A more holistic approach to corporate reporting

Major business and social shifts in recent decades present challenges for corporate reporting:

• Reports are increasingly compliance-driven, longer and harder to use due to increasing business complexity and demands from regulators and investors for more information.
• Thirty years ago, around 20% of a company’s value was intangible, while now it’s around 80%. As financial statements are mainly based on tangible value, they no longer tell investors the full story.
• As companies engage more with stakeholders and consider social and environmental impacts, they produce more reports. But these often lack connection – between each other and between financial and non-financial data.

Bringing it all together

Integrated reporting offers a clearer, more connected way to communicate how an organisation creates value.

It helps report preparers explain their organisation’s strategy, governance and business model – and how these create long-term value. This gives investors the insights they need to make better capital allocation decisions. 

What is integrated reporting?

The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) was formed in 2010. Its  members include regulators, investors, companies, financial standard setters, NGOs and accounting professionals – including a CA ANZ representative.

In 2013, the IIRC launched the International Integrated Reporting Framework, which outlines the key concepts and principles of integrated reporting, and the elements that make up an integrated report.

In 2021, the IIRC merged with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) to form the Value Reporting Foundation, which was later consolidated into the IFRS Foundation. This move brought integrated reporting under the oversight of the IFRS Foundation, aligning it with global sustainability and financial reporting standards.

The IFRS Foundation now oversees the Integrated Reporting Framework through its International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), ensuring continued development and integration of financial and non-financial reporting.

Integrated reporting is voluntary in Australia and New Zealand.

Episode 9: ESG: The new space for impact

Host John Schol FCA, speaks to former CA ANZ president and Grant Thornton partner Darren Scammell FCA, along with Antz Rohan FCA, director at Fairground Limited, about the very real bottom-line benefits that flow from ESG and integrated reporting. They also outline how to go about it, and where the best place is to start.

Credits