Costing a Natural Disaster: An Accounting Perspective

Abstract Accounting records play a role in a natural disaster as they measure and justify activities (possibly as an increase or a decrease) after the crisis is past. They also are used to highlight (or control) where the changes to activities, due to the natural disaster, have taken place. Accounting numbers not only measure the impact to businesses but are also used by a number of other institutions to quantify the effect within the changing business environment and the cost of the natural disaster itself. In the literature, some studies have investigated how accounting as a calculative practice is used to examine how public funds were targeted to disaster recovery. Alternatively, other researchers have questioned how accounting numbers remove from consideration the societal impact and disruption when response decisions are made. This chapter will examine the results of the present research in this area and consider areas that require further examination.