Abstract
This study examines the shift in the motives behind Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) disclosure toward earnings management during a financial crisis. The objective is to compare the effects of ethical requirements and managerial opportunism before (2018–2019) and after (2020–2021) the COVID-19 pandemic among five consumer industry issuers listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX). A quantitative method was applied using separate split-sample multiple linear regression analysis and a Paired Samples T-Test. The results of the difference test showed no significant differences in the average CSR values (p = 0.392) and Real Earnings Management (REM) (p = 0.559) at the macro-sectoral level due to the asymmetric responses of the observed firms. However, the regression analysis demonstrated a radical structural shift, in which the effect of CSR on earnings management changed from significantly negative to significantly positive after the pandemic. The findings suggest a shift in managerial behavior from ethical commitment during stable periods to opportunistic actions during crises, whereby CSR disclosure is exploited as a camouflage or greenwashing mechanism to conceal real earnings management practices and avoid detection through accrual-based audits.