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The purpose of this study is to contribute to the discussion surrounding the definition of accounting proposed by Carnegie et al. (2021a, 2021b) and further elaborated by Carnegie et al. (2023) from/under an institutionalist political-economy (IPE) based foundation and to specifically extend this approach to the arena of social and environmental accounting (SEA).

By adopting an IPE approach to SEA, this study offers a critique of the use of the notion of capital to refer to nature and people in SEA frameworks and standards.

A SEA framework based on the capabilities approach is proposed based on the concepts of human capabilities and global commons for the purpose of preserving the commons and enabling the flourishing of present and future generations.

The proposed framework allows the engagement of accounting community, in particular SEA researchers, with and contribution to such well-established initiatives as the Planetary Boundaries framework and the human development reports initiative of the United Nations Development Programme.

Based on the capability approach, this study applies Carnegie et al.’s (2023) framework to SEA. This new approach more attuned to the pursuit of sustainable human development and the sustainable development goals, may contribute to turning accounting into a major positive force through its impacts on the world, expressly upon organisations, people and nature.

Criminological research, particularly in the Anglo-Saxon academic realm, has extensively examined the sharp increase in incarceration rates since the mid-1970s. Referred to as the “sociologies of the punitive turn” (Carrier, 2010), these studies argue that this surge reflects a sudden and harsh transformation in the logic governing penal practices and discourse. Some findings even suggest that this punitive shift has a global reach, impacting regions like Latin America. This broader narrative prompts an inquiry into whether a similar punitive turn occurred in Ecuador, a South American nation. Examination of prison demographics and legal frameworks in this country reveals a notable increase in incarceration rates during the 1990s, closely linked to drug trafficking control policies led by the United States. Consequently, I suggest that while the influence of neoliberal rationality, characteristic of the punitive turn, is evident, it’s more aptly described as a manifestation of punitive imperialism. Thus, it is imperative to analyze shifts in punishment trends within the framework of imperial dynamics, particularly considering the economic dependency of peripheral countries.