Erschienen:
Indonesian Center for Social and Environmental Accounting Research and Development (ICSEARD), 2007
Erschienen in:Issues In Social And Environmental Accounting
Sprache:
Nicht zu entscheiden
DOI:
10.22164/isea.v1i2.15
ISSN:
2460-6081;
1978-0591
Entstehung:
Anmerkungen:
Beschreibung:
<jats:p>This paper explores some ideas for expanding the scope of corporate accountability and thereby contemporary practices in corporate social reporting (CSR). Contemporary CSR practices have been criticized for acting as a legitimizing device for profit-seeking entities possibly at the expense of the community. A communitarian correction to CSR practices suggests that accountability to the community is necessary for any accounting aimed at sustainability. The interpretive methodology adopted<br />in this study starts with a set of ideas or “pre-understandings” drawn from extant literature on accountability and communitarian philosophy. These ideas provide a theoretical lens for examining and understanding the participation of the Taupo business, farming and general community in<br />formulating strategies for sustainable development of the Taupo District in New Zealand. Alternating between our pre-understanding and the empirical data, a process known as “fusion of horizons” (Gadamer, 1975) in philosophical hermeneutics, is a means by which theories can be developed. This interpretive study indicates that meaning of accountability can be extended beyond a narrow conventional sense portraying accountability as a process of providing an account. Accountability also involves other dimensions such as moral responsibility, cooperative enquiry, information sharing, transparency and joint responsibility. From a communitarian perspective these dimensions of accountability emphasise the centrality of community and communal values. Accountability for environmental and social issues extends beyond the domain of corporations, and involves community participation. <br /><br /></jats:p>