The Harmonization and Convergence of Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting Standards

The goal of this article is to evaluate the future of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reporting in terms of the harmonization of reporting standards. The evolution and convergence of financial reporting standards are compared to that of CSR reporting standards. In addition, four globally recognized CSR reporting standards are evaluated. The content of each standard is reviewed, a representative from each standard organization is interviewed, and the standards are evaluated for decision usefulness. This research suggests that the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) would be the best standard to provide decision useful information. This analysis is reinforced by recent events in the transformation of CSR reporting standards and provides insight into the possible future development of CSR reporting standards.