Financial measurement of social responsibility of business

Abstract

Subject. The article explores the possibilities of analyzing social projects of large corporations based on public reporting data, identifies problems arising in the analysis of social programs from the perspective of different groups of stakeholders. Objectives. The aim is to develop tools for the analysis of corporate social responsibility programs using financial data, which would enable to compare the results obtained within companies of the same industry and make objective conclusions. Methods. The study employed methods of economic analysis, induction and deduction. Results. The paper offers a methodology to analyze directions of social projects of large corporations based on public financial and non-financial reporting data. I analyzed social strategies implemented by the groups of PAO Gazprom and PAO Lukoil from the standpoint of satisfying the interests of different groups of stakeholders: the State, employees, society. The analysis revealed that the share of investments in social projects in 2021–2022 as a percentage of the net profit of the period of these groups varied within 9–10%, as a percentage of equity capital, social expenses were about 1%. Conclusions. Levels of funding for social programs depend both on the type of owners in the capital structure of corporations, and on the scale of activity and volume of generated profit. The volume of tax deductions is significantly influenced by ownership structure. The analysis of reports on sustainable development of corporations showed the lack of uniform criteria for classifying social expenses of corporations (personnel expenses, expenses for charitable activities and other categories) into different groups. This hinders data comparison.