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Managerial Reporting Tools for Social Sustainability: Insights from a Local Government Experience

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  • Eleonora Cardillo

    (Department of Economics and Business, University of Catania, 95129 Catania, Italy)

  • Maria Cristina Longo

    (Department of Economics and Business, University of Catania, 95129 Catania, Italy)

Abstract

The paper is a country-specific study that explores the potential points of connection between the sustainable territorial development goals and managerial tools in the context of local authorities. In particular, the purpose of this research is to propose a set of features and criteria to evaluate the contribution of accounting documents to the pursuit, development and strengthening of social sustainability. As part of traditional accounting systems, social reporting is essential to support policy makers’ decisions in promoting social sustainability and in evaluating the effects of their choices within the institution and externally towards citizens and various stakeholders. To this end, we present a leading case study of a medium-sized Italian local authority’s accounting system in which the contributions and limits of managerial tools to social reporting are analyzed. The case study allows us to have a deeper understanding of social reporting and to get insights about issues that matter to social sustainability assessment in public administration. Since the reporting tools comply with international accounting standards, the case study offers interesting food for thought in the international debate on the assessment of sustainability in public organizations. The results identify the areas of complementarity and critical issues between social reporting and traditional accounting systems. Therefore, they enhance our knowledge about the role of public accounting system in supporting sustainable territorial development policies and programs through managerial tools’ adoption.

Suggested Citation

  • Eleonora Cardillo & Maria Cristina Longo, 2020. "Managerial Reporting Tools for Social Sustainability: Insights from a Local Government Experience," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-23, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:12:y:2020:i:9:p:3675-:d:353221
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    2. Sharfuddin Ahmed Khan & Muhammad Shujaat Mubarik & Simonov Kusi‐Sarpong & Syed Imran Zaman & Syed Hasnain Alam Kazmi, 2021. "Social sustainable supply chains in the food industry: A perspective of an emerging economy," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 28(1), pages 404-418, January.
    3. Camelia-Cristina Dragomir & Diana Foriş & Aurel Mihail Ţîţu & Tiberiu Foriş, 2020. "The Role of Intermediaries in Supporting Collaboration for Sustainability: A Model of Commissioning Intervention in the Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration for Sustainable Territorial Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(17), pages 1-16, August.
    4. Thaís Vieira Nunhes & Enzo Viviani Garcia & Maximilian Espuny & Vitor Homem de Mello Santos & Raine Isaksson & Otávio José de Oliveira, 2021. "Where to Go with Corporate Sustainability? Opening Paths for Sustainable Businesses through the Collaboration between Universities, Governments, and Organizations," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(3), pages 1-31, January.
    5. Caterina De Lucia & Pasquale Pazienza & Mark Bartlett, 2020. "Does Good ESG Lead to Better Financial Performances by Firms? Machine Learning and Logistic Regression Models of Public Enterprises in Europe," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(13), pages 1-29, July.
    6. Ting Ma & Kun Xu & Yiming Xing & Hang Shu & Weiguo Sang, 2020. "Tendencies of Residents in Sanjiangyuan National Park to the Optimization of Livelihoods and Conservation of the Natural Reserves," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-17, June.

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