Digitalization, ESG Reporting, and Circular Economy: Accounting Challenges for Women-Led SMEs

This study examines how digitalization can reduce the cost and complexity of ESG and circular economy reporting for women-led SMEs within the evolving EU sustainability reporting framework, with a focus on the Danube Region. Using a conceptual accounting approach grounded in EU regulatory documents, academic literature, and prior bibliometric research, it identifies four key challenge do-mains: measurement, valuation, disclosure, and professional judgment. The analysis is complemented by an exploratory empirical extension based on publicly available documents and illustrative cases of women-led SMEs from the Danube Region. It develops an accounting-oriented problem matrix linking these challenges to digital enablers such as data platforms, automation tools, and traceability technologies. The findings suggest that digitalization improves not only efficiency, but also the reliability, auditability, comparability, and scalability of ESG reporting. A conceptual framework is proposed, connecting regulatory drivers, digital accounting capabilities, and reporting outcomes, including improved assurance readiness and access to finance. The paper also provides practical recommendations, including minimum viable ESG datasets and a staged digital adoption approach, alongside policy implications related to harmonized data requests and targeted capacity-building for SMEs. The study contributes by integrating ESG reporting, circular economy, digitalization, and gender-sensitive SME constraints into an explicitly accounting-centered analytical framework.