SOCIAL AUDIT AS A TOOL FOR ENSURING SOCIAL FOCUS OF BUSINESS

Abstract

This study focuses on the problem of the implementation of social audit in Ukraine. It covers the history of the development of social audit, preconditions for its formation, the status of Ukraine’s social and economic development. The history of social audit begins in the last century as philanthropy. The concept of forming a social audit is based on the social responsibility of business, which is based on the need to harmonize the interests of society and business. In Ukraine, social audit is developing slowly, due to the excessive influence of state regulation and insufficient maturity of social responsibility in society. The paper assesses the state of social and economic development of Ukraine and indicators of social security and welfare of the population in recent years, their impact on the need for social orientation of business. Thus, in recent years in Ukraine, the evaluation of the indicators of social security and well-being of the population indicates threatening trends regarding the scale of poverty, a decrease in the standard of living of the population, its economic activity and employment. According to experts, Ukraine is in for a sharp drop in the economy and social standards due to the war started by the Russian Federation. That is, by the end of the current year, half of the population in Ukraine will be below the poverty line. The peculiarities of the implementation of a relevant model of social audit in Ukraine are systematised. Social audit from the point of view of business is a tool of influence on local authorities, as well as a guarantee mechanism. Such a model of social audit will allow monitoring intra-organizational relations, creates conditions for diversification of business structures, mastering new technology and sales markets. Further, a case is made for the necessity of implementation of social audit as a separate area of business’ social responsibility, and prospects of the evolution of social audit as part of the national social and economic system are evaluated. Social audit carries out an independent assessment of the activity of the economic system at all levels: state, region, business structure, which forms criteria for evaluating the social, ecological and economic direction of the enterprise, will provide an opportunity to monitor them, and will allow the formation of basic recommendations for ensuring the effectiveness of social responsibility of business.