The sustainability report for the non-profit organizations in Italy. Proposals for standardization

The non-profit sector in Italy is very articulate: associations, foundations, social enterprises, cooperatives, nongovernmental organizations operate to meet needs that the public administration is not able to cover. The organisations types are very different in terms of governance, organization, activity, financing models, mission and stakeholder reference. In this context, the first experiences of reporting, both financial, social and environmental were very different. Many organizations as part of a single network took step to adopt guidelines to encourage greater accountability of those realities, through the possibility of comparisons. The same accounting organizations have intervened, proposing guidelines for the preparation of documents and their control. The issue of standardization of the social and environmental reporting had been considered by the profit sector, where international organizations (GRI) and national (GBS) have proceeded to outline guidelines to facilitate comparison and analysis between different realities. The increasing importance of non-profit sector in Italy suggested the introduction of new rules and accounting principles, in order to require not only Financial Statements, but also “Sustainability Reports” for some sectors of non-profit organizations. It’s very important to inform about mission’s realization, whenever the social dimension of the mission is more important than the economic one.