Materiality and Assurance: Building the Link

In 2013, the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) issued the Integrated Reporting (IR) Framework to improve corporate reporting. The purpose of IR is to integrate financial and non-financial information to explain how the organisation creates value and improves firm performance over time. Since the introduction of IR, a company weighs the benefits over the costs of changing to IR. Recent trends in IR have heightened the need to examine the actual contents of IR. The objective of this study was to find the relationship between preparing a high-quality IR and corporate reputation. Corporate reputation is one of the main objectives for the preparation of IR, and preparing a high-quality IR can positively impact corporate reputation. Data was collected from a sample of 120 companies from the IIRC websites for three years (360 firm-year observations) to examine the quality of following the 2013 Framework. An index was developed, and the corporate reputation score was collected from the RepTrak websites. The finding showed that companies preparing high-quality IR reports had a significant positive relationship with corporate reputation. Preparing a high-quality IR sends a signal to users of annual reports as a connotation of the company (good product or services, ethical management reporting), which will help build trust towards the company and improve its reputation. This study contributes by providing empirical evidence for a company, which is uncertain about the benefits of IR. The IR disclosure score can be used as a reference by IIRC and policymakers to prepare the IR. Keywords: integrated reporting, disclosure quality, corporate reputation

This study reviews the diffusion of integrated reporting (IR) research. The systematic literature review method is used to review the effects of IR at the organisational level, determinants of IR adoption and integrated report quality (IRQ), assurance on IR, economic consequences of IR/IRQ, and research design issues to set agendas for future research. The review covers 119 peer‐reviewed IR articles published in 36 journals between 2012 and 2021. It finds that the IR literature is dominated by organisational‐level studies, but there is limited research on the economic consequences of IR/IRQ, and the findings are inconclusive to date. Further, the factors that determine IR adoption/IRQ are not conclusive, and there is scarce research on IR assurance. This review contributes to the emerging IR literature and provides valuable insights to the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) in establishing the IR framework as a global reporting norm in practice.

The aim of this chapter is to provide a discussion of the business case of Enel, which is an International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) pilot program company currently evolving its corporate disclosure towards Integrated Reporting (IR). The relevance of pilot company business cases has been recognized by the IIRC, which defined their experience as “invaluable”. On the one hand, Enel did modify its corporate reporting system coherently with the IIRC guiding principles by including considerable non-financial information in its annual report, reducing the length of its sustainability report and improving its materiality determination process and business model analysis. On the other hand, it will be interesting to see how the company applies other aspects of the IIRC framework, such as the six-capital structure and the way in which reporting boundaries are defined. The analysis done in this chapter may be of interest to companies, standard setters and scholars wishing to enhance their knowledge on how companies are currently evolving their corporate disclosure systems towards IR.

This chapter explores how companies can elaborate a report that is capable of satisfying stakeholders’ “hunger” for information by integrating financial, environmental, social, and economic information together. The Integrated Report (IR) proposed by the International Integrated Reporting Council is based on more than just a method of reporting or a fashion fad. It presents a new way of looking at business operations that is no longer solely aimed at maximizing profits, which is a real, cultural change. The IR aims to communicate the financial and non-financial information that characterizes the sustainable value creation of an organization in a connected, clear and concise way. This chapter aims to demonstrate how the IR concept is stimulating the academic, institutional, and corporate world ten years after the birth of the IIRC. The research design provides information gathered from a time-series investigation over an eight-year period (2011–2018) straddling the <IR> Framework and the Directive 2014/95/EU to verify how IR as a corporate tool has spread through the countries of the EU. The investigation has taken into consideration all IR released from the companies present in the IIRC Examples database during the period considered. Samples are limited to only companies with legal head offices in the countries of the European Union.

PurposeThis paper aims to discuss the most critical aspects relative to the “usability” of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) Framework faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in releasing the integrated report and adapting the Integrated Reporting (IR) principles (i.e. materiality, integrated thinking and connectivity) to their needs and features. Only recently the relevance of IR for SMEs has been internationally acknowledged.Design/methodology/approachThe study is based on both a deductive and inductive approach. The first one is founded on a literature and technical review aimed at tracing the theoretical background and the framework on integrating reporting in SMEs. The second one is empirically constructed and follows the action research approach because it involves the analysis of a single case-study relative to a company – Costa Edutainment Spa that released its pioneering integrated report in 2014 – belonging to the Italian Network on Business Reporting, a working group which has been involved in the pivotal drafting process of a Guidance for IR in SMEs.FindingsResults emphasise the main criticalities faced by an SME in the IR process, namely, the need for the following: clearly defining the relationship between sustainability and integrated reporting; adapting the main IR concepts (such us materiality, integrated thinking and connectivity) and fully understanding the benefits deriving from the implementation of IR. Moreover, results shed light on the usefulness of a simplified and operative guidance for releasing the integrated report within SMEs the effectiveness deriving from the direct involvement in the NIBR working group and the provision of practical examples and suggestions.Research limitations/implicationsThe main limitations are due to the fact that the empirical analysis is related to a single case study, and it is explorative in nature. Consequently, results are not generalisable. However, the work contributes to nourish the debate on the benefits and critical issues relative to the diffusion of IR among SMEs in a research field which has not been adequately investigated and to develop reflections on the benefits of the diffusion of the IR among SMEs, pointing out the opportunity to follow an evolutionary path which drives the evolution of the entrepreneurial and organisational culture towards monitoring, assessing and reporting the company’s value process creation.Practical implicationsThe work contributes to triggering the debate on the diffusion of IR among SMEs which represents a research field that remains still under investigated. It points out a fundamental gap on how to implement IR in SMEs and operationalise the IIRC concepts and principles. It develops reflections on the critical issues and benefits of the diffusion of the IR among SMEs. Drawing from a pioneering experience, the work contributes to supporting entrepreneurs by emphasising the possible benefits deriving from the implementation of the IR process. It suggests an evolutionary path through different steps (starting from the business model definition) which are necessary to drive the entrepreneurial and organisational culture towards monitoring, assessing and reporting the SMEs’ value process creation.Originality/valueThe work contributes to devoting the attention of both scholars and practitioners to an underestimated research field – the “feasibility of IR in the SMEs context – which has not been yet adequately investigated. Moreover, being empirically based, it helps in supporting the diffusion of the IR framework among SMEs, practitioners and consultants by providing insights aimed to improve the IR Guidance for SMEs and sensitise entrepreneurs by emphasising that a possible step-by-step “IR journey” is possible.

Integrated reporting (IR) is a new communication tool that is gaining increasing attention among scholars, practitioners, and standard setters in both the private and public sectors. Therefore, it is important to discuss the suitability of the framework proposed by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). This paper offers some reflections based on case studies of public entities that differ in terms of legal structures, locations, and business models to demonstrate—despite legal and cultural requirements—that some common features exist. The primary aim is to discuss whether IR represents a new challenge for public sector organisations, specifically regarding their stakeholder engagement and their pursuit of greater accountability. In doing so, the selected case studies are examined through a theoretical framework based on the growing IR literature and specific objectives recognised by the <IR> Framework. The results that emerge from this study can be beneficial for both scholars and practitioners, enabling the identification of new paths towards improving reporting in public entities to achieve high stakeholder engagement and overcome the possible limitations of the IR model that has been proposed thus far. Key words: Integrated reporting, integrated reporting framework, stakeholder engagement, public sector entities, accountability, state-owned enterprises.

Purpose – Intellectual capital (IC) is fundamental to understanding how firms create value; however, current IC disclosure (ICD) has been described as inadequate due to the lack of an established IC framework and companies’ actual commitment to report IC information. The International Integrated Reporting Council aims to foster ICD by means of integrated reporting (IR); such a report should display how IC and other forms of capital (e.g. financial) contribute to value creation over time. Drawing on impression management (IM) studies, the purpose of this paper is to assess the quality of ICD offered in IR. Design/methodology/approach – A manual content analysis of all the reports available in the International Integrated Reporting Council web site is run considering both the content of ICD and specific linguistic attributes (evidence, time orientation and tone). In addition, the study tests the relationship between the positive ICD tone and specific characteristics that may incentive managers to manipulate their disclosure to determine whether firms use ICD to manage public perceptions of corporate behaviour. Findings – The results of the content analysis show that majority of ICD is focused on relational capital, with limited quantitative and forward-looking information. Additionally, compared to non-ICD, ICD is significantly more optimistic. Furthermore, the positive tone of ICD is significantly associated with declining performance, bigger size and higher level of intangibles supporting the use of ICD as an IM strategy. Originality/value – The research contributes to the literature offering evidence of the quality of the ICD offered in the IR and demonstrating that ICD offered in the IR is used by managers opportunistically to advance their image.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to evaluate the implementation of the integrated reporting (IR) framework in a group of Colombian enterprises.Design/methodology/approachThis is a multiple-case study in six enterprises that use the IR framework. The selected enterprises, all of which were located in either Bogota or Medellin, were Argos, EEB, EPM, ISA, Nutresa and Ocensa. The authors conducted individual interviews of reporters and performed a documentary analysis.FindingsThe few Colombian firms that use the IR framework all have ambitious expansion goals in the medium term. The main reason for the adoption of the IR framework in these firms is that it facilitates access to resources from new foreign investors.Research limitations/implicationsSince the framework was published recently, only a few Colombian firms follow it, and several of them do not apply all of its components. In the future, there will be more reports and a higher level of framework application.Practical implicationsIn the firms studied, the IR framework is an important tool to support the search strategies of new sources of financial capital.Social implicationsIf the use of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) framework were to diminish the application of the GRI, firms would be less likely to evaluate the impact of their activities on numerous stakeholders (other than shareholders).Originality/valueThis is the first Colombian study of IR to include both documentary analysis and personal interviews.

This chapter provides an overview of Intellectual Capital (IC) in practice and beyond. It focuses on the role of IC in organizations and between organizations, institutions and beyond. Arguably, IC is having a resurgence, because a new reporting framework Integrated Reporting (IR) makes use of IC as part of its six capitals framework International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). The chapter examines the path that critical IC research has followed from its conception until today and reflects on the possible future path for critical IC research. In order to extend the frontiers of IC research beyond 'what is' into stage three research investigating IC in practice from a critical and performative perspective, and stage few research influenced by critical social and environmental accounting, a number of future research avenues are explored within the New Zealand public sector. Given a general acceptance of IC, understanding how the public sector views IC will become increasingly important.

PurposeThe International Integrated Reporting Council claims that integrated reporting (IR) can enhance corporate accountability, yet critical and interpretative studies have contested this outcome. Insufficient empirical research details how preparers experience accountability while constructing IR; to fill this gap, the purpose of this paper is to analyse how the preparers’ mode of cognition influences the patterns of accountability associated with IR.Design/methodology/approachA functionalist approach to narratives helps elucidate the role that the IR preparers’ narrative mode of cognition plays on accountability towards stakeholders. The empirical analysis particularly benefits from in-depth interviews with the IR preparers of a global insurer that has used IR since 2013.FindingsThe preparers’ narrative mode of cognition facilitates dialogue with IR users. It addresses accountability tensions by revealing the company’s value creation process. Preparers’ efforts to establish a meaningful dialogue with a growing variety of stakeholders through broader and plainer messages reveals the potential of IR as a narrative source of a socializing form of accountability. However, financial stakeholders remain the primary addressees of the reports.Research limitations/implicationsThis paper focusses on preparers’ views; further research should integrate users’ accountability expectations.Originality/valueThis paper offers new insights for dealing with corporate reporting and accountability in a novel IR setting.

The Transparency of Environmental, Social and Governance Disclosures, Integrated Reporting, and the Accuracy of Analyst Forecasts

This study aims to understand the meaning created by Itaú Unibanco’s internal actors in the Integrated Reporting (IR) processes. An interpretative approach based on Karl Weick’s sensemaking perspective is adopted. A case study methodology was adopted for undertaking the empirical work. The results show that IR identity in the institution is related to three issues: synergy processes between sectors; integration for the production of other reports; and development of an integrated thinking chain for the entire business. We present perceptions on benefits and difficulties in the process of preparing the integrated report. Although the practices and processes established did not change the characteristics of the bank, the perspective of the social actors seems to have changed from a sectoral view to a multidimensional view. In addition, the conclusions suggest that it is not difficult to understand that separating ‘thinking’ from ‘doing’, attributing to the individual the role of mere operationalization is tantamount to ignore the meaning attributed to the organization’s journey towards the creation of a process, namely the IR one. The study’s contribution lies in pointing out that the IR process is directly related to the integrated thinking process. This could be the most significant differential of IR as a form of corporate communication as it amounts to a new reporting framework that proposes integrating social, environmental, and governance disclosures (non-financial information) with financial disclosures in a single report.

Integrated reporting (IR), which aims to overcome the limitations of both tradi-tional financial and stand-alone non-financial reports, has gained momentum as a single comprehensive tool merging financial and non-financial information. Initially conceived for private sector entities, IR is also establishing itself in the public sector context as a vehicle for transparency and accountability. This research offers an empirical investigation of IR practices in the State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) context. More specifically, the paper investigates the levels of disclosure provided through IR by a sample of 34 European SOEs and explores the effects of potential explanatory factors. The results indicate a fair level of IR disclosure and a trend of reporting information already requested under international accounting standards. The findings also highlight that industry (basic materials and financials) and size positively influence the level of IR disclosure in a particularly strong way, while governance features (board size and board gender diversity) and the provision of external assurance do not exert any impact.

In a world of constantly growing streams of information, extensive transparency in public and private environment as well as recent financial crises, it seems to be essential to enhance reporting to a higher, more sophisticated level that considers these changes. Especially, the worldwide financial crisis showed that a separated view on financial and non-financial reporting and an orientation on solely short-term information are no longer appropriate for many stakeholders. Integrated Reporting – representing a symbiosis of financial and non-financial information – might be a solution to satisfy the changing stakeholder needs. In order to establish this idea, the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) was initiated aiming to provide quantitative and qualitative guidance in form of a framework for organizations on how to conduct integrated reporting. One of the main questions that arises within this context is whether IR is “a one size fits all”-solution or if there is a substantial need for sector-specific requirements. Therefore, this article provides not only a theoretical background on the concept of IR but also shows some results of experiences examining reporting habits of several, cross-sectoral companies participating in the IIRC’s pilot programme. Additionally, general and sector-specific requirements as well as chances, challenges and a prospect of IR have to be considered. This article analyses if a general framework on IR is sufficient or if there is the necessity to work on sector-specific requirements.

The chapter analyzes the concept of value creation the International Integrated Reporting Council expresses in its Framework and its constructive components of stocks and flows of diverse capitals. The explanation and argumentation provided contribute to a deeper and clearer comprehension of the concept of Integrated Reporting (IR). Comparisons with value concepts, that have been developed in academic literature and by different institutions, such as Shareholder Value, Stakeholder Value, Shared Value and Public Value are made in order to show communalities and differences. Therefore, the chapter provides useful arguments and information to conceptually enhance the discussion about IR and its merits for society.