How accounting strengthens the circular economy

Increasingly more companies are taking steps to go circular. The focus is often on technical solutions, but there are more important aspects. For example, how do you ensure that circularity pays off? Researchers Sebastiaan Morssinkhof and Sanne Ursem of the THUAS New Finance research group actively involve students in this issue. Within the international Erasmus+ ACES project (Accounting for Circular Economy and Sustainability), they developed, among other things, teaching materials that teach students how to use accounting knowledge and skills to support companies in the transition to a circular business model.

Literature review and interviews

In doing so, the researchers first identified the problem together with their European partners. They did so through literature review and interviews, among other things. Sebastiaan: ‘We talked to parties across Europe to find out what is on their minds, what bottlenecks they face and what they need. With that knowledge, we set out to develop specific educational materials, equipping students to guide their future employers towards financially sound circular practices.’

Testing teaching materials

In early 2025, Sanne took over from her predecessor Begoña Gilabert. ‘By then, a lot of work had already been done. I was mainly involved in testing the educational materials developed. As a researcher and lecturer, it makes me happy that our research knowledge is able to improve education. This way, we kill two birds with one stone. The students involved also responded positively and enthusiastically. The international aspect of our research makes it even more interesting. This also enabled us to learn about the details of education systems in other European countries, which broadened our own perspective. Moreover, we were able to benefit from the international knowledge and expertise of our partners.’

International cooperation

In this project, the research group worked with partners from Finland, Spain and Cyprus. Although many consultations took place online, the annual on-site meetings provided depth and inspiration. The closing meeting at The Hague University of Applied Sciences, with guest lecturers and a visit to the Blue City circular hotspot, was a nice and valuable conclusion to the cooperation.

Concluded, but not yet completed

Hence, the project has now been concluded and produced good results. Sanne: ‘We developed a large amount of useful educational materials to increase knowledge about accounting and circularity. Specifically, we developed three modules: on business models, on management accounting and on financial accounting. Each module consists of an introduction (micro-credential) of 1 EC, supplemented by 4 ECs of teaching materials, exercises and literature. This concludes the current project, but that does not mean it has been completed. Circularity and accounting remain key topics for the future, within Europe and globally.’

Follow-up project

Sebastiaan: ‘We find that companies still have biases: circularity is mainly seen as expensive. More knowledge about accounting could win these companies over: after all, if done correctly, circularity makes money. Our students contribute to a shift in thinking, using their knowledge and skills. For example, by making their future colleagues aware of this. This is why we are also working on a proposal for a follow-up project.’

Continued investment

Sanne: ‘In this follow-up project, we want to further refine the current teaching materials and make them even more applicable in practice. We find that the current modules are somewhat difficult to fit within curricula due to their size. Dividing these into smaller units with fewer credits will make the teaching materials easier to fit in. We also want to explore the options of developing a specific minor. With these steps, we hope to inspire even more students and give them the right knowledge and skills to work on circularity within companies. This issue is highly topical and will only become more important in the coming years. That is why we want to continue investing in this as researchers.’

Want to know more?

• Read more about the research group New Finance, part of CoE Digital Operations & Finance
• Contact our researchers Sebastiaan Morssinkhof and Sanne Ursem