematic literature review analysis

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Abstract

The purpose of this study is to systematically reconstruct and analyze the current state of the academic literature addressing the intersection of accounting and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). While global initiatives like the SDGs have spurred research across various disciplines, the specific focus on their linkage with accounting remains nascent. We employed a robust systematic literature review analysis (SLRA), which sequentially combined a systematic literature review (SLR) with both bibliometric analysis and content analysis to examine a final sample of 34 theoretical and empirical studies. The main results indicate that research interest primarily surged between 2019 and 2021, though growth has since slowed. The findings also reveal a predominant reliance on qualitative research approaches within this emerging field, with the majority of contributions being literature reviews and normative or policy-oriented works. This paper provides a necessary, comprehensive overview of this novel area, charting the evolution of its themes and identifying critical gaps for future inquiry. The methodological rigor contributes to a solid foundation for further scholarship in accounting and sustainability.

Keywords: Accounting, Sustainable Development Goals, SDGs, Systematic Literature Review Analysis (SLRA), Systematic Literature Review (SLR), Bibliometric Analysis, Content Analysis, Research Clusters, Future Research Trends

Authors’ individual contribution: Conceptualization — P.P. and S.V.; Methodology — P.P., C.G., and S.V.; Software — C.G.; Validation — P.P. and C.G.; Formal Analysis — C.G. and S.V.; Investigation — P.P., C.G., and S.V.; Resources — C.G.; Data Curation — P.P.; Writing — Original Draft — P.P., C.G., and S.V.; Writing — Review & Editing — S.V.; Visualization — C.G.; Supervision — P.P.; Project Administration — S.V.; Funding Acquisition — C.G.

Declaration of conflicting interests: The Authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

JEL Classification: B40, M14, M41

Received: 04.09.2025
Revised: 09.11.2025; 21.11.2025; 07.12.2025
Accepted: 18.12.2025
Published online: 22.12.2025

How to cite this paper: Puntillo, P., Gulluscio, C., & Veltri, S. (2025). Accounting and Sustainable Development Goals: Discovering future research trends through a systematic literature review analysis. Corporate Ownership & Control, 22(4), 141–159. https://doi.org/10.22495/cocv22i4art13