Accounting for CSR as a Financial Burden in a Property Developer
Abstract
This paper explores how Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is categorized as a cost burden within the accounting practices of a property developer in Malang, Indonesia. Using an interpretive-critical qualitative case study design and a socio-legal theoretical framework, this research examines the intersection of CSR regulation, accounting treatment, budgeting practices, and local stakeholder dynamics. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews with managers, accounting staff, legal officers, CSR coordinators, and community members, supplemented by document analysis and non-participant observation. The study demonstrates that CSR is operationalized through the framing of CSR programs as cost items, in which budget efficiency becomes the dominant performance criterion. Negotiations with local stakeholders produced expenditures exceeding budget allocations, reinforcing the developer's perception of CSR as a financial burden. This study extends the interpretive-critical accounting literature by demonstrating that accounting operates as a social practice that actively shapes the property developer's conception of corporate social responsibility.
Keywords
References
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.17509/jrak.v14i2.102415
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