Start a conversation ↗

Description

CARE Model: Identifying Capitals to Preserve, Depreciate and Report On

Extending the accounting principle of capital maintenance to the natural and human resources on which the business depends

  • 1 day — 7 h
  • In-person or virtual
  • Foundation
  • Up to 6 participants

Sustainability initiatives often generate indicators that sit alongside the balance sheet without ever entering the accounts. The result: performance is reported as positive while natural or human resources deteriorate, with no accounting record of what it would cost to keep them in good condition.

This seven-hour programme sets out the logic of the CARE model of integrated ecological accounting: recognition of natural, human and financial capital, recording ecological liabilities on the balance sheet, depreciating the capitals to be preserved and reading the resulting profit figure. The principles are applied to deliberately simple worked cases.

Learning objectives

  • Explain the capital maintenance principle applied to natural and human resources
  • Distinguish the CARE model from sustainability approaches that merely sit alongside the accounts
  • Identify the capitals to be preserved within a given activity
  • Translate environmental degradation into an ecological liability recorded on the balance sheet
  • Calculate a depreciation charge on natural and human capital
  • Interpret the profit figure obtained once these depreciation charges are taken into account

What makes this programme different

Entries are posted as debits and credits on deliberately simple cases
The model is compared step by step with conventional accounting over the same reporting period
The limitations and still-debated aspects of the model are presented openly

Programme

1Foundations of Integrated Ecological Accounting

Returning to the logic of capital maintenance

  • Identify what conventional accounting leaves invisible
  • Understand the principle of keeping a capital in good condition
  • Position the CARE model among environmental accounting approaches
  • Identify the natural, human and financial capitals of an activity

2Recognising Capitals and Ecological Liabilities

Bringing resources into the accounts

  • Define the natural and human entities on which the activity depends
  • Set the chosen level of preservation and justify it
  • Record the ecological liability on the balance sheet
  • Assess maintenance and restoration costs
  • Document the assumptions applied

3Depreciation and Reading the Accounts

Measuring a result that reflects the depletion of resources

  • Calculate depreciation charges on the preserved capitals
  • Record preservation expenditure actually incurred
  • Compare the conventional result with the result obtained under the model
  • Explain the variances to management or to a board
  • Identify the limitations and current debates surrounding the model

Who is it for

Accounting managers · finance directors · sustainability officers and academics wishing to understand integrated ecological accounting.

Prerequisites

Ability to read a balance sheet and an income statement

Dates & locations

36 scheduled dates between November 2026 and December 2027. Seats are confirmed in the order enquiries are received.

November 2026

December 2026

January 2027

February 2027

March 2027

April 2027

May 2027

June 2027

September 2027

October 2027

November 2027

December 2027

None of these dates suit you? We open additional sessions on request, and any programme can be run privately for your team.

Practical details

Before the programme
Online positioning questionnaire. Your development objectives are shared with the trainer, who tailors the practical case studies to your context.
Teaching methods
Theoretical input, workshops and practical case studies. Digital course materials and method sheets provided.
Assessment
Multiple-choice tests and role-play exercises. Assessment of learning at the start and end of the programme, with immediate and 60-day follow-up evaluations.
After the programme
One year of access to the e-learning platform. Self-assessment of the skills acquired and a 30-day follow-up session with your trainer.
How to register
Registration online or on the basis of a quotation.
Lead time
11 working days after confirmation of registration.
Accessibility
Accessible to people of determination. Contact our accessibility coordinator to design a suitable solution: contact@mpf-academy.ae
Start dates
Rolling intake: in addition to the scheduled sessions, this programme can start on request.