Social Accounting at Work: An Analysis of Social Impact Measurement Models

The development of the field of social entrepreneurship has drawn attention to the need for additional work on identifying and measuring the value created through the solution of social problems by means of businesses with social impact. There has been a multiplication of the measurement models for satisfying the most widely varying demands for information about the Social Impact (SI) generated by social enterprises, although so far the results cannot be considered exhaustive. In this context, the present study attempts to contribute to the debate by investigating the effectiveness of SI measurement models in accounting and communicating SI creation, in relation to the main stakeholders’ needs for information. As a result, a framework for analysing and classifying the main social accountability models is provided. The analysis shows that the measurement models considered are not always able to provide useful information for the assessment of the social activities carried out and the extent to which social oriented organizations fulfil their social goals as stated in their missions and their contribution to the promotion of wider and institutional social change.