Reflection on Corporate Social Responsibility (ACCT 3010 Course)

This reflective paper analyzes the ACCT 3010 course, focusing on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability. The paper summarizes key learning outcomes, including definitions of CSR, its components (legal, economic, ethical, and discretionary expectations), and the evolution beyond corporate philanthropy. It highlights the relevance of CSR to the accounting profession, emphasizing the importance of sustainable business practices, environmental and social impact disclosures, and ethical conduct. Furthermore, the reflection provides performance feedback, emphasizing the course's role in shaping a sustainability-oriented accounting professional, who can identify and report on corporate impacts, propose actions for sustainable practices, and create sustained competitive advantages. The student references key academic works that support the concepts discussed, such as Ball, Grubnic, and Birchall (2014), Gray, Adams, and Owen (2014), Lodhia and Hess (2014), and Tilt, Unerman, and Rinaldi (2014).

Reflective Writing 1
REFLECTIVE WRITING
By (Student’ Name)
Professor’s Name
College
Course
Date

Reflective Writing 2
REFLECTIVE WRITING
In this paper, I will be reflecting on the ACCT 3010 course (Corporate Social
Responsibility or sustainably). The reflection will encompass summary of learning, critical
course concepts, the relevance of the course to program and profession, and performance
feedback alongside for the identification and action learning opportunities.
In respects to a summary of learning, we learned about the key concepts of sustainability
accounting and reporting. Specifically, we learned about CSR, sustainability, social and
environmental issues and international and local responses to such issues to ensure sustainability.
I am now able to clearly define and give a clear meaning of CSR about business. I learned that
CSR entails the legal, economic, discretionary and ethical expectations which society has of the
firms at a specific point in time (Ball, Grubnic and Birchall 2014). Moreover, I have been able to
understand that CSR can also refer to as corporate citizenship, corporate (social and
environmental) responsibility, responsible business or corporate social opportunity. However, I
have also learned that there has never been an agreeable shared definition of CSR. My
understanding of CSR has improved in this course because now I recognize CSR to be more than
corporate philanthropy. I have been able to understand that CSR is narrower than the ‘corporate
responsibility’ or ethics. The sensitivity of CSR to the impact of the corporation and the fact that
CSR can present opportunities for a competitive edge are additional concepts I have learned in
this course.
In regards to the relevance of the course to the program and accounting profession, I have
been able to appreciate the need for sustainable business in the society. This course is essential to
accounting profession and ACCT 3010 program because it will help produce professional who
care for their corporation impact to the social and physical environment and hence will not only

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account for such impacts but also disclose them in their sustainability reports. This will be
helpful to the society as they will be compensated for the externalities that any corporation might
trigger upon them. This will then help the business to be sustainable since there will be
disclosure which will make the business always to be engaged in ethical conducts in their
operations with the social and physical environment in their mind (Tilt, Unerman and Rinaldi
2014).
In regards to performance feedback to identify and action learning opportunities, this
course presents the best opportunity to enable me to become a sustainability-oriented accounting
professional in the future. This is because the course has shown the link between the corporate
impact and the social and physical environment. Therefore, as an accounting student, I will be
able to take keen interests in the impact of the corporations on the environment and report both
adverse and positive effects (Gray, Adams and Owen 2014). Through this, I will be able to
identify effective actions that if implemented by the organization, will make it generally accepted
in the society and hence the creation of a sustained competitive edge. This is because the
business will also be alive to the social and environmental issues it might cause the society and
hence will always try to disclose them and take necessary actions to either stop, avoid or even
compensate the society in case of inevitabilities (Lodhia and Hess 2014).

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References
Ball, A., Grubnic, S. and Birchall, J., 2014. 11 Sustainability accounting and accountability in
the public sector. Sustainability accounting and accountability, p.176.
Gray, R., Adams, C. and Owen, D., 2014. Accountability, social responsibility and
sustainability: accounting for society and the environment. Pearson Higher Ed.
Lodhia, S. and Hess, N., 2014. Sustainability accounting and reporting in the mining industry:
Current literature and directions for future research. Journal of Cleaner Production, 84, pp.43-
50.
Tilt, C., Unerman, J. And Rinaldi, L., 2014. The role of stakeholder engagement and dialogue
within the sustainability accounting and reporting process. In Sustainability accounting and
accountability (pp. 104-125). Routledge.