Due 1 December 2008 - Accountability in a Global Economy: The Emergence of International Accountability Standards to Advance Corporate Social Responsibility...Over the last few years there has been a proliferation of international accountability standards intended to encourage and guide corporate social responsibility (CSR), and to provide multinational corporations with ways to systematically assess, measure, and communicate their social and environmental performance (e.g. UN Global Compact, SA 8000, Global Reporting Initiative). Although these standards differ in detail...they all aim at improving corporate accountability on an international level. Despite their growing popularity, these accountability standards have received relatively little research scrutiny, and consequently there is uncertainty about both what they represent and what they accomplish.