SOCIAL AUDIT IN PROJECT ACTIVITIES OF THIRD SECTOR ORGANIZATIONS

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the applicability of social audit technology in the project activities of public organizations. The purpose of the study is to analyze the features of the implementation of social audit technology in relation to state and commercial organizations in the project activities of third sector organizations. The research methodology includes a complex of general scientific and special scientific (in particular, the project method, the case method) methods. The scientific novelty of the work is determined by the justification of the applicability of social audit (as a technology that allows assessing the compliance of the activities of the audit object with social goals and values, and whether the implementation of the goal of such activities is carried out taking into account the needs of all interested groups of the public) for performing the control function of third sector organizations in relation to commercial organizations. Conclucions.The initial stage of creating a social audit project should be the identification of a problem that exists or may arise in the community as a result of the activities of an enterprise or several enterprises. The project approach involves the identification of project beneficiaries. These will be the actual and potential clients of the NGO. Other important subjects are the stakeholders of the project. If these local businesses demonstrate openness and strive to position themselves as socially responsible, then at this stage the public organization can use open data from internal social audits of such enterprises. There is also a possible situation where the company considers the costs of an internal social audit to be excessive and may agree to the offer to provide access for the audit at the expense of the NGO. However, there is also a possibility where the employer refuses to cooperate with the NGO to conduct a social audit. The source of information for conclusions regarding the specifics of the social impact of the activities of such an enterprise can be interviews with employees (current or dismissed), local residents living in close proximity to the enterprise, and extrapolation of available information on social policy and policies regarding employees at enterprises of a similar profile in other regions of the country. Recommendations and proposals can be formed based on the results of the project social audit. In the event that a business does not show interest in the social audit process and its results, but these results indicate a lack of social responsibility in its actions, a public organization can use available mechanisms to protect the rights and legitimate interests of its clients and residents of the community as a whole.