The field of social accounting and audit has begun to develop its own terms and jargon. The following glossary of terms gives the definition of the main terms.

Accountability : where an organisation recognises and accepts it should honestly and openly explain to its stakeholders what it has done and why, such that they can make their own judgements about continuing to support, use, trade with, work for the organisation.

Activity : the detailed work that an organisation undertakes in order to achieve its objectives.

Added value : an economics term increasingly used in social accounting to refer to the social, environmental or economic benefits which an organisation delivers; sometime “social added-value”.

Audit trail: Checking/verification by the social audit panel of the data, social book-keeping systems and stakeholder consultation processes on which the social accounts are based.

Benchmark : an external standard or reference point against which performance may be compared.

Comprehensive : the social accounting principle which states that social accounts should (ultimately) report on all aspects of an organisation’s social, environmental and economic performance rather than just a selective sample.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR): the term which is increasingly used within the corporate sector instead of “social accounting and audit”. It tends to lay greater emphasis on what companies do to discharge their perceived social responsibilities rather than on accounting for all their impacts, good and bad.

Dialogue circle : an organised and recorded process of bringing together a group of stakeholders to discuss issues which relate to or emerge during the social accounting process. “Dialogue” implies an exchange of views and mutual learning.

Economic Accounting: explores the impact of organisations in money terms: what is the net contribution to the economy? What are the savings (or costs) to society? [Accounting for economic impact is not the same as ensuring financial sustainability without which no organisation can survive to achieve its social, environmental and economic objectives]

Environmental Accounting: explores the impact of organisations on the environment, both in terms of using natural resources and of producing and disposing of waste and pollution. No organisation can be considered socially responsible if it is not environmentally responsible, and vice-versa.

Focus group: an organised and recorded process of bringing together a group of stakeholders to discuss issues which relate to or emerge during the social accounting process. “Focus group” suggests less a sense of “dialogue”, more “us finding out what they think”.

Impact: the broader effect that a project or programme may have on society more generally.

Indicator: information which allows performance to be measured.

Key Stakeholders: those stakeholders who must be consulted if the social accounting process is to be considered complete and transparent.

Mission : a statement which briefly describes the nature of an organisation, clearly setting out why it exists and what it does in readily understood and remembered terms.

Multi-perspective: the social accounting principle which states that social accounts should reflect the views of all key stakeholders involved with or affected by the organisation.

Outcome: the effect of a project or programme on the people involved, but which is not easily measured.

Output: the specific consequence of a project or programme that can readily be measured, usually by numbers.

Objective: defines what the organisation aims to achieve. Objectives will be achieved by undertaking a number of activities. The organisation must be clear about what it is seeking to achieve (the Objectives) and what it actually does (the Activities) in order to achieve its objectives.

Quality system: an “off the shelf” system which is designed to help an organisation maintain and improve the quality of its performance in specific areas (eg employment practices).

Quadruple bottom line : where a report on cultural performance and impact is added to a “triple bottom line report”.

Scope : the explanation of what the social accounts have reported on and therefore what they have not covered.

Social accountant : the person within an organisation who is charged with the task of co-ordinating the social accounting process and preparing (most of) the social accounts.

Social accounting: the process whereby the organisation collects, analyses and interprets descriptive, quantitative and qualitative information in order to produce an account of its performance.

Social accounts: the document which is prepared as a consequence of the social accounting process and submitted for audit to the Social Audit Panel.

Social audit: the process of reviewing and verifying the social accounts at the end of each social audit cycle. The term "social audit" is also used generically for the concept and for the whole process.

Social Auditor: a person who chairs the social audit panel and manages the audit process at the end of each cycle, including the examination of the data and the sample checking to source (the audit trail).

Social audit cycle: the agreed period for which the social accounts are prepared. This may be for twelve months and coincide with the financial year or it may be for another period.

Social audit facilitator: the person (or persons) who advise and help an organisation plan, set up and implement a social accounting process. [Social audit facilitators also often act as social auditors, but not for the organisations for which they have facilitated the process]

Social audit panel: the group of independent people appointed by an organisation to work with the social auditor to review the social accounts in detail with the organisation, on the basis of which a social audit statement may be issued.

Social audit statement: The document issued by the social auditor to confirm that the social audit panel have examined the social accounts, that any required revisions have been made and that consequently they may be considered to be a fair and trustworthy account of the organisation’s performance.

Social book-keeping: the means by which information is routinely collected and stakeholders are consulted about performance in relation to the social, environmental and economic objectives.

Social reporting: the way an organisation reports on its social, environmental and economic performance to its stakeholders and the wider public.

Stakeholders: those people or groups who are (intentionally or unintentionally) affected by or who can affect the activities of an organisation.

Stakeholder engagement: the process of entering into dialogue with stakeholders and consulting them as part of the social accounting process.

Sustainability: a) ensuring that an organisation can generate sufficient revenue to be financially viable; and b) adopting environmental policies and practices which minimise the impact of the enterprise on the environment and the future of the planet.

Target: a desired level of performance to be aimed for.

Transparency: where an organisation, in the interests of being accountable, openly discloses the findings of its social accounts such that stakeholders have a good understanding of how the organisation performs and behaves, and why it does what it does.

Triple bottom line: when an organisation produces an annual report covering social, environmental and economic performance and impact, giving equal weight and importance to each aspect.

Values: the key principles which underpin the way an organisation operates and which influence the way it behaves.

Verification: the process of the social audit whereby the Social Auditor and the Social Audit Panel examine the social accounts and the information on which they are based in order to say if they are a reasonable statement and based on competent, reliable data.

Vision statement: (as for mission statement) a sentence or two which briefly gets across the essence of what an organisation is about in readily understood and remembered terms.