Customer life cycle cost accounting – conceptual assumptions for State Forests

<ns3:p>Purpose: The main objective of the article is to establish the conceptual assumptions of customer life cycle cost accounting in light of the results of research and the operational context of the State Forests (Lasy Państwowe – LP). To achieve this objective, the following subsidiary aims were defined: (1) to identify the need for management information generated by customer life cycle cost accounting in organizations, with a particular focus on LP; (2) to develop a typology of LP customers within the framework of customer life cycle cost accounting.Methodology/approach: The study used both deductive and inductive reasoning, progressing from observation to defining rules and relationships, culminating in the formulation of the concept of customer life cycle cost accounting in the context of LP’s accounting structure. The empirical research was conducted using a diagnostic survey that utilized two research tools: a survey questionnaire and an interview questionnaire. The research was conducted between 2014 and 2025, which made it possible to observe the evolving needs for customer life cycle costing against the background of changes in society's environmental and forestry awareness.Findings: The research allowed us to segment LP’s customers for whom customer life cycle cost accounting can be successfully applied. The study identified significant progress among LP decision-makers on the need to use appropriate cost accounting. Importantly, these needs relate to the identification, measurement, valuation and proper presentation of the costs of acquiring and serving B2U customers at the appropriate quality level. Conceptual assumptions are specified for the construction and maintenance of customer life cycle cost accounting in LP.Research limitations/implications: Limited resources allocated to the research and politically driven personnel changes made it impossible to research the full sample of 329 forest districts. While the findings have no direct impact on the practices undertaken in the LP accounting system, they are a valuable contribution to a new perspective on the essence of customer life cycle cost accounting amid the challenges posed by corporate social responsibility.Originality/value: This is one of the first studies to address customer lifecycle cost accounting in a self-financing organization like LP, where the majority of customers do not generate revenue but affect revenue levels in the long term. The unique circumstances of the LP’s business, including its management system and accounting organization, have an impact on the established conceptual assumptions of customer lifecycle costing.</ns3:p>