This paper reports on an exploratory study of the preferences of users of non-financial reporting for regulatory or voluntary approaches to integrated reporting (IR). While it is well known that ...companies prefer voluntary approaches to non-financial reporting, considerably less is known about the preferences of the users of nonfinancial information. IR is the latest development in attempts over 30 or more years to broaden organisational non-financial reporting and accountability to include the wider social and environmental impacts of business. It promises to provide a more cohesive and efficient approach to corporate reporting by bringing together financial information, operational data and sustainability information to focus only on material issues that impact an organisation's ability to create value in the short, medium and long term. The study found more support for voluntary approaches to IR as the majority of participants thought that it was too early for regulatory reform. They suggested that IR will become the reporting norm over time if left to market forces as more and more companies adopt the IR practice. Over time IR will be perceived as a legitimate practice, where the actions of integrated reporters are seen as desirable, proper, or appropriate. While there is little appetite for regulatory reform, half of the investors support mandatory IR because, in their experience, voluntary sustainability reporting has not led to more substantive disclosures or increased the quality of reporting. There is also evidence that IR privileges financial value creation over stewardship, inhibiting IR from moving beyond a weak sustainability paradigm.
If businesses and other organizations are to meet the many and complex challenges of sustainable development, then they all, both public and private, need to embed sustainability considerations into ...their decision-making and reporting. However, the translation of this aspiration into effective action is often inhibited by the lack of systems and procedures that take sustainability into account.
Accounting for Sustainability: Practical Insights will help organizations to address these issues. The book sets out a number of tools and approaches that have been developed and applied by leading organizations to:
embed sustainability into decision-making, extending beyond an organization's boundaries to take into account suppliers, customers and other stakeholders;
measure and link sustainability and financial performance;
integrate sustainability into 'mainstream' reporting, both to management and external stakeholders.
In-depth cases studies from Aviva, BT, the Environment Agency, EDF Energy, HSBC, Novo Nordisk, Sainsbury's and West Sussex County Council show in detail how accounting for sustainability works in practice in a wide range of organizational contexts.
Published with The Prince's Charities: Accounting for Sustainability
We investigate how non-financial reporting (NFR) is defined and has expanded in recent years. First, we explore the heterogeneity in definitions and current NFR practices. We find a lack of ...convergence between regulators and standard-setters, as well as leading sustainable firms. Second, we examine the changes in the extent and type of NFR reported by firms over the period 2006-2016. Based on a sample of firms in South Africa, we document a significant increase in the amount of NFR, particularly between 2006 and 2011. This change appears to be driven by new environmental, human capital, performance and strategic disclosures. The relative importance of financial information in corporate reporting decreased substantially over the same period. Third, we compare reporting practices for corporate social responsibility (CSR)/sustainability information between constituents of the S&P 500 index and the EuroStoxx 600 index. We find that overall, the percentage of firms issuing CSR/sustainability reports increased dramatically between 2002 and 2015. Constituents of the U.S. stock index and growth firms are less likely to report CSR/sustainability information, whereas firms in the European stock index in environmentally sensitive industries, with high capital intensity and good CSR performance, larger and with better financial performance, are more likely to report CSR/sustainability information.
The present study’s main objective is to assess the impact of non-financial sustainability reporting (NFSR) on corporate reputation and the role of the CEO in the opportunistic behavior of companies ...listed on the Tehran Stock Exchange. In total, 178 firms were assessed for this paper during 2013–2020. In this study for calculating the NFSR, environmental sustainability reporting (ESR), social sustainability reporting (SSR), governance sustainability reporting (GSR) and ethical sustainability reporting (ETSR), Arianpoor and Salehi’s comprehensive and conceptual model has been used. In addition, the literature states that a CEO’s power can be classified as an opportunity for discretion and opportunistic behavior in CEOs that is in contrast with stakeholder demands. To this end, in this study, CEOs’ power has been used as an indicator for the CEO’s opportunistic behavior, and the CEO pay slice (CPS) index was used to calculate the CEO’s level of power. The results revealed that NFSR affects corporate reputation positively. In addition, ESR, SSR, ETSR and GSR positively affect corporate reputation. Moreover, the CEO’s power affects the relationship between NFSR/ESR/SSR/ETSR and corporate reputation. Because managers desire to engage in social and ethical activities, they try to hide the company’s errors and increase its reputation. The results revealed that the CEO’s power did not affect the relationship between GSR and corporate reputation. Since companies in the Tehran Stock Exchange are under intensive supervision, such as in governance, the impact of a CEO’s power and the interaction of a CEO’s power and GSR on company reputation in this study might, thus, not apply to these companies. It is crucial to investigate NFSR, corporate reputation and CEO power within Iran-specific conditions because of differences in emerging markets and developing countries such as Iran, which have diverse ownership structures, economic status, legal systems, government policies, and culture.
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 () 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 as espoused by the IIRC in the ( IIRC, 2013 ). The authors specifically focus on possible barriers and emphasise the specific issues the authors feel could be rectified to advance the , 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 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 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 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 policy and practice. Research limitations/implications The paper provides the IIRC, academics, regulators and reporting organisations with insights into current practice and the . 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 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.
Research on non-financial reporting (NFR) practices has grown considerably over the last decade, interweaving with several other fields of study, including business ethics, financial accounting and ...strategic management. NFR is a comprehensive term that includes several forms of reporting, such as CSR reporting, integrated reporting (IR), SDG reporting, GRI reporting, and GHG reporting, among others. The lack of a common standard in NFR has generated discrepancies in NFR managerial practices around the globe. As a result, this study aims to summarise the various NFR practices and the evolution of NFR research by providing a review based on the most influential articles published between 2012 and 2020. We used bibliometric analysis to identify eight research areas: the content of non-financial reports, the IR framework, the relation of NFR with firm-level variables, the relationship between NFR and corporate governance, the theories behind NFR, NFR assurance, the relationship between institutional context and NFR, and environmental reporting. We propose a summary of the literature, together with the best managerial practices that have emerged in recent years. The present study also offers methodological best practices for conducting literature reviews grounded on bibliometric analysis (applying the visualisation of similarities – VOS – method) through a ten-step process, which guarantees the reproducibility of the study by applying quality assurance protocols from medical fields, such as PRISMA and AMSTAR 2.
This study highlights the influence of sustainability reporting on investor sentiments in the China Stock Exchange. The study starts by utilizing an Ordinary Least Squares regression model to test ...the hypotheses. Advanced econometric techniques are then applied to identify the existence of heteroskedasticity. To address potential endogeneity concerns, the analysis incorporates fixed-effect, two-stage least squares, and two-step generalized method of moments regression models. Findings suggest that sustainability reporting has a positive influence on investor sentiments. Conversely, environmental, social, and governance sustainability reporting also positively associations with investor sentiment in fixed-effect, two-stage least squares, and two-step generalized method of moments results. The findings suggest that companies prioritizing transparent and responsible practices enhance their market standing and contribute significantly to sustainable and ethical investing. The research indicates the importance of context-specific sustainability reporting. It provides insights into sustainability's impact on investor sentiments, promoting responsible practices for a sustainable global economy.
PDF
