The Centre of Excellence in Accounting and Reporting for Co-operatives (CEARC) was created based on the understanding that the co-operative business model, with its unique business purpose, values and principles, is not adequately served by the same approach to accounting used by investor-driven firms. CEARC grew out of the needs of the Co-operative Management Education programme at Saint Mary's University, Canada for research and curriculum materials suitable for educating co-operative managers.
The Centre of Excellence in Accounting and Reporting for Co-operatives (CEARC) undertakes a number of projects that expand or deepen our understanding of the ways co-operative businesses account for and report the value they create. These include non-monetary measures such as co-operative performance indicators and ways to measure action on the UN's sustainable development goals.