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Corporate Social Responsibility Reports: A Review of the Recent Accounting Literature

Michael J. Fischer and Carol M. Fischer

The BRC Academy Journal of Business

Volume 7

Number 1

Print ISSN: 2152-8721 Online ISSN: 2152-873X

Date: March 15, 2017

First Page 73

Last Page 98

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15239/j.brcacadjb.2017.07.01.ja04

Abstract

Concerns regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR) have been present for many years and have fostered a mature and rich literature. In more recent years there have also been significant developments in the area of CSR reporting. Examples include the dissemination of such concepts as the “triple bottom line;” the development and promulgation of standards by various international groups; and the creation of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) in the United States. Recent evidence indicates that CSR information is increasingly seen by investors as being a valuable supplement to traditional financial statements, and that the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission(SEC) is evaluating the need for expanded disclosure requirements. This is a rapidly developing area in the overall financial reporting arena. However, the extent that recent accounting research has addressed this area is not clear. This paper reports on an examination that was undertaken of the publications regarding CSR reporting in twelve mainstream accounting journals during the period from 2010 to 2015. A summary of the recent accounting literature regarding CSR reports is provided. There appear to be numerous opportunities for contributions by accounting scholars across the full range of basic, applied, and instructional scholarship.

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