ABSTRACT
Philosophically, the social accounting project2 is, at least on the surface, pragmatic (Gray, 2002), and quite proud of its proclivity for ‘getting its hands dirty’. ‘If social accounting is anything, it is the opening of new spaces, of new accountings, not simply reacting to old ones. The project seeks engagement and the changing of practice. Imagining, engagement, and changing practice are not easy activities to undertake’ (Gray, 2002, p. 698). Those pursuing the project recognize the need to change current accounting techniques and practices to include new descriptions, an expanded set of events seen as a relevant, and a more inclusive user group. Environmental accounting provides an example of these themes. The new descriptions should include the effects of organizational action on the natural system. This would require expanding the relevant set of events recognized by the accounting system to include descriptions of such events as greenhouse gas emissions. The primary user set expands beyond the shareholders to include a broader set of affected stakeholders, including future generations.
