Social Auditing for Small Organization: The Workbook

THE WORKBOOK IS the second product of the project on social auditing, intended as a practical tool for the establishment of social audit systems by small community, cooperative and non-governmental organizations. It aims to both de-mystify the concept and practice of social auditing and put forward a methodology that can be tailored to suit the different circumstances of different organizations.

The book is divided into eight main sections that correspond to the stages of a social audit model. Each stage explains the main issue in question and its importance and gives examples of how organizations have approached the subject and how theory and practice can be put into effect. Stage one makes clear just what a social audit is, whether and why it should be undertaken and how to get started. Exercises and checklists are provided to make the process clear. Stage two involves the definition of objectives and actions for meeting them. Stage three explains how to identify stakeholders and establish criteria, and the following stage discusses what information can be used as indicators to assess performance. Stage five is concerned with both quantitative and qualitative social book-keeping and how progress can be monitored. The year-end tasks of information collection, analysis and preparation of the social statement are discussed in Stage six. Stage seven explores the role of the social verifier and audit review panel, giving the example of the procedure followed by the New Economics Foundation. The final stage in the process addresses questions on what to do with the social audit and how it should be acted upon. A list of useful addresses and detailed case studies completes the book.