Corporate Social Responsibility: Readings and Cases in a Global Context, 2nd Edition

Chapter 9: CSR Reporting and Auditing

Links to Further Reading

Gray , R., Dey, C., Owen, D., Evans, R., and Zadek, S. 1997. Struggling with the praxis of social accounting: stakeholders, accountability, audits and procedures, Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal 10(3), 325-364.

http://www.emeraldinsight.com/journals.htm?articleid=869700

This article gives an in depth and nevertheless broad overview of the early history of non-financial reporting.

Hess, D. 2008. The Three Pillars of Corporate Social Reporting as New Governance Regulation: Disclosure, Dialogue, and Development. Business Ethics Quarterly, 18(4): 447-482.

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=buh&AN=35519007&site=ehost-live

This article takes a US perspective on CSR reporting and puts it in a framework of governance and regulatory mechanisms. With a particular focus on the GRI, Hess investigates the suggestion that CSR, and CSR reporting in particular, leads to a focus on process with no substantive change in corporate behaviour.

Links to Practice

CWS 9.1: Visit the Companion Website for links to up-to-date examples of CSR reports from a range of companies.

• SAP, the German multinational software corporation’s 2011 Sustainability report is independently verified by KPMG: http://www.sapsustainabilityreport.com/
• (VIDEO) AT&T is an American multinational telecommunications corporation, and this video provides a snapshot of their 2011 Sustainability report: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cw3-rAD1Ajk
• Divine Chocolate Ltd, is a manufacturer of Fairtrade chocolate products in the UK and US, and provides integrated Annual reports (combining financial and non-financial [sustainability] data): http://www.divinechocolate.com/annualreport/annualreport.aspx

CWS 9.2: Visit the Companion Website for links to a range of CSR reporting standards and initiatives

• The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), is a non-profit organization that promotes economic, environmental and social sustainability by providing organizations with a comprehensive sustainability reporting framework: https://www.globalreporting.org/Pages/default.aspx
• (Report) The Verdantix Green Quadrant Sustainability Assurance Report, was developed in 2011 to provide a fact-based comparison of 13 global suppliers of sustainability assurance services: http://www.verdantix.com/index.cfm/papers/Products.Details/product_id/246/green-quadrant-sustainability-assurance-2011-global-/-
• The European Commission has made a commitment to “present a legislative proposal on the transparency of the social and environmental information provided by companies in all sectors,” (Single Market Act, SEC (2011) 467), and this website details its progress: http://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/policies/sustainable-business/corporate-social-responsibility/reporting-disclosure/index_en.htm

CWS 9.3: Visit the Companion Website for links to professional accounting ethics standards.

• The Accounting Professional & Ethical Standards Board (APESB) was established as an independent body in Australia in February 2006: http://www.apesb.org.au/
• The International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA), is an independent standard-setting body that serves the public interest by setting high-quality ethical standards for professional accountants: http://www.ifac.org/Ethics/
• (Article) Time Magazine documents the details behind the Enron scandal in 2001, which led to criminal charges being levied against auditors Arthur Andersen: http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/0,28757,2021097,00.html