‘Social Audit: A Mess or Message in Social Accountability Regulation’ in M Rahim and Sam Idowu eds., Social Audit Regulation: Development, Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

Our world has continued to develop its understanding and practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) even during the heat of the recent global financial crisis which shook our world to a breaking point and made things almost impossible for all. There are many compelling tools which have been devised and continued to be used to improve corporate activities and performance in the field of CSR. Irresponsible practices and scandalous activities have been exposed through fatal accidents, by research studies and the media in different factories that supply merchandise to retailers worldwide. Problems in the factories of many companies in emerging economies that operate in the supply chain sector have meant that responsible actions were necessary to avert the occurrence and reoccurrences of unimaginable disasters that could ensue in the supply chain sector and those sectors that rely on it for their own operational activities. Responsible social auditing of what goes on in the sector is indeed a welcome corporate action which stakeholders including many nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and those sectors whose survival depends on the supply chain sector would applaud.

Modern corporate entities which aspire to be perceived by all as socially responsible are embedding different socially responsible activities into their strategies. CSR reports have been issued by corporate entities worldwide for more than two decades. The quality of these reports has continued to improve year in, year out. Many multi-stakeholder organizations have emerged over the course of time to provide needed guidelines and directions and ensure that corporate entities that aspire to make a positive difference in their social, economic, and environmental impacts on our world are aware of what they should do and how they should do them. See, for example, organizations such as the Social Accountability International (SAI), the Account Ability (AA), the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), just to mention a few, which have continued to guide corporate entities with usable standards and guidelines. That we are still having serious issues in this sector is beyond belief, but the fact remains that we still have a lot to contend with in regard to this aspect of CSR which is why this book on Social Audit Regulation is now being added to the literature.