Committee on Social Costs.

Abstract The article focuses on social accounting in the context of measuring and reporting the impact of a business firm on society and physical environment. A business firm adopts a social program intended to benefit directly the physical environment. One example of a corporate social program is the Social Service Leave Program of Xerox Corp. Nearly all activities of a firm have an impact on society and economists have traditionally distinguished between direct and external impacts. Whenever a firm's activities have a negative or positive impact for which the firm is not held accountable, an externality arises.