Erschienen in:

31.08.2018 | Originalbeitrag / Original article

What’s wrong with integrated reporting? A systematic review

verfasst von: Josua Oll, Sabrina Rommerskirchen

Erschienen in: Sustainability Nexus Forum | Ausgabe 1-4/2018

Einloggen

Aktivieren Sie unsere intelligente Suche, um passende Fachinhalte oder Patente zu finden.

search-config

KI-gestützte Suche

Aus

Abstract

Integrated reporting, the latest attempt to overcome the shortcomings of financial and sustainability reporting, has fast emerged as a new accounting practice. Recently, however, the integrated reporting movement has lost some of its momentum and is increasingly the subject of heated debate and controversy. In the related academic discourse, numerous scholars have started to question and challenge this new reporting trend from diverse angles. Against this backdrop, the present article reviews the current state of the academic literature to identify the major lines of criticism. Our findings show that the central critique relates to the fundamental concepts and guiding principles of the integrated reporting framework as well as to the International Integrated Reporting Council itself. By carving out the pivotal problem areas of integrated reporting, we identify critical issues that likely need to be addressed before integrated reporting can be expected to stand the test of time. We further identify three priority areas of criticism and discuss the attribution of responsibilities as well as approaches that offer potential solutions within these areas. Practitioners are invited to build upon our findings as potential intervention points for promoting the future acceptance and dissemination of integrated reports.

Vorheriger Artikel Mandatory CSR reporting—literature review and future developments in Germany

Nächster Artikel Overcoming current practical challenges in sustainability and integrated reporting: insights from a Swiss field study

Sie haben noch keine Lizenz? Dann Informieren Sie sich jetzt über unsere Produkte:

Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Wirtschaft+Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 102.000 Bücher
über 537 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Finance + Banking
Management + Führung
Marketing + Vertrieb
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe
Versicherung + Risiko

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

Jetzt informieren

Springer Professional "Technik"

Online-Abonnement

Mit Springer Professional "Technik" erhalten Sie Zugriff auf:

über 67.000 Bücher
über 390 Zeitschriften

aus folgenden Fachgebieten:

Automobil + Motoren
Bauwesen + Immobilien
Business IT + Informatik
Elektrotechnik + Elektronik
Energie + Nachhaltigkeit
Maschinenbau + Werkstoffe

Jetzt Wissensvorsprung sichern!

Jetzt informieren

According to the KPMG Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting 2017 (KPMG 2017), about one-third of companies label their reports as integrated without specific reference to the IIRC framework. However, and for the sake of clarity, this article uses the terms integrated reporting and integrated report(s) in the following chapters exclusively to refer to those reports that comply with the IIRC reporting framework. The abbreviation G250 captures “the world’s 250 largest companies by revenue based on the Fortune 500 ranking of 2016,” whereas N100 “refers to a worldwide sample of 4900 companies comprising the top 100 companies by revenue in each of the 49 countries researched” in the study (KPMG 2017, p. 3).

The term impression management is generally defined as “the process by which individuals attempt to control the impressions others form of them” (Leary and Kowalski 1990, p. 34). In the specific context of corporate reporting practice, impression management refers to “the tendency for the organization to use data selectively and present them in a favourable light to manipulate audience perceptions of corporate achievements” (Melloni 2015, p. 665).

We fully acknowledge that the identified points of criticism are not necessarily unique to IR. For instance, the principle of reliability has also been subject to criticism and controversial debate within the context of sustainability (Boiral and Henri 2017) and financial reporting (Zhang 2012). In contrast to these reporting approaches, however, IR is far from being a mainstream reporting practice. We therefore argue that all identified points of criticism deserve attention within the IR movement, although some issues are applicable to reporting frameworks in general.

All 37 articles included in our review are marked with an asterisk (*).

Adams C (2017) Understanding integrated reporting: The concise guide to integrated thinking and the future of corporate reporting. Routledge, New YorkCrossRef

* Alexander D, Blum V (2016) Ecological economics: A Luhmannian analysis of integrated reporting. Ecol Econ 129:241–251CrossRef

Atkins J, Atkins BC, Thomson I, Maroun W (2015) “Good” news from nowhere: Imagining utopian sustainable accounting. Account Auditing Account J 28:651–670CrossRef

Baboukardos D, Rimmel G (2016) Value relevance of accounting information under an integrated reporting approach: A research note. J Account Public Policy 35(4):437–452. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2016.04.004 CrossRef

* Beck C, Dumay J, Frost G (2017) In pursuit of a ‘single source of truth’: From threatened legitimacy to integrated reporting. J Bus Ethics 141:191–205CrossRef

Boiral O, Henri JF (2017) Is sustainability performance comparable? A study of GRI reports of mining organizations. Bus Soc 56:283–317CrossRef

* Bommel K van (2014) Towards a legitimate compromise? An exploration of integrated reporting in the Netherlands. Account Auditing Account J 27:1157–1189CrossRef

* Brown J, Dillard J (2014) Integrated reporting: On the need for broadening out and opening up. Account Auditing Account J 27:1120–1156CrossRef

* Burke JJ, Clark CE (2016) The business case for integrated reporting: Insights from leading practitioners, regulators, and academics. Bus Horiz 59:273–228CrossRef

* Chaidali P, Jones MJ (2017) It’s a matter of trust: Exploring the perceptions of integrated reporting preparers. Crit Perspect Account 48:1–20CrossRef

* Cheng M, Green W, Conradie P, Konishi N, Romi A (2014) The international integrated reporting framework: Key issues and future research opportunities. J Int Financ Manag Account 25(1):90–119. https://doi.org/10.1111/jifm.12015 CrossRef

Cohen JR, Holder-Webb LL, Nath L, Wood D (2012) Corporate reporting on nonfinancial leading indicators of economic performance and sustainability. Account Horiz 26(1):65–90. https://doi.org/10.2308/acch-50073 CrossRef

* Coulson AB, Adams CA, Nugent MN, Haynes K (2015) Exploring metaphors of capitals and the framing of multiple capitals. Sustain Account Manag Policy J 6:290–314CrossRef

Dumay J, Bernardi C, Guthrie J, Demartini P (2016) Integrated reporting: A structured literature review. Account Forum 40:166–185CrossRef

Eccles R, Armbrester K (2011) Integrated reporting in the cloud. IESE Insight 8:13–20CrossRef

Fasan M, Mio C (2017) Fostering stakeholder engagement: The role of materiality disclosure in integrated reporting. Bus Strategy Environ 26:288–305CrossRef

* Feng T, Cummings L, Tweedie D (2017) Exploring integrated thinking in integrated reporting—an exploratory study in Australia. J Intellect Cap 18:330–353CrossRef

Fink A (2014) Conducting research literature reviews. From the Internet to paper, 4th edn. SAGE, Thousand Oaks

* Flower J (2015) The international integrated reporting council: A story of failure. Crit Perspect Account 27:1–17CrossRef

* Gunarathne N, Senaratne S (2017) Diffusion of integrated reporting in an emerging South Asian (SAARC) nation. Manag Auditing J 32:524–548CrossRef

Günther E, Herrmann J, Lange A (2017) Hemmnisse der integrierten Berichterstattung: Warum entscheiden sich Unternehmen gegen die Umsetzung? Z Corp Gov 17:97–144

Hahn R, Kühnen M (2013) Determinants of sustainability reporting: A review of results, trends, theory, and opportunities in an expanding field of research. J Clean Prod 59:5–21CrossRef

Hahn R, Reimsbach D, Schiemann F (2015) Organizations, climate change, and transparency: Reviewing the literature on carbon disclosure. Organ Environ 28:80–102CrossRef

* Haji AA, Anifowose M (2016) The trend of integrated reporting practice in South Africa: Ceremonial or substantive? Sustain Account Manag Policy J 7:190–224CrossRef

* Haji AA, Anifowose M (2017) Initial trends in corporate disclosures following the introduction of integrated reporting practice in South Africa. J Intellect Cap 18:373–399CrossRef

* Haji AA, Hossain DM (2016) Exploring the implications of integrated reporting on organisational reporting practice. Qual Res Account Manage 13(4):415–444. https://doi.org/10.1108/qram-07-2015-0065 CrossRef

Higgins C, Stubbs W, Love T (2014) Walking the talk(s): Organisational narratives of integrated reporting. Account Auditing Account J 27:1090–1119CrossRef

* Humphrey C, O’Dwyer B, Unerman J (2017) Re-theorizing the configuration of organizational fields: The IIRC and the pursuit of ‘enlightened’ corporate reporting. Account Bus Res 47:30–63CrossRef

IIRC (2011) Towards integrated reporting: Communicating value in the 21st century. http://integratedreporting.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/IR-Discussion-Paper-2011_spreads.pdf. Accessed 18 Nov 2017

IIRC (2013) The international 〈IR〉 framework. http://www.integratedreporting.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/13-12-08-THE-INTERNATIONAL-IR-FRAMEWORK-2-1.pdf. Accessed 18 Nov 2017

IIRC (2015a) Constitution of the international integrated reporting council. http://integratedreporting.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/IIRC-CONSTITUTION-2015-SEPTEMBER.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2018

IIRC (2015b) Assurance on 〈IR〉: Overview of feedback and call to action. http://integratedreporting.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/IIRC-Assurance-Overview-July-2015.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2018

IIRC (2018) Assurance on 〈IR〉http://integratedreporting.org/resource/assurance/. Accessed 15 May 2018

IIRC, IFAC (2015) Materiality in 〈IR〉: Guidance for the preparation of integrated reports. http://integratedreporting.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/1315_MaterialityinIR_Doc_4a_Interactive.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2018

* James ML (2015) Accounting majors’ perceptions of the advantages and disadvantages of sustainability and integrated reporting. J Legal Ethical Regul Issues 18:107–123

Kirca AH, Yaprac A (2010) The use of meta-analysis in international business research: Its current status and suggestions for better practice. Int Bus Rev 19:306–314CrossRef

KPMG (2017) The road ahead. The KPMG survey of corporate responsibility reporting 2017. http://integratedreporting.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/kpmg-survey-of-corporate-responsibility-reporting-2017.pdf. Accessed 15 May 2018

Leary MR, Kowalski RM (1990) Impression management: A literature review and two-component model. Psychol Bull 107:34–47CrossRef

* Lueg K, Lueg R, Andersen K, Dancianu V (2016) Integrated reporting with CSR practices: A pragmatic constructivist case study in a Danish cultural setting. Corp Commun Int J 21:20–35CrossRef

* Maniora J (2017) Is integrated reporting really the superior mechanism for the integration of ethics into the core business model? An empirical analysis. J Bus Ethics 140:755–786CrossRef

* Maroun W (2017) Assuring the integrated report: Insights and recommendations from auditors and preparers. Br Account Rev 49:329–346CrossRef

* Melloni G (2015) Intellectual capital disclosure in integrated reporting: An impression management analysis. J Intellect Cap 16:661–680CrossRef

* Melloni G, Stacchezzini R, Lai A (2016) The tone of business model disclosure: An impression management analysis of the integrated reports. J Manage Gov 20(2):295–320. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10997-015-9319-z CrossRef

* Melloni G, Caglio A, Perego P (2017) Saying more with less? Disclosure conciseness, completeness and balance in integrated reports. J Account Public Policy 36(3):220–238. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jaccpubpol.2017.03.001 CrossRef

Narvaez-Berthelemot N, Russell J (2001) World distribution of social science journals: A view from the periphery. Scientometrics 51:223–239CrossRef

Owen G (2013) Integrated reporting: A review of developments and their implications for the accounting curriculum. Account Educ 22:340–356CrossRef

* Perego P, Kennedy S, Whiteman G (2016) A lot of icing but little cake? Taking integrated reporting forward. J Clean Prod 136:53–64CrossRef

Phillips D, Watson L, Willis M (2011) Benefits of comprehensive integrated reporting. Financ Exec 27:26–30

PwC (2016) Integrated reporting in Germany. The DAX 30 benchmark survey 2015. https://www.pwc.de/de/rechnungslegung/assets/studie-integrated-reporting-2015.pdf. Accessed 18 Nov 2017

* Rensburg R, Botha E (2014) Is integrated reporting the silver bullet of financial communication? A stakeholder perspective from South Africa. Public Relat Rev 40:144–152CrossRef

* Reuter M, Messner M (2015) Lobbying on the integrated reporting framework: An analysis of comment letters to the 2011 discussion paper of the IIRC. Account Auditing Account J 28:365–402CrossRef

* Robertson FA, Samy M (2015) Factors affecting the diffusion of integrated reporting—a UK FTSE 100 perspective. Sustain Account Manag Policy J 6(2):190–223. https://doi.org/10.1108/sampj-07-2014-0044 CrossRef

Rousseau DM, Manning J, Denyer D (2008) Evidence in management and organizational science: Assembling the field’s full weight of scientific knowledge through reflective reviews. Acad Manag Ann 2:475–515CrossRef

* Searcy C, Buslovich R (2014) Corporate perspectives on the development and use of sustainability reports. J Bus Ethics 121:149–169CrossRef

* Setia N, Abhayawansa S, Joshi M, Huynh AV (2015) Integrated reporting in South Africa: Some initial evidence. Sustain Account Manag Policy J 6:397–424CrossRef

Seuring S, Gold S (2012) Conducting content-analysis based literature reviews in supply chain management. J Supply Chain Manag 17:544–555CrossRef

* Simnett R, Huggins AL (2015) Integrated reporting and assurance: Where can research add value? Sustain Account Manag Policy J 6:29–53CrossRef

Spina G, Caniato F, Luzzini D, Ronchi S (2013) Past, present and future trends of purchasing and supply management: An extensive literature review. Ind Mark Manag 42:1202–1212CrossRef

* Stacchezzini R, Melloni G, Lai A (2016) Sustainability management and reporting: The role of integrated reporting for communicating corporate sustainability management. J Clean Prod 136:102–110CrossRef

Stechemesser K, Guenther E (2012) Carbon accounting: A systematic literature review. J Clean Prod 36:17–38CrossRef

* Steyn M (2014) Organisational benefits and implementation challenges of mandatory integrated reporting: Perspectives of senior executives at South African listed companies. Sustain Account Manag Policy J 5:476–503CrossRef

* Strong PT (2015) Is integrated reporting a matter of public concern? J Corp Citizensh 60:81–100. https://doi.org/10.9774/gleaf.4700.2015.de.00008 CrossRef

* Stubbs W, Higgins C (2014) Integrated reporting and internal mechanisms of change. Account Auditing Account J 27:1068–1089CrossRef

* Thomson I (2015) ‘But does sustainability need capitalism or an integrated report’: A commentary on ‘The International Integrated Reporting Council: A story of failure’ by Flower, J. Crit Perspect Account 27:18–22. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cpa.2014.07.003 CrossRef

Tranfield D, Denyer D, Smart P (2003) Towards a methodology for developing evidence-informed management knowledge by means of systematic review. Br J Manag 14(3):207–222. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.00375 CrossRef

* Veltri S, Silvestri A (2015) The Free State University integrated reporting: A critical consideration. J Intellect Cap 16:443–462CrossRef

* Vorster S, Marais C (2014) Corporate governance, integrated reporting, and stakeholder management: A case study of Eskom. Afr J Bus Ethics 8:31–57

* Zappettini F, Unerman J (2016) ‘Mixing’ and ‘Bending’: The recontextualisation of discourses of sustainability in integrated reporting. Discourse Commun 10(5):521–542. https://doi.org/10.1177/1750481316659175 CrossRef

Zhang XJ (2012) Information relevance, reliability and disclosure. Rev Account Stud 17(1):189–226. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11142-011-9170-7 CrossRef

Zhou S, Simnett R, Green W (2017) Does integrated reporting matter to the capital market? Abacus 53:94–132CrossRef

Titel: What’s wrong with integrated reporting? A systematic review
verfasst von: Josua Oll
Sabrina Rommerskirchen
Publikationsdatum: 31.08.2018
Verlag: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Erschienen in: Sustainability Nexus Forum / Ausgabe 1-4/2018
Print ISSN: 2948-1619
Elektronische ISSN: 2948-1627
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00550-018-0475-x

Die Gemeinwohl-Bilanz – Ein Instrument zur Bindung und Gewinnung von Mitarbeitenden und Kund*innen in kleinen und mittleren Unternehmen?

Originalbeitrag / Original article

Between mandatory and voluntary: non-financial reporting by German companies

Open Access
Originalbeitrag / Original article

In search of materiality for nonfinancial information—reporting requirements of the Directive 2014/95/EU

Open Access
Originalbeitrag / Original article

Von Skeptikern, Sympathisanten und Zuschauern: Stakeholder-Typen und ihre Erwartungen an die Nachhaltigkeitsberichterstattung

Originalbeitrag / Original article

Corporate social responsibility reporting

Editorial

Impact measurement and the concept of materiality—new requirements and approaches for materiality assessments

Originalbeitrag / Original article