The role of cost accounting in SMEs from a sustainable development perspective

Purpose: The purpose of the article is to answer the following questions: Are enterprises from the SME sector in Poland prepared to report on sustainable development? Is the utilization of tools provided by contemporary cost accounting adequate to meet new challenges? Methodology/approach: A review of the literature on sustainable development and accounting from the perspective of sustainable development was conducted. The theoretical considerations were supplemented with a survey carried out between April and June 2024. The research methods included critical analysis and synthesis.Findings: The results indicate that interest in implementing modern cost accounting methods, which are among the most important cost management tools, is increasing among SMEs. However, it remains insufficient. Over half of the respondents do not use any decision-oriented cost accounting, and only 29% have a developed cost reporting system tailored to the needs of financial reporting, budgeting, cost accounting, calculation, and analysis.Research limitations/implications: In accordance with Directive 2022/2464 of December 14, 2022, on Corporate Sustainability Reporting (CSRD), small and medium-sized enterprises listed on stock exchanges will be subject to reporting from 2026. How-ever, the research shows that Polish SMEs still show little interest in modern cost ac-counting methods as tools to support the management of sustainable businesses. There-fore, it is necessary to conduct further research on the implementation of problem-specific cost accounting in SMEs, which would support the decision-making process in this area.Originality/value: Previous empirical studies primarily utilized the case study method. The conclusions drawn from our analysis fill a research gap and can be utilized by both practitioners and academics. The contribution to the development of the discipline lies in identifying the level of adoption of modern cost accounting methods in SMEs.