Rebuilding trust: sustainability and non-financial reporting and the European Union regulation

2020 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 701-725
Author(s):  
Matteo La Torre ◽  
Svetlana Sabelfeld ◽  
Marita Blomkvist ◽  
John Dumay
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Accounting Systems ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
The Eu

Purpose This paper introduces the special issue “Rebuilding trust: Sustainability and non-financial reporting, and the European Union regulation”. Inspired by the studies published in the special issue, this study aims to examine the concept of accountability within the context of the European Union (EU) Directive on non-financial disclosure (hereafter the EU Directive) to offer a critique and a novel perspective for future research into mandatory non-financial reporting (NFR) and to advance future practice and policy. Design/methodology/approach The authors review the papers published in this special issue and other contemporary studies on the topic of NFR and the EU Directive. Findings Accountability is a fundamental concept for building trust in the corporate reporting context and emerges as a common topic linking contemporary studies on the EU Directive. While the EU Directive acknowledges the role of accountability in the reporting practice, this study argues that regulation and practice on NFR needs to move away from an accounting-based conception of accountability to promote accountability-based accounting practices (Dillard and Vinnari, 2019). By analysing the links between trust, accountability and accounting and reporting, the authors claim the need to examine and rethink the inscription of interests into non-financial information (NFI) and its materiality. Hence, this study encourages research and practice to broaden mandatory NFR practice over the traditional boundaries of accountability, reporting and formal accounting systems. Research limitations/implications Considering the challenges posed by the COVID-19 crisis, this study calls for further research to investigate the dialogical accountability underpinning NFR in practice to avoid the trap of focusing on accounting changes regardless of accountability. The authors advocate that what is needed is more timely NFI that develops a dialogue between companies, investors, national regulators, the EU and civil society, not more untimely standalone reporting that has most likely lost its relevance and materiality by the time it is issued to users. Originality/value By highlighting accountability issues in the context of mandatory NFR and its linkages with trust, this study lays out a case for moving the focus of research and practice from accounting-based regulations towards accountability-driven accounting change.

In search of legitimacy: a semiotic analysis of business model disclosure practices

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (5) ◽  
pp. 863-887
Author(s):  
Patrizia Di Tullio ◽  
Diego Valentinetti ◽  
Christian Nielsen ◽  
Michele Antonio Rea
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Business Model ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Semiotic Analysis ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
Binary Oppositions ◽  
The Eu

Purpose This paper aims to investigate how firms disclose the presentation and content of business model (BM) information in corporate reports to manage their legitimacy in response to European Directive 2014/95. Design/methodology/approach Legitimacy theory is used to identify disclosure strategies pursued by firms in reaction to the new regulation. To understand how firms adopt these strategic responses, semiotic analysis is applied to a sample of European companies’ reports through Crowther’s (2012) framework, which is based on a mechanism of binary oppositions. Findings Half of the sample strategically choose to comply with the European Union (EU) Directive regarding BM information through the use of non-accounting language, figures, and diagrams. Other firms did not disclose any substantive information but managed the impression of compliance with the regulation, while the remainder of the sample dismissed the regulation altogether. Research limitations/implications This study demonstrates how organisations use the disclosure of BM information in their corporate reports to control their legitimacy. The results support the idea that firms can acquire legitimacy by complying with the law or giving the impression of compliance with the regulation. This study provides evidence on the first-time adoption of the EU Directive, and therefore, future research can enlarge the sample and conduct the analysis over a broader time frame. Practical implications A more precise indication of the EU Directive regarding “where” firms should report BM information, “how” the description of a BM should refer to the environmental, social, governance (ESG) factors, and a set of performance measures to track the evolution of a company’s BM overtime is needed. Originality/value While there has been a notable amount of research that has applied content analysis methodologies to investigate the thematic and syntactic aspects of BM disclosure in corporate reports, only a few studies have investigated BM disclosures in relation to the EU Directive. Furthermore, the application of semiotic analysis extends beyond traditional content analysis methodologies because it considers the structure of the story at many levels, thus developing a more complete textual picture of how BMs are described, allowing an analysis of the reasons behind the disclosure strategies pursued by firms.

scholarly journals The impact of securities regulation in the European Union on M&A: Does it compensate to go beyond borders?

2022 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rita Monteiro ◽  
Sónia Silva
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Investor Protection ◽  
Equal Treatment ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Cross Border ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
Takeover Bids ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

Purpose The purpose of this study is to examine the impact of the transposition of the EU directive that regulates M&As on cross-border deals. Acquirers of targets located in the European Union (EU) must comply not only with takeover rules set individually by member states but also with European Council Directives. The most significant of these Directives in the context of mergers and acquisitions (M&As) is the Takeover Bids Directive (TBD). The intent of the Directive is to ensure equal treatment for all companies launching takeover bids or that are subject to a change in control, providing minimum harmonization rules in view of creating a transparent environment for cross-border takeovers. Design/methodology/approach This study uses the event-study and difference-in-differences approaches. Findings Using a sample of 2,129 M&As conducted between 2000 and 2015, this paper finds positive acquisition synergy for acquirers targeting firms from countries with stronger investor protection rules compared to the average of the EU, but no evidence regarding cross-border deals. The results support the prediction that regulation makes countries diverge more depending on their ex ante level of investor protection. Originality/value This study examines the impact of the enactment of the TBD on announcement returns of M&As in the EU.

Motives, Roles, Effectiveness and the Future of the EU as an International Mediator

2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (2) ◽  
pp. 319-330 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arne Niemann ◽  
Toni Haastrup ◽  
Julian Bergmann
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Comparative Advantage ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Empirical Knowledge ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
The Future ◽  
Flexible Adaptation ◽  
Mediation Effectiveness ◽  
The Eu

AbstractThis article concludes this special issue on the European Union as international mediator that set out to advance our theoretical and empirical knowledge aboutEUmediation. Providing a comprehensive reflection ofEUmediation activities and the diverse settings where they take place, this concluding article identifies some connection points between the articles and discusses their findings on the motives/drivers, roles/strategies, effectiveness and institutional capacities ofEUmediation. It discusses the implications of these findings for policymaking, focusing on the conditions forEUmediation effectiveness, the advantages of the multi-layered nature ofEUmediation and the need for flexible adaptation of mediation strategies. Finally, the article sets the scene for future research endeavors onEUmediation by identifying three future research avenues that focus on the politics, domestic effects and comparative advantage of theEUas international mediator.

Practice of the member states of the European Union in the field of anti-corruption regulation

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Dmytro S. Melnyk ◽  
Oleg A. Parfylo ◽  
Oleksii V. Butenko ◽  
Olena V. Tykhonova ◽  
Volodymyr O. Zarosylo
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
System Analysis ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Analysis Method ◽  
Member States ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Eu Member States ◽  
Legal Method ◽  
Content Analysis Method ◽  
The Eu

Purpose The experience of most European Union (EU) Member States has demonstrated effective anti-corruption practices, making the EU one of the leaders in this field, which can be used as an example to learn from in the field of anti-corruption. The purpose of this study is to analyze and identify the main features of anti-corruption legislation and strategies to prevent corruption at the national and supranational levels of the EU. Design/methodology/approach The following methods were used in the work: discourse and content analysis, method of system analysis, method of induction and deduction, historical-legal method, formal-legal method, comparative-legal method and others. Using the historical and legal method, the evolution of the formation of anti-corruption regulation at the supranational level was revealed. The comparative law method helped to compare the practices of the Member States of the EU in the field of anti-corruption regulation. The formal-legal method is used for generalization, classification and systematization of research results, as well as for the correct presentation of these results. Findings The main results, prospects for further research and the value of the material. The paper offers a critical review of key EU legal instruments on corruption, from the first initiatives taken in the mid-1990s to recent years. Originality/value In addition, the article analyzes the relevant anti-corruption legislation in the EU member states that are in the top 10 countries with the lowest level of corruption, namely: Denmark, Finland, Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany and Luxembourg.

scholarly journals Conclusions: What future for the Treaty of Lisbon?

2021 ◽  
Vol 58 (1) ◽  
pp. e72661
Author(s):  
Ariadna Ripoll
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Political System ◽  
Window Of Opportunity ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Political Union ◽  
Treaty Of Lisbon ◽  
Institutional Structures ◽  
Normative Issues ◽  
The Eu

This conclusion to the special issue reflects on the evolution of European integration since the early 1990s in order to better understand the contested origins of the Treaty of Lisbon and the consequences the latter have had for the EU’s political system. It considers the various contributions of the special issue and shows how the Treaty emerged in an era of shifting cleavages, disputed steps towards a more political Union and rising populism. This legacy has led to more polarisation and politicisation – a phenomenon that the Treaty of Lisbon struggles to encapsulate and conciliate with the culture of consensus and compromise inherent to its institutional structures. As a result, we observe a bias towards policy stability – and even failure – that affects the legitimacy and democratic standards of the European Union. In a context of polycrisis, the difficulty to find compromises – especially in highly normative issues – leads to the de-politicisation of the EU and reinforces the gap between EU institutions and its citizens. The COVID-19 pandemic is a window of opportunity for the EU, in which to choose between integration and disintegration; between values and inaction.

scholarly journals Organisational and professional challenges amid the evolution of sustainability reporting: a theoretical framework and an agenda for future research

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Alessandro Lai ◽  
Riccardo Stacchezzini
Keyword(s):  
Design Methodology ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Special Issue ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Professional Capital ◽  
Research And Practice ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
Professional Challenges ◽  
Reporting Practice

Purpose This paper aims to trace subsequent steps of the sustainability reporting evolution in terms of changes in the organisation fields and professional jurisdictions involved. As such, it highlights the (interrelated) organisational and professional challenges associated with the progressive incorporation of “sustainability” within corporate reporting. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws on Suddaby and Viale’s (2011) theorisation of how professionals reshape organisational fields to highlight how organisational spaces, actors, rules and professional capital evolve alongside the incorporation of sustainability within corporate reporting. Findings The paper shows organisational spaces, actors, rules and professional capital mobilised during the recent evolution of sustainability reporting, starting from a period in which there was no space for sustainability, to more recent periods in which sustainability gained increasing momentum beyond initial niches, and culminating in more integrated forms of sustainability reporting. Research limitations/implications Although the analysis is limited to empirical evidence collected by prior research and practice on sustainability reporting, the paper offers a view to imagine how the incorporation of sustainability within corporate reporting relies on and affects organisational fields and professional jurisdictions. Originality/value The paper offers a lens to interpret corporate and professional challenges associated with the more recent evolutions of sustainability reporting practice and standard setting. It also allows framing the papers accepted in the special issue on “new challenges in sustainability reporting” and concludes by suggesting an agenda for future research.

scholarly journals Digital business taxation issues and threats abstract

2020 ◽  
pp. 98-121
Author(s):  
Alanas Gulbinas ◽  
Kamilė Jogminaitė
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Current Situation ◽  
Business Taxation ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Bilateral Agreements ◽  
Corporate Profit ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
The Impact ◽  
The Eu

“Article of digital business taxation issues and threats”, analyzes the impact of the digitalization in modern society and the changes of corporate profit tax. This article has been concentrated on the regulation of the European Union but mentions the international adjustments as well. The article has been written in a discussion of national law and bilateral agreements, which apply to the traditional permanent headquarters concept. This article discusses the current situation, where digital businesses are not being taxed with corporate profit tax, and possibilities to change it according to the needs of the digital economy In addition, when digital businesses emerged, the permanent headquarters concept, which taxed based on the permanent location, required further discussion and a new definition. Therefore, the article talks over the proposals of the European Union to equalize corporate profit taxation. The article analyzes the possible consequences and issues of the adaptation of the EU directive. In question of regulating the corporate profit tax, the authors discussed the competence of the EU.

scholarly journals Barriers to implementing the International Integrated Reporting Framework

2017 ◽  
Vol 25 (4) ◽  
pp. 461-480 ◽  
Author(s):  
John Dumay ◽  
Cristiana Bernardi ◽  
James Guthrie ◽  
Matteo La Torre
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Early Stage ◽  
Academic Research ◽  
General Concept ◽  
Future Research ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Stage Of Development ◽  
Reporting Framework

Purpose This paper is motivated by the call for feedback by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) from all stakeholders with knowledge of the International Integrated Reporting Framework (<IRF>) and specifically of the enablers, incentives and barriers to its implementation. The paper synthesises insights from contemporary accounting research into integrated reporting (IR) as a general concept and <IR> as espoused by the IIRC in the <IRF> (IIRC, 2013). The authors specifically focus on possible barriers and emphasise the specific issues the authors feel could be rectified to advance the <IRF>, along with the areas that may potentially hinder its wider adoption and implementation. Design/methodology/approach The paper draws upon and synthesises academic analysis and insights provided in the IR and <IR> academic literature as well as various directives, policy and framework pronouncements. Findings The flexibility and lack of prescription concerning actual disclosures and metrics in the <IRF> could allow it to be used for compliance, regardless of the other benefits lauded by the IIRC. Thus the authors see forces, both external and internal, driving <IR> adoption, with one prominent example being the European Union Directive on non-financial reporting. Because of the different ways in which IR is understood and enacted, there are numerous theoretical and empirical challenges for academics. The authors paper highlights potential areas for further robust academic research and the need to contribute to <IR> policy and practice. Research limitations/implications The paper provides the IIRC, academics, regulators and reporting organisations with insights into current practice and the <IRF>. The authors highlight the need for further development and evidence to help inform improvements both from a policy and a practice perspective. A key limitation of the authors’ work is that the authors draw upon a synthesis of the existing literature which is still in an early stage of development. Originality/value The paper provides the IIRC with several insights into the current <IRF> and specifically with the enablers, incentives and barriers to its implementation. Also, it provides academic researchers with a number of important observations and an agenda upon which the authors can build their future research.

scholarly journals A menekültügyi őrizet elrendelésének anyagi jogi feltételei az uniós jog tükrében

2015 ◽  
Vol 12 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 21-31
Author(s):  
Árpád Kiss
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Human Rights ◽  
Law Enforcement ◽  
Asylum Seeker ◽  
Illegal Immigrants ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Transit Country ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Eu

Hungary lies in the route of the stream of refugees coming from the Balkan. It is a transit country, so the refugees do not typically intend to stay here, they rather wish to travel torwards to West- and North Europe. Particular sections of Hungary's border also mean the external borders of the European Union, the area of freedom, security and justice, which has a common asylum system. Significant part of illegal immigrants presents asylum claim only to avoid the aliens procedures. From the 1st of January 2013, the legislature terminated the aliens detention against asylum applicants. From 1st of July 2013 the Hungarian legislature reintroduced the possibility of detention of applicants. The new regulation has been placed in Act LXXX of 2007 on the Right of Asylum, Sections 31/A-31/H by Act XCIII of 2013 on the Amendment of Particular Laws Concerning Law Enforcement. The introduction of asylum-seeker detention and the practice of its application have raised dust. In my essay I am introducing the connections between the reasons of ordering asylum-seeker detention in the Act on Asylum and its backgroud in the EU Directive. I am not dealing with the question of compatibility of asylum detention and human rights and with problematic procedural issues, because I consider it more important to review the substantive conditions of asylum-seeker detention and the certain practical questions of its application therefore I am focusing on this segment of jurisdiction.

scholarly journals Ecological taxes in some European countries

2004 ◽  
Vol 49 (162) ◽  
pp. 209-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sanja Filipovic
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Fossil Fuels ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Eastern European ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Eu Directive ◽  
Production And Consumption ◽  
Previous Decade ◽  
Eastern European Countries ◽  
The Eu

Production and consumption of fossil fuels is one of the major causes of the green house effect, which is in economics known as a form of ecological externality. Fiscal solution, as one way of internalization of externalities, is based on polluters-pay principle and the imposition of tax on emission. Although the implementation of ecological tax was intensified during the previous decade, fiscal revenues are modest and account for only 5% of the total fiscal revenues of the European Union. Taxes on energetic products, accounting for 76%, are dominant among ecological taxes. Since the EU Directive 82/92 imposes minimum excise rates on oil products, during the last decade Central Eastern European countries have increased excise rates on fossil fuels and fully engaged in the field of ecological policy.

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