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Social Responsibility

15th Jul 2014
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As a (hopefully soon-to-be) fresh face in the world of management accounting, I thought I would give my take on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). This isn’t entirely random. If you read my previous blog post you’d know I’m applying for graduate roles in management accounting, and, to get to the point, a company I’m extremely interested in working for demonstrates an excellent use of CSR to report on wider issues. This is something I’ve been interested in since first being introduced to environmental reporting at university, so I thought I’d give my take on it and put it out there for your enjoyment!

Whilst I’m clearly no expert on the subject, I am coming to the conclusion that I’m quite a fan of CSR. Obviously the concern is there that it is wide open to manipulation and stinks of hypocrisy from huge companies who’s prime aim is making £’s – but on the flip side, a lot of companies are genuinely concerned about operating ethically/responsibly and CSR gives them a platform to show how they are going about this. It would be daft not to take CSR seriously – particularly in this world of self-righteousness and ‘ooooh look at me’.

As a job hunter, I’m enticed more so by a company who recognises the value of CSR. Surely it must be good to know that your employer cares about the wider impact their operations have on the community in which it operates? I think so anyway.

Making money is very important (who’d have thought?) but so are morals. I understand by no means the concept surrounding CSR is new, and that companies have cared about their image and reputation for nigh on forever, but I firmly believe CSR does much more than that and actually drives organisations to have a better impact on their local and wider community. I’m sure managing this, however, is by no means easy - showing you are doing it because you genuinely care and not just because it looks good in a shiny report is, in my opinion, a critical factor in the fine line between benefitting from CSR and looking like a ‘wanabe do-gooder’.

I’m aware this blog post hasn’t been ground-breaking! I just wanted to put down my views on CSR as it is something I’m interested in and want to learn more about.

Moving on from me ‘bigging-up’ all things socially responsible - it’s another day of job hunting for me. Yesterday I found an ideal role which is pretty much exactly what I’m looking for (with the added bonus of being local). The closing date isn’t for a while, so I’m trying to put together as strong application as I can and avoid rushing in with the giddiness of a kid on Christmas Eve. Today I will be looking at that whilst also consuming too much tea alongside searching for other opportunities. Wish me luck.

Thanks for reading.

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By tom123
15th Jul 2014 20:30

Welcome to what will turn out to be an interesting career

Welcome, TGA, to what will undoubtedly turn out to be an interesting career. You will probably end up doing a wide variety of roles - and one thing is for sure the environmental aspect of corporate behaviour will only increase.

Keep us up to date with your job search - and let us know how the job goes - which ever one you end up with.

Accountants can use their analytical and data handling and reporting skills in such a wide range of sectors the world really is your oyster.

Are you planning on professional qualifications now? Can I put in a shameless plug for CIMA (of which I am a member)

 

*Other qualifications are available..

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Replying to Tax Dragon:
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By The_Graduate_Accountant
16th Jul 2014 11:33

Thanks for your comment Tom. CIMA is definitely the route I want to go down - hopefully an opportunity will come that allows this!

I plan on continuing blogging so hopefully you will hear some positive developments soon.

Thanks again.

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