Purpose – This paper seeks to consider the impact and potential impact of social accounting at the macro level. It aims to explore the potential for “silent” or “shadow” social accounting to hold Anglo-American capitalism to account for its social outcomes relative to other...

This paper outlines the merits of two approaches to social impact measurement that are currently the subject of debate within the third sector: social accounting and audit (SAA) and social return on investment (SROI). Although there are significant similarities between the methods, a number of...

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an account of the development and implementation of social accounting at the UK fair trade organisation Traidcraft plc. Design/methodology/approach – Using an ethnographic approach, the paper critically reflects on the role of this emerging...