Contemporary Issues in Social Accounting

The field of social accounting and social responsibility of business has grown considerably in recent years in both the educational and professional context and has taken on an interdisciplinary aspect. This can be attributed to the numerous financial scandals and often ruthless activity of the corporate world in the pursuit of profit that demonstrate questionable ethical and moral behaviour from business and professional practice.

This important and timely new text introduces and explains the key ideas of accounting for society, the historical development of corporate social responsibility, accountability and ethics and their importance to everyday life. It then goes on to consider in detail:

• What constitutes social accounting and why it’s important;
• The applicability of social accounting and social responsibility in the private sector, public sector and third sectors;
• Examples of critical issues when determining socially responsible investments, the role of tax in a fair society and global economy and ensuring professional integrity;
• Further examples that demonstrate questionable ethical and moral behaviour from both business and professional practice are threaded throughout the book.

The book concludes with a discussion of the realities and myths of social accounting in relation to tomorrow’s accounting and society’s future. It will be an essential guide for students of business and accounting at all levels as well as a powerful reference resource for professional and managers in the financial and other business sectors.

Publication January 2018