Social audit – Definition, what it is and concept

The social audit is the evaluation carried out in companies or institutions throughout type regarding the effect of their social or ethical actions or projects on their Operation and economic sustainability.

Often the social audit is a mechanism to take stock that starts up the mercantile societies or many public organizations about their social action within their map of global action.

In recent decades, corporate institutions around the world have developed a greater interest in accompanying their main economic activity with other objectives with a greater ethical and solidarity nature.

In other words, the social impact of a company or a government on social dialogue and its contribution to the improvement of living conditions in a given territory is measured.

Corporate social responsibility

Fruit of it was the birth of concepts such as corporate social responsibility.

This trend works as a spearhead of the ethical functioning of companies and governments in an increasingly more world. globalized and aware of solidarity causes and the protection of the environment and the circular economy.

That said, common causes such as eco-sustainability are included in other modalities such as environmental auditing.

The results obtained must be a public presentation and transparent, to show Faithful image and committed by the company that self-assess in the face of society or other institutions.

Characteristics of the social audit

This type of audit has some peculiarities that differentiate it from other ways of auditing more closely attached to the traditional analysis of societies:

  • It evaluates the achievement of company objectives to a series of conditions related to different solidarity or social causes marked by the statutes of the organization itself.
  • Apart from the goals set in advance, good practice and the processes undertaken to achieve them are also examined. That is, it is tested that the activity is developed at all times according to ethical organizational behaviour.
  • Its basic principle states that all corporate action must be governed by the basis that profitability and responsibility must be compatible terms.
  • The result of your final report should present some results. These must define whether the social action undertaken by the company is effective or not.
  • It usually includes a series of measures or initiatives in the future with the objective of improving the results and the effect of the organization on those actions in which it participates in a solidary manner.

The social audit in recent years

This type of audit has achieved great importance and presence in all types of organizations globally. In fact, it has even become a tool for citizens with which to measure their institutions.

Alternatively, there are many other ethical commitments such as the professional inclusion of cultural or ethnic minorities, as well as the empowerment of women in the labour market and the social, political and economic level.