George Harte

The changing portrayal of the employment of women in British banks' and retail companies' corporate annual reports

This paper examines disclosure with respect to gender and employment in the corporate annual reports of major British banking and retail companies during the period 1935–1993. Setting the disclosures in the social, political and economic context of six distinct periods, the authors suggest that the position of women in the two sectors can in part be explained by continuing patriarchal attitudes of management.

Environmental Disclosure in the Annual Reports of British Companies: A Research Note

The environmental reporting practices of a group of “good” disclosers are reviewed by focusing on their most recent annual report. Analysis is divided according to references to the environment and the form of reporting, and some interesting examples are revealed, but little consistency in reporting methods is found. A similar finding is seen in respect of a highly regulated sector, the water industry. In conclusion it is suggested that compliance with external standards should be considered as a means of encouraging the development of environmental reporting.

Ethical investment and the corporate reporting function

Abstract Increased public concern with social and environmental matters may have implications for the nature and form of corporate annual reports. One example of the recent interest in the social performance of business is the development of ethical unit trusts in Britain. Using a questionnaire approach, we report on the views of the ethical unit trusts concerning sources of information used for ethical investment decisions. We have specifically focused on the corporate annual report, which although cited as the most useful source of information, is generally seen here to be of little use in respect of many issues of concern. We conclude with a discussion of the implications for corporate reporting of a more radical perspective on social and environmental matters.

Fighting de-industrialisation: The role of local government social audits☆

Abstract The aim of this paper is to focus attention on local government (local authorities) as an increasingly important user group of corporate information. An initial assessment of their information needs is made, based upon an analysis of recent notable attempts at social cost analysis performed by U.K. local authorities, which seek to measure the social and economic impact of plant closure decisions on communities they serve. The paper concludes by taking some tentative first steps towards establishing a normative framework for such analysis.

Making Discrimination Visible: the Potential for Social Accounting

We live in a world of immense inequality, poverty and violence. For some the lack of opportunity to achieve their full potential and contribute to a more civilised society is denied them because they look or behave differently, come from the ’wrong’ background, or were simply born in the ’wrong’ part of the world. Many groups, including women, ethnic minorities, ’disabled’ people, gays, lesbians, and others because of their religious beliefs, are discriminated against. In this paper we explore accounting’s potential to reveal discrimination in employment 1 .We do not offer accounting as a simple solution, but rather explore its enabling potential. Finally we consider what form an accounting to make discrimination visible might take and how it might be introduced.

Corporate disclosure and the deregulation of international investment

Drawing on evidence of major Western governments’ concerns with the wider economic, social and environmental impact and performance of transnational firms, we argue that recent emphasis on deregulating industrial development, such as in the proposed Multilateral Agreement on Investment and ongoing discussions over a multilateral framework on investment, necessitates a fuller and regulated, rather than voluntaristic, corporate accountability, covering further details of the impact and performance of transnationals.

Social accounting in the local economy

High levels of unemployment have stimulated contemporary interest in social accounting. Decisions taken on the basis of private profitability, without regard for the wider economic and social consequences, may not be in the interests of the local community and the workforce. Traditionally such social consequences do not feature in accounting procedures for decision making or control purposes. But while local authorities are now showing more interest in social accounting, conceptual and practical problems must be addressed. This article highlights some of the major issues and calls for experimenting and publication of results to speed the development of useful techniques.