Social Audit and Accounting

Social accounting and audit is a monitoring and evaluation process undertaken internally by organisations and social enterprises to measure how well they are achieving overall objectives, living up to their values and having an impact.

Specifically, the social accounting and audit process enables organisations and community groups to account for the social, environmental and economic impacts their activities are making, report on performance and draw up an action plan to improve on that performance.

In particular, social accounting and audit will be of benefit to community groups operating as social enterprises.

What are the benefits of the Social Accounting and Audit process?  

Social accounting and audit enables your organisation the opportunity to:

• ‘prove’ the benefits your activities or services are making to the people who use them, and/or the environment
• help your organisation more effectively monitor and steer itself to perform better
• ‘improve’ your performance as an organisation
• give information alongside the financial accounts which tells the world that your organisation is di
• report accurately and honestly on all the achievements of your organisation
• demonstrate to funders what your organisation has achieved other than just having survived
• acquire a sharper understanding of your organisation's core values and objectives
• stimulate a more open and honest, internal and external appraisal.

The process also allows stakeholders the opportunity to shape your organisations’ activities and services and influence the policy of your organisation.

Principles of Social Accounting and Audit

The social accounting and audit process is based on eight underpinning principles:

• Clarify purpose
• Define scope
• Engage stakeholders
• Determine materiality
• Make comparisons
• Be transparent
• Verify accounts
• Embed the process