THE INTEGRATED REPORTING FRAMEWORK ACROSS PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION: A THEMATIC REVIEW

Background and Purpose: The Integrated Reporting framework as emphasised by The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) in 2013 (revised 2021), was accepted as one of the mechanisms nationwide to enhance public accountability. However, far fewer studies examined the intersection of the Integrated Reporting (IR) framework and the public sector. Addressing the gap, reviews of the literature were presented synthesising the adoption of the IR framework across public administration. Methodology: By drawing upon SCOPUS, Science Direct and Mendeley databases were employed to generate academic literature beginning in 2011 through 2020. Following the inclusion and exclusion processes, 23 articles were selected and analysed by using ATLAS.ti 8. Findings: The findings of the review were discussed qualitatively and quantitatively. Particular discerning were the qualitative findings; the findings outlined insights into key developments on the IR framework across the following groups, namely, ‘Fundamental Concepts’, ‘Guiding Principles’, and ‘Content Elements’. Key aspects of challenges concerning the adoption of existing frameworks in public administration were discussed. Contributions: Future research might better consider developing a more appropriate IR framework for public administration, a framework that integrates policy and practice. By focusing on the academic literature emphasising the IR framework, academics, regulators, and reporting organisations could formulate appropriate strategies for public administration. Keywords: Framework, integrated reporting, public sector, thematic review. Cite as: Othman, M., Basnan, N., Ahmad, A., & Md Salleh, M. F. (2022). The integrated reporting framework across public administration: A thematic review. Journal of Nusantara Studies, 7(1), 410-440. http://dx.doi.org/10.24200/jonus.vol7iss1pp410-440

The ungreening of integrated reporting: a reflection on regulatory capture

Purpose The initial rationale for developing integrated reporting included addressing the failures of traditional reporting to address sustainability issues. Subsequently, the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) modified its stated objectives to emphasise integrated thinking and value creation. There has been debate on whether the IIRC’s process for developing its integrated reporting framework was subject to regulatory capture by the accounting profession (Flower, 2015; Adams, 2015; Thomson, 2015). This paper aims to provide additional evidence on the extent to which this regulatory capture occurred, with an update on current developments. Design/methodology/approach Data from interviews with key participants in the integrated reporting framework’s development and the IIRC’s Council and Working Group meeting minutes were analysed to identify to what extent the change in the IIRC’s focus can be explained by regulatory capture theory. Findings The findings show that the integrated reporting framework’s development was subject to regulatory capture by accountants. However, the extent of capture was mitigated to some extent by processes adopted in its development. This is consistent with regulatory capture theory. Originality/value This paper critically examines the debate on the extent to which the sustainability message has been lost as a result of regulatory capture. It provides an in-depth analysis of the IIRC’s treatment of sustainability which explores the application of regulatory capture theory and examines evidence not considered in previous studies.

Determining the content of corporate reporting on human rights

Business enterprises have to report their activities to stakeholders in order to provide corporate transparency. Non-financial corporate reports provide a comprehensive coverage of environmental, socio-economic, labor, health, and human rights issues. In the paper the author argues that a uniform definition of a sector-specific human rights issue in reporting frameworks, rather than self-identification by enterprises of salient human rights issues, would help to achieve standardization and thus the possibility of sanctions in the event of false or misleading reporting. The author analyzes existing international and regional non-financial reporting instruments regarding the human rights included in it. The main content issues of non-financial reporting are derived and given requirements to improve them. The author further analyzes whether the two main frameworks for human rights reporting (the GRI Standards and the UNGPs Reporting Framework) currently meet the requirements for content defined in the paper and, if not, how they can be changed.

Paediatric NHS 111 Clinical Assessment Services pilot: an observational study

ObjectiveTo determine the feasibility and impact of having paediatric clinicians working in the Clinical Assessment Services (CAS) within NHS 111, a national telephone advice service.DesignObservational study.SettingSix NHS 111 providers across England with CAS where volunteer paediatric clinicians (doctors and advanced nurse practitioners (ANPs)) worked between May and December 2020. A data reporting framework was used to compare the outcomes of calls taken by paediatric vs non-paediatric clinicians.PatientsUnder 16-year-olds prompting calls to NHS 111 over the study period.Main outcome measuresThe disposition (final outcome of calls) taken by paediatric versus non-paediatric clinicians, paediatric clinicians’ and patient experience.Results70 paediatric clinicians (66 doctors and 4 ANPs) worked flexible shifts in six NHS 111 providers’ CAS over the study period: 2535 calls for under 16-year-olds were taken by paediatric clinicians and 137 008 by non-paediatric clinicians. Overall, disposition rates differed significantly between the calls taken by paediatric versus (vs) non-paediatric clinicians: 69% vs 43% were advised on self-care only, 13% vs 18% to attend emergency departments (EDs), 13% vs 29% to attend primary care, 1% vs 4% to receive an urgent ambulance call out and 4% vs 6% referred to another health service, respectively. When compared with recent (all age) national whole data sets, the feedback from calls taken by paediatricians noted a greater proportion of patients/carers reporting that their problem was fully resolved (92% vs 27%).ConclusionsIntroducing paediatric specialists into NHS 111 CAS is likely to increase self-care dispositions, and reduce onward referrals to primary care, ED and ambulances. Future work will evaluate the impact of a national paediatric clinical assessment service to which specific case types are streamed.

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

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.

Quality of Information Disclosed in Integrated Reports, in the Extracting Sector: Insights from Europe

The study explores to what extent are extracting organizations from the European region, disclosing relevant information about social and environmental practices. To pursue the current exploratory study, a qualitative approach composed of two steps is performed. The first is a content analysis of 15 oil & gas and mining organizations integrated reports proposing a compliance exercise toward the International Integrated Reporting Framework. Then in the second one, the integrated reports of our sample are analyzed using MAXQDA, with the extent to which social and environmental references are positive, neutral, or negative. Thus, the present paper represents the first attempt in qualitative studies in Integrated Reporting with a specific focus on extracting sector. Our results demonstrate that the analyzed sample discloses more information related to the environment than social disclosure.

Integrated reporting: Much ado about nothing?

Integrated reporting, which helps companies to share their value creation pro-cesses with their stakeholders, has developed rapidly in recent years. Due to the increased attention paid to the International Integrated Reporting Framework is-sued by the International Integrated Reporting Council, the number of companies worldwide engaging in integrated reporting is continually rising, which is presuma-bly driven by the claimed benefits of this practice. Through recourse to legitimacy theory and management fashion theory, here we provide a preliminary assessment of the development of integrated reporting, alongside considering the potential in-fluence of academic research in its growth. We review the existing body of aca-demic literature on this topic, ultimately identifying 123 claims about the benefits of IR from 29 papers published in 15 journals between May 2011 and September 2016, before proceeding to analyse both the sources and the level of substantia-tion of these claims. Our findings suggest that only a few of the purported ad-vantages of integrated reporting are supported by actual empirical evidence, while most of the claims only cite a limited number of primary sources. Based on these results and our assessment of the development of the concept of IR, we propose a future research agenda.

Effectiveness of I’m Learning for achieving quality learning environments

From 2013 to 2017, Save the Children Norway tested the hypothesis that a global framework could be used to empower locally driven solutions within the education sector. It did so by galvanizing support and aligning stakeholders to common goals articulated through the Quality Learning Environment Framework but allowing each community context to determine its own path for achieving those goals. This article explores the effectiveness and impact of these projects across the three pilot countries of Cambodia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe as defined by the original project goals, outcomes, and objectives. Reflecting on both qualitative and quantitative data gathered throughout the life of the project, the article speaks to project impact and achievements as well as operational findings including commonalities and differences between the three pilot projects and keys to success. It outlines lessons learned across the programming sites and in doing so it explores the role of a large International Non-Governmental Organization as a catalyst for change. Finally, it discusses the rigorous research and reporting framework driven by funders and development agencies, the rigidity of which struggled to capture the emergent nature of locally driven solutions.

The adoption of integrated reporting by state-owned enterprises (SOEs) – an international comparison

Purpose This paper aims to establish the extent to which South African state-owned entities (SOEs), where integrated reporting is a quasi-mandatory reporting requirement, have incorporated the principles of the international integrated reporting framework. These identified South African SOE reporting practices are compared with the ‘integrated reporting’ related disclosures of SOEs in selected countries, where integrated reporting remains voluntary. Design/methodology/approach This paper deploys a qualitative research approach, to thematically analyse the content of publicly available annual or integrated reports of South Africa SOEs, as the primary country of analysis, with those of their counterparts in five purposively selected countries. The relative scores for the SOEs of each country is calculated using a disclosure index derived from the international integrated reporting framework principles. Findings The paper found that despite being a quasi-mandatory reporting requirement, not all South African SOEs complied with all the international integrated reporting framework principles. Accepting the assertion that integrated reporting enhances organisational transparency and accountability, the accountability disclosure practices of South African SOEs appear more comprehensive than their counterparts in other countries. Originality/value Extant research into integrated reporting has primarily focussed on the profit-seeking private sector, with limited research into its applicability in the public sector. This paper attempts to address this paucity by examining aspects of integrated reporting by South African SOEs, which are then compared to accountability reporting practices in other countries.

Estimating CO₂ Emissions for 108,000 European Cities

City-level CO2 emissions inventories are foundational for supporting the EU’s decarbonization goals. Inventories are essential for priority setting and for estimating impacts from the decarbonization transition. Here we present a new CO2 emissions inventory for 116,572 municipal and local government units in Europe. The inventory spatially disaggregates the national reported emissions, using 9 spatialization methods to distribute the 167 line items detailed in the UN's Common Reporting Framework. The novel contribution of this model is that results are provided per administrative jurisdiction at multiple administrative levels using a new spatialization approach. All data from this study is available along with an interactive map of results at https://openghgmap.net