Social Auditing and the Evaluation of Corporate Social Responsibility Accounting: Evidence from Selected Iraqi Companies

This study investigates the extent to which selected Iraqi companies are aware of social auditing and social responsibility accounting, aiming to highlight the importance of implementing these concepts in their operations. It also explores the role of internal auditors in identifying sources of environmental pollution and waste, and in promoting preventive strategies to mitigate such impacts. A structured questionnaire was developed and distributed to a targeted sample, with its reliability, validity, and credibility assessed using appropriate statistical tools. The findings revealed several key insights, most notably that essential environmental resources such as water and air, which are consumed in the course of business activities, are not free commodities but shared societal assets. Therefore, companies have a responsibility to compensate the community for the depletion of these resources. Based on this, the study recommends that businesses adopt mechanisms for environmental stewardship and take proactive measures to minimise ecological harm resulting from their operations, recognising that these resources are collectively owned by society.