scholarly journals From stakeholder to investor – evolution of the concept of the integrated report main user according to the International Integrated Reporting Framework and its importance for the global acceptance of the concept

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 (98 (154)) ◽  
pp. 123-146
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kobiela-Pionnier
Keyword(s):  
Information Needs ◽  
Management Accounting ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Financial Capital ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
Reporting Framework ◽  
Business Perspective

When the International Integrated Reporting Committee was established in 2010, its main objective was to improve sustainability reporting. However, three years later IIRC published the International <IR> Framework adopting a business perspective, aimed at presenting information to the provider of financial capital. The aim of the article is to present changes in the IIRC approach to the main user of the integrated report between 2011 and 2013 and to answer the question why the concept of this report adopted a busi- ness direction, departing from its original assumptions. Attention was also paid to the convergence of approaches to the main user of information in the financial and integrated reports, as well as to an addi- tional aspect of the integration of management accounting guidelines. Moreover, an attempt was made to answer the question whether integrated reporting has a chance to become a new paradigm of corporate reporting and what role in this process the focus on the information needs of capital providers plays.

scholarly journals Why “Less is More” in Non-Financial Reporting Initiatives: Concrete Steps Towards Supporting Sustainability

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Georgina Tsagas ◽  
Charlotte Villiers
Keyword(s):  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Corporate Sustainability ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Less Is More ◽  
Csr Reporting ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
Long Run ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Key Aspects

AbstractCalls are repeatedly made on corporations to respond to the challenges facing the planet from a sustainable development perspective and governments take solace in the idea that corporations' transparency on their corporate activity in relation to sustainability through voluntary reporting is adequately addressing the problem. In practice, however, reporting is failing to deliver truly sustainable results. The article considers the following questions: how does the varied reporting landscape in the field of non-financial reporting impede the objectives of fostering corporations' sustainable practices and which initiative, among the options available, may best meet the sustainability objectives after a decluttering of the landscape takes place?The article argues that the varied corporate reporting landscape constitutes a key obstacle to fostering sustainable corporate behaviour, insofar as the flexible and please all approach followed in the context of corporate sustainability reporting offers little to no real incentive to companies to behave more sustainably and ultimately pleases none in the long run. The case made is that “less is more” in non-financial reporting initiatives and hence the article calls for a revision of key aspects of the European Non-Financial Reporting Directive, which, as is argued, is more likely to achieve the furtherance of sustainable corporate behaviour. Although the different reporting requirements offer the benefits of focussing on different corporate goals and activities, targeting different audiences and allowing for a level of flexibility that respects the individual risks to sustainability associated with each industry, the end result is a landscape that lacks overall consistency and comparability of measurements and accountabilities, making accountability more, rather than less, difficult to achieve.The article acknowledges the existence of several variances relating to the notion of sustainability per se, which continues to remain a contested concept and variances between companies and industries in relation to how each is operating sustainably or unsustainably respectively. Such variances have so far inhibited the legislator from easily outlining through tailored legislation the individual risks to global sustainability in an all-encompassing manner. The end product is a chaotic system of financial reporting, CSR reporting, non-financial reporting and integrated reporting and little progress to increase comparability and credibility in order for companies to be held accountable and to behave in ways that do not harm the planet. A “clean up” of the varied initiatives in the terrain of non-financial reporting is recommended.

scholarly journals The Common Good Balance Sheet, an Adequate Tool to Capture Non-Financials?

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Felber ◽  
Vanessa Campos ◽  
Joan Ramon Sanchis
Keyword(s):  
Organizational Performance ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Common Good ◽  
Information Needs ◽  
Balance Sheet ◽  
Validity And Reliability ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
The Common Good ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
The Common

In relation to organizational performance measurement, there is a growing concern about the creation of value for people, society and the environment. The traditional corporate reporting does not adequately satisfy the information needs of stakeholders for assessing an organization&rsquo;s past and future potential performance. Practitioners and scholars have developed new non-financial reporting frameworks from a social and environmental perspective, giving birth to the field of Integrated Reporting (IR). The Economy for the Common Good (ECG) model and its tools to facilitate sustainability management and reporting can provide a framework to do it. The present study is the first one that empirically validates such metrics on a sample of 206 European firms. Consequently, it allows knowledge to advance as it checks their statistical validity and reliability.

It is not always bad news

2018 ◽  
Vol 31 (5) ◽  
pp. 1319-1348 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mary-Anne McNally ◽  
Warren Maroun
Keyword(s):  
Impression Management ◽  
Financial Reporting ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Management Control ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Accounting System ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Reporting

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to challenge the notion that non-financial reporting is mainly about impression management or is only a superficial response to the hegemonic challenges posed by the sustainability movement. It focuses on the most recent development in sustainability reporting (integrated reporting) as an example of how accounting for financial and non-financial information has the potential to expand the scope of accounting systems, promote meaningful changes to reporting processes and provide a broader perspective on value creation. Design/methodology/approach The research focuses on an African eco-tourism company which has its head office in South Africa. A case study method is used to highlight differences in the presentation of an integrated business model according to the case entity’s integrated reports and how individual preparers interpret the requirement to prepare those reports. Data are collected using detailed interviews with all staff members involved in the preparation process. These are complemented by a review of the minutes of the company’s sustainability workshops and integrated reports. Findings A decision by the case organisation to prepare an integrated report gives rise to different forms of resistance which limits the change potential of the integrated reporting initiative. Resistance does not, however, preclude reform. Even when individual preparers are critical of the changes to the corporate reporting environment, accounting for financial and non-financial information expands the scope of the conventional accounting system which facilitates broader management control and promotes a more integrated conception of “value”. Research limitations/implications Integrated reporting should not be dismissed as only an exercise in corporate reporting and disclosure; it has a transformative potential which, given time, can enable new ways of managing business processes and articulating value creation. Originality/value This study answers the calls for primary evidence on how the requirement or recommendation to prepare an integrated report is being interpreted and applied by individual preparers. The findings add to the limited body of interpretive research on the change potential of new reporting frameworks. In doing so, the research provides theoretical support for developing arguments which challenge the conventional position that integrated reporting is little more than an exercise in impression management.

scholarly journals Areas of changes in the International Integrated Reporting Framework in the context of substantial changes in the investors' approach to sustainable development issues

2020 ◽  
Vol 108 (164) ◽  
pp. 89-114
Author(s):  
Katarzyna Kobiela-Pionnier
Keyword(s):  
Sustainable Development ◽  
21St Century ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Investment Decisions ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Financial Capital ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Reporting Framework ◽  
International Integrated Reporting Council

The purpose of the article is to present and evaluate the current activities of the International Integrated Reporting Council to improve the International <IR> Framework, in particular the considerations con-tained in the document Integrated Thinking & Strategy. State of Play Report, as well as the proposed change in the approach to the main user of the integrated report in accordance with Topic Paper 3: Chart-ing a path forward. The context for the evaluation is the profound changes in the approach to non-financial information currently taking place among providers of financial capital. They are not only in-creasingly interested in ESG issues to make investment decisions on this basis, but they also include them in their own business activities. In the course of her argument, the author indicates that the main purpose of the IIRC's activities is the transition from monocapitalism to multi-capitalism as a new economic doctrine for the 21st century, which is to be supported by changes in the <IR> Framework and the design of an improved value creation model. The change of the main user of integrated reporting from the pro-vider of financial capital to providers of all capitals planned by IIRC seems to constitute the first element of the materialization of the concept of multi-capitalism.

scholarly journals Integrated Reporting: Are Indonesian Companies Ready to Do It?

2016 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 62-70
Author(s):  
Amelia Setiawan
Keyword(s):  
Content Analysis ◽  
Data Collection ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Annual Reports ◽  
Main Concern ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Public Companies ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
Data Collection And Analysis ◽  
Preliminary Research

Many companies in Indonesia already have completed sustainability reporting (SR) in their corporate reporting eventhough the regulation has not required public companies to disclose Integrated Reporting (IR) in their report. Are companies with excellent sustainability reporting ready to release integrated reporting? This question is the main concern of this paper. The published guidelines by IIRC are divided into two categories: guidelines which can be assessed objectively and those that cannot be measured objectively. Content analysis is used for data collection and analysis for annual reports of the companies used as sample in this research. The result of this research showed that companies that won Indonesia Sustainability Reporting Award are ready to disclose Integrated Reporting with few modification which adds the value of their report. The implication of the study for public companies is a encouragement to publish integrated reporting and for researchers is being preliminary research for developing research about integrated report in Indonesia.

scholarly journals An Evaluation Of The Co-Operative Business Model Within The Context Of The Global Reporting Initiative

2014 ◽  
Vol 12 (2) ◽  
pp. 179
Author(s):  
Marne Du Toit ◽  
Pieter W. Buys
Keyword(s):  
Business Model ◽  
Business Strategy ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Modern Society ◽  
Business Environment ◽  
Global Reporting Initiative ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Reporting Framework ◽  
The Social ◽  
Modern Business

Sustainability reporting, renowned as an instrument for businesses to communicate how they function more efficiently and responsibly within the social and physical environment, while simultaneously remaining profitable, has evolved in an up-and-coming trend by businesses. In addition, this leads to integrated reporting, which implies that a business strategy, performance, risk and sustainability are inseparable from one another. The International Year of Co-operatives (2012), with the theme Co-operative Enterprises Build a Better World, recognises that co-operatives, in their range of forms, support the fullest participation in the social and economic development of people. Co-operatives also have the remarkable opportunity to grow everywhere for the reason that modern society needs their role and initiatives.This article considers to what extent the GRI guidelines, as a reporting framework, are feasible or applicable to co-operatives as a business model. The selected agricultural co-operative (Agri-Com) is used in the form of a case study, where the GRIs Sustainability Reporting Guidelines are applied to its activities. This study found that the co-operative business model performed admirably well under these guidelines and suggests that the co-operative business model is very relevant in the modern business environment.

scholarly journals Value creation disclosure: the international integrated reporting framework revisited in the light of stakeholder theory

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Renata Paola Dameri ◽  
Pier Maria Ferrando
Keyword(s):  
Stakeholder Theory ◽  
Value Creation ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Health Care Organisation ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Non Profit ◽  
Reporting Framework ◽  
Depth Analysis

Purpose The paper aims to propose an integrated reporting (IR) framework rooted in Freeman’s stakeholder theory (ST). The proposed framework modifies the international integrated reporting framework (IIRF) and aims to overcome criticisms related to its focus on investors and the abandonment of sustainability. Design/methodology/approach The paper develops a modified IIRF based on an in-depth analysis of the IR and ST literature. The framework was then applied to a non-profit health-care organisation to verify its theoretical assumptions. Findings The modified IIRF was conceived as a ready-to-use tool. By applying it to a business case, it was validated with respect to whether and how it could help achieve better and more stakeholder-oriented reporting. The findings enabled us to validate the use of the tool not only for reporting but also for the self-assessment of organisations with respect to embedding ST. Research limitations/implications The modified IIRF was implemented only in one case, and further implementations are needed to comprehensively identify its strengths and weaknesses, both in for-profit and non-profit organisations. Practical implications The revised IIRF represents an updated tool for reporting and disclosing the value created by an organisation for itself and for its stakeholders including the external entities affected by the impacts engendered by the organisation. In this way, the IIRF can give visibility to all value created and the value creation process, including sustainability matters. This allows integrated thinking processes to be incorporated accordingly, supporting better management. Originality/value This paper suggests three adjustments to improve the IIRF’s ability to incorporate ST as a theoretical foundation. The adjusted IIRF is a ready to-use-tool specifically highlighting what value or values an organisation delivers (its outcomes), for whom (its stakeholders) and how (its specific business processes) within a business model effectively connecting them. From this point of view, it fits the rising stream about the evolution of the sustainability reporting fostered jointly by the international integrated reporting council and sustainability accounting standard board, and by the European Union.

scholarly journals Pemodelan Proses Penyusunan Laporan Keberlanjutan pada Usaha Kecil dan Menengah (UKM)

AKUNTABEL ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Putu Sukma Kurniawan
Keyword(s):  
Small And Medium Enterprises ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
New Paradigm ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
Medium Enterprises ◽  
Sustainability Report

Sustainability reporting becomes a new paradigm in corporate reporting. Sustainability reporting demonstrates that management of company have a commitment to engage in business activities, building on the concept of sustainability. This article discusses the implementation of the sustainability reporting on a small and medium enterprises, especially in Indonesia. The discussion is done on the opportunities and challenges of sustainability reporting in small and medium enterprises. Implementation of sustainability reporting in small and medium enterprises adapted to the GRI G4 standard.Keywords:  sustainability reporting, sustainability report, small and medium enterprises, GRI G4 standard

Sustainability reporting or integrated reporting: Which one is valuable for investors?

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ika Permatasari ◽  
Ika Permatasari ◽  
I Made Narsa
Keyword(s):  
Value Relevance ◽  
Accounting Information ◽  
Sustainability Reporting ◽  
Financial Information ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Reporting Practices ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
Sustainability Reports ◽  
International Integrated Reporting Council

Purpose This research is motivated by the development of dialogue and debate regarding company reporting in the form of sustainability reporting (SR) – which is separate from the annual report (AR) – or integrated reporting (IR). Research into SR and IR is still fascinating, and this study addresses the debate about them. This study aims to examine which of the two reports is more valuable for investors, and also examine whether IR has value relevance because the information in the IR could reinforce the importance of the accounting information. Design/methodology/approach As with previous studies, we adopted a valuation approach – the Ohlson model – to assess the value relevance of non-financial information (in the form of SR/IR) and financial information. As a preliminary study, we used non-financial information as a binary variable, i.e. a group of companies that issue sustainability reports and a group of companies that issue integrated reports. Therefore, they complement and interact with the financial statements’ information. This paper used panel data consisting of 931 firm-years of SR issuers and 922 firm-years of IR issuers in Europe and Africa in the period from 2005 to 2019. Findings The results showed that SR had a higher value relevance than IR. However, when the authors interact the corporate reporting form with the accounting information, IR had value relevance because the information contained in the IR could reinforce the importance of the accounting information. Practical implications This study will support regulators in various countries to monitor the reporting practices of companies in those countries. The results of this study provide evidence that sustainability reports get a higher response than integrated reports. However, when interacted with the accounting variables, information in the IR is considered to be more relevant than that found in the SR. Therefore, it is hoped that the results of this study will help the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) in reviewing IR practices around the world so that the implementation of IR practices can be realized in accordance with the mission that the IIRC wants to achieve. Originality/value Research into the value relevance of SR and IR has been carried out by several previous researchers separately, but to the best of the author’s knowledge, there are no studies comparing the value relevance of the two.

The diffusion and adoption of integrated reporting: a cross-country analysis on the determinants

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Megawati Oktorina ◽  
Sylvia Veronica Siregar ◽  
Desi Adhariani ◽  
Aria Farah Mita
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Evidence ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovation ◽  
Disclosure Quality ◽  
Integrated Reporting ◽  
Diffusion Of Innovation Theory ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Corporate Reporting ◽  
Country Level ◽  
Reporting Framework ◽  
New Entrants

Purpose This study aims to provide empirical evidence on the determinants of voluntary integrated reporting (<IR>) disclosure quality. Design/methodology/approach The samples include companies from the Integrated Reporting Examples Database on the International Integrated Reporting Committee’s (IIRC) website, except South Africa and Brazil, where reporting is mandatory. The final sample includes 29 countries, with 148 companies and 592 observations for the study period 2014–2017. Content analysis is used to measure <IR> disclosure quality derived from the <IR> principles and elements published by IIRC (2013). The fraction regression probit model is used to test the proposed hypothesis. Findings This study provides empirical evidence that competition from new entrants and country-level accounting competence encourage companies to implement the International Integrated Reporting Framework (IIRF). Signaling theory and diffusion of innovation theory can be used to explain this association. Meanwhile, product market competition of existing rivals has been found to reduce the adoption of the <IR> framework, which is consistent with the proprietary cost theory. Finally, this study finds that company reputation does not affect voluntary <IR> disclosure quality. Research limitations/implications This study did not examine the barriers to entry to explain the effect of competition from new entrants as a possible determinant of <IR> disclosure quality. Furthermore, the inclusion of <IR> in the accounting curriculum of universities and certification bodies in certain countries has not been considered as a control variable. The results might also be limited to companies that voluntarily submitted into the Integrated Reporting Examples Database on the IIRC website. All these limitations provide ample avenues for future research. Practical implications This research provides implications for governments and standard setters to further sharpen the competence of accountants through memberships in professional accountancy organisations or through training and seminars related to <IR>. The results also suggest that universities should include the topic of <IR> in the accounting program curriculum to increase the understanding of prospective accountants about this reporting regime. The results also show differences on the impact of competition between new entrants and existing rivals on <IR> disclosure quality. This can be used by IIRC or other standard setters to predict the <IR adoption>. Originality/value This study uses the diffusion of innovation theory to explain the association between country-level accounting competence and <IR> disclosure quality. Few studies have researched this association. The results show that a country’s accounting competence increases the application of the IIRF in corporate reporting. <IR> has been considered an innovation in corporate reporting and can be implemented by the company if its professional accountants have enough knowledge of this reporting framework.

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