Engagement with UN SDGs in accounting scholarship: an accounting framework for the shift into overdrive towards 2030 agenda

Purpose This study aims to examine accounting scholars’ engagement with the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), based on Carnegie et al.’s (2021) multidimensional definition of accounting. Design/methodology/approach Applying a framework adapted from Carnegie et al. (2023), a qualitative content analysis approach is adopted to examine 24 SDG-focused articles published across eight high-profile accounting journals from 2016 to 2024. Findings Accounting scholars’ engagement with the SGDs remains low and peripheral, rather than mainstream. Analysis reveals three critical gaps in research on the SDGs: it disproportionately attends to the technical dimension (disclosure) while largely neglecting the social (social and policy implications) and moral (stakeholder and planetary interests) dimensions; it concentrates on limited, specific SDGs and on developed countries; and it approaches SDGs as routine rather than potentially transformative. Practical implications This study identifies specific pathways for advancing SDG accounting research: embracing interdisciplinary approaches; extending beyond organisational boundaries; focusing on developing countries and under-represented SDGs; addressing social and moral considerations and implications; promoting SDG accounting education; collaborating with other stakeholders; and increasing SDG publications by accounting journals. Social implications By highlighting both social and moral dimensions, this study encourages scholarship that advances accounting’s social functions, policies and engagement with stakeholder and planetary interests. Originality/value This study reveals systematic imbalances in how accounting scholarship engages with the SDGs. Addressing this critical issue requires a fundamental reorientation for accounting scholarship to meaningfully contribute to sustainable development.