Identifying the Components of a Strategic Management Accounting Model Based on Social Responsibility Reporting in Iran

Abstract

The present study aimed to identify and develop the components of a strategic management accounting model grounded in social responsibility reporting within the Iranian organizational context. This study was conducted using a qualitative research approach based on interpretive content analysis. The statistical population consisted of academic experts, professional accountants, senior financial managers, and specialists familiar with strategic management accounting and corporate social responsibility reporting in Iran. Participants were selected through purposive and snowball sampling, and data collection continued until theoretical saturation was achieved. Semi-structured interviews served as the primary data collection instrument, covering themes related to strategic alignment, reporting requirements, implementation challenges, stakeholder roles, and development strategies. Interviews were recorded, transcribed, and analyzed using MAXQDA software. Data analysis followed open, axial, and selective coding procedures to extract conceptual categories and develop the proposed model. The trustworthiness of findings was ensured through credibility, transferability, dependability, and confirmability criteria. The results revealed that strategic management accounting based on social responsibility reporting in Iran is formed through an integrated framework consisting of strategic governance foundations, multidimensional performance indicators, economic motivation mechanisms, organizational transformation processes, implementation challenges, stakeholder influence structures, and development-oriented policy solutions. The findings indicate that integrating social, environmental, and financial dimensions within accounting systems enhances strategic decision-making capability, strengthens organizational accountability, and supports sustainable competitive advantage. Furthermore, the model demonstrates that successful implementation depends on alignment among organizational culture, digital information systems, governance mechanisms, and stakeholder pressures, while economic, regulatory, technological, and human resource barriers significantly influence adoption outcomes. The study concludes that strategic management accounting integrated with social responsibility reporting represents a transformative approach that shifts accounting from a traditional financial control function toward a strategic governance and sustainability management system capable of enhancing organizational resilience, transparency, and long-term value creation.