Professors Leire San-Jose and José Luis Retolaza, who participated in the AgriCoopValue project through GEAccounting (Global Economic Accounting), have presented significant advances on the scalability of social accounting in the university environment during the congress organized by the Spanish Association of Accounting and Business Administration (AECA), held in Faro, Portugal. This model, focused on the measurement and management of the social value generated by organizations, is the same one that was developed in the AgricoopValue project, and it seeks to expand its application to more comprehensively assess the impact of educational institutions on society.
During their presentation, the professors based their proposal on the concept of mimetic isomorphism, an idea of institutional theory that explains how organizations adopt innovative practices from other institutions in order not to be left behind. According to San-Jose and Retolaza, the adoption of social accounting by some universities could motivate others to follow the same path, facilitating their expansion in the academic sector.
This approach will allow organizations not only to measure their economic performance, but also to make their social impact visible. The next steps include the implementation of pilot projects in organisations and the creation of collaboration networks between institutions to share good practices and promote this tool. With these advances, the aim is for social accounting to become a standard in organisational management, highlighting the added value that these institutions generate for society. Without a doubt, this is a new advance that will also have a collateral influence on the agri-food sector.