Tomorrow's accounting and society's future

Despite the growing trend towards greater corporate accountability and increasing revival of social accounting there remains a significant gap between what organisations do, what they are willing to report, and the rights of society. In this concluding chapter, we consider the realities and myths of social accounting in relation to tomorrow’s accounting and society’s future. The chapter begins with a discussion of accounting as a social and institutional practice. It then moves on to consider the issues raised throughout the book and reflects on how the public sector, third sector, cooperatives and family businesses need to adapt and respond to demands for increased social responsibility and demonstrate this through a social accounting and accountability system. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the changing nature of accountability and social accounting, future directions and potential developments within the social accounting arena.