A model of social audit for university foundations

Abstract

The Social Audit is the report that informs about the socioeconomic relations of organizations with their social partners. The contemporary approach comprehends the vertices understood as the human resource balance, the demonstration of the added value, the environmental balance, the public and social responsibility of organizations. It is a more eclectic report than the traditional accounting reports, which makes it more capable of disclosing the efforts made by organizations to promote the management of their social responsibility. Although its study is very recent in Brazil, one notices a willingness, both in the business community and in the academia, to contribute to the discussions around the preparation and propagation of such a report. Thus, the article proposes a Social Audit for a university foundation as a useful report for the organization’s management and accountability towards its stakeholders. The adopted methodology consists of an exploratory research with a qualitative approach. The conclusions indicate the need for organizations to supplement the disclosure of information by adding to the economic and financial reports those of a social and environmental nature. The proposal focuses on the characteristics of higher education institutions of a communal nature in order to discuss the social dimension of these organizations and to contribute to the process of management of the social responsibilities resulting from their activities.

Key words: social audit, university foundation, management of social responsibility.