Toward A Theory of Corporate Social Accounting.

Contemporary problem of concern to all technology-rich industrialized societies is that of continuing to provide a high level of motivation for private enterprise while ensuring that its aggregate impact upon society is consistent with social goals and aspirations. This is an exceedingly complex problem for several reasons. Traditional performance criteria for private enterprise have emphasized results which may be in conflict with societal priorities. There are many divergent views as to the most desired social goals and aspirations. The qualitative dimensions of social goal formulation and evaluation add further to the complexity. Yet, the problem is of such significance that there is a pressing need to explore its many dimensions and find ways of formulating solutions. The nature of the problem can be related further to performance as it is typically viewed from a management perspective. A corporate management's attention, decisions and actions are focused more on those components of the firm's performance which are included in the firm's formal measurement system. To the extent that a firm's social impacts are not subjected to formal measurement process, these aspects are not likely to enter into the firm's planning decisions or performance evaluation.