Social Responsibility and Legal Financial Communication in African Companies in the South of the Sahara

Abstract

In an environment marked by growing claims regarding corporate social responsibility (CSR), debates on governance show the need for taking into account all the legitimate involved parties of the company within the framework of the legal or voluntary financial communication (Dowling and Pfeffer, 1975; Lind B lom, 1994; Gray et al.., 1995). If the accounting regulation, the laws and the rules in western countries require the consideration of the environmental aspects in the accounts and the annual reports of companies (Law NRE, Art 116, 2001), paradoxically in Africa, the OHADA accounting law remains silent on the problems of management generated by this CSR. Is this disinterest for the CSR justified for the OHADA accounting law? Does it mean that the CSR is excluded from African companies? Does it mean that in the OHADA zone the companies are in advance compared to the accounting legislation? In other words, is the OHADA accounting law still relevant to play its role of macroeconomic regulator? This paper examines the evaluations of the social and environmental impacts of the activities of companies and their integration in final accounts for a reliable, true financial communication and reflecting a true and fair view in the OHADA zone.