The Economic Efects of a Social Contract as the Basis for Csr Reporting

Abstract

Purpose of the article: The purpose of this article is to prove that the theoretical basis for the direction of changes in accounting from classical accounting towards business reporting is a social contract, which in turn constitutes the basis for the theory of legitimacy in the reporting of corporate social responsibility. This aim is related to the considerably more significant thesis that corporate social responsibility can in fact contribute to losing competitive advantage, and it is only social acceptance in the form of a social contract legitimised through publishing CSR reports that provides indemnity for the managements of these enterprises against charges of acting to the detriment of their companies by disclosing confidential business information. Additionally, this paper formulates a secondary thesis that accounting is a social science. Assumptions: The thesis formulated above is contrary to most studies which show only the benefits of CSR reporting. The article points to the increasing role of CSR in accounting and the scale of this phenomenon. Moreover, the author presents a polemic with ideas on the benefits arising from this direction of change. The conclusions of the article are prescriptive in nature and attempt to identify areas for further detailed scientific research. Methods/research approaches: The article applies the practical function of economic knowledge which makes it possible to use this in the selection and quantification of economic objectives, the design of systems and organizational goals, as well as the selection of resources to effectively achieve set objectives. From the point of view of macroeconomics, the research method focuses on economic reporting as a tool for building a global economy. From the point of view of accounting, the article uses the theory of principle-based accounting. Cognitive values: The article presents the author's original view, being different from views that can commonly be found in the literature that companies which publish CSR reports gain a competitive advantage. The author argues that such companies can also lose their competitive advantage.