Designing a Framework for Social Reporting with Emphasis on Social Stakeholders

Having a mutual relationship and considering the stakeholder’s interests, require corporate social reporting. Heterogeneous structure and lack of framework about current reporting of companies on sustainability issues related to social stakeholders, demonstrates the necessity to create a framework based on specific information elements of sustainability. The main purpose of the present study is to design and present a reporting framework with emphasis on different social stakeholder’s groups called “social reporting”. By designing a questionnaire containing 45 statements, experts’ comments on necessity, underlying concepts, information elements and social reporting content received and analyzed using Fuzzy Delphi method. According to the consensus of experts on all statements related to elements of social reporting framework, it is concluded that the appropriate framework is similar to the elements of the financial reporting frameworks in their views but, these elements must be defined in context of the sustainability from a social perspective. Among 16 themes suggested for defining and presenting social reporting content, 12 themes about personnel, customers, product/service, local communities and governance were accepted by experts.