Corporate Social Responsibility and Accounting Information Disclosure among Companies in Swaziland

Abstract

Organizations have been criticized for having their primary goal as profit maximization and not paying adequate attention to social and environmental factors in the communities in which they operate. Disclosure of corporate social responsibility (CSR) information has been steadily increasing in recent years, particularly in developed countries. Corporate social responsibility and accounting information disclosure practices in Swaziland are still in their infant stage of development. This study examines accounting information disclosure among companies in Swaziland and their corporate social responsibility. It investigates the extent and type of annual reports in respect of the social responsibility disclosure of 36 companies in four industries. Questionnaires and semi-structured interviews were used in this study to gather information. A total of 93 responses were received. Most of the data and analysis are as of November 2007. The results show that most of the companies provided social and environmental information disclosure voluntarily. The majority of the companies were not aware of any laws governing corporate social responsibility in Swaziland, so they did not have a policy on CRS in their companies. Some companies did not practice social responsibility while some did not, despite efforts made by the Swaziland Environment Authority to encourage them to do so. On overall, the manufacturing industry disclosed less social and environmental information than its other counterparts. The banking industry had the highest disclosure of social and environmental information. The study suggests that government regulations on Corporate Social Responsibility disclosure need to be reviewed and that a more detailed explanation of social and environmental accounting practices is needed.