This is new from the Corporate Accountability Network this morning:
The Corporate Accountability Network's logo is not just a pretty symbol. It's there for a reason. This is it:
What the circle in the centre of the logo represents is the company that is preparing a set of accounts.
What the six rings that overlap that circle represent are the stakeholders who engage with that company and who should be able to rely on the data that those accounts should supply. They are:
- the suppliers of its capital;
- its trading partners;
- its employees;
- regulators;
- tax authorities, and
- the civil society it impacts in the course of its activities.
At present accounts only have to take into account the interests of the first of these stakeholder groups. We think that is wrong. We think all of them matter, and equally. That is why we want to change the rules of accounting. And our logo tells that story.
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Will it be possible for companies to subscribe for a CAN Mark to signal your agreement that they are in compliance with the Network’s principals ?
That may happen in due course with ALE from the CAN, but not yet
To be properly accountable to all stakeholders, companies need to report on much more than their financials. Auditors are just not qualified to do that – they do some of it now to create work for their consulting arms, but they are not the right people. That begs a question about what other kinds of organisations do we need to do that auditing and reporting. Who might be doing it already? Eg B-Corp and others
I fear B-Corp is not – it is too embedded in existing accounting
Although I am not saying accountants could not do this: they could, but it would take some effort and retraining
I’m thinking that we have enough of a problem already with accountants and their consultancy arms and their monopolistic relationships with their clients. Hence my thought is that we need to get them focused on the financial aspects with others with relevant expertise handling the other aspects. Whilst recognising that who those other organisations might be is not immediately obvious.
Fair comment