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Accounting for Sustainability (A4S): Social and human capital accounting

Find guidance on how to account for your social and human capital to make more informed business decisions for your organization.

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In today's shifting business world, it's no longer enough to report solely on the traditional financial metrics. Stakeholders, including shareholders, are challenging your organization to demonstrate how its operations are impacting society and the environment, and what is being done about it.

If your organization does not measure and manage the value of your social and human capital, how do you respond to this need? More importantly, are you missing out on the opportunity to use this data to help create long-term business value?

Because social and human capital are intangible assets, assigning a value on a balance sheet is a perennial challenge. Unlike tangible assets, there exists little consensus or information on how businesses can measure and assess the value of their social and human capital resources.

CPA Canada partners with A4S to drive sustainable decision-making

In 2017, Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada and The Prince of Wales' Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) launched the Canadian Chapter of the A4S Leadership Network. This Canadian chapter work with Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) and their teams across Canada to integrate economic, environmental and social factors into business decision-making.

The Canadian Chapter's first project is an implementation of social and human capital accounting.

Four Canadian organizations share how they are integrating social and human capital into their decision-making. Building on the A4S Essential Guide: Social and Human Capital Accounting, these worked examples link to the organization's goals of building resilient and sustainable business models.

Read about the journey of these four organizations—the business case, frameworks used, implementation insights and challenges, and their overall findings.