(a) Your text discusses the International Integrated Reporting Framework.
(b) According to Gleeson-White (2014, p.216), “When I first considered the six capitals model, it seemed to offer a way to argue for the value of employees (or the other living capitals) and against their dismissal in times of economic downturn, because they comprised essential company value, a human capital stock. But the more I questioned the advocates of integrated reporting [emphasis added] about the benefits it offered the capitals other than financial capital, the more it appeared that financial capital remained the ultimate concern of this integrated way of thinking. Early examples such as Coca-Cola Hellenic’s integrated report, with its dismissal of 1356 people in favour of cost reduction, suggests that for the moment integrated reporting does not change the rule of financial capital over the other capitals”.
1. Evaluate the integrated reports produced by two Australian companies and two other companies of your choice.
2. In your view, does Integrated Reporting provide assurance to all stakeholders in terms of an organisation’s strategies, governance, performance and prospects according to the IR framework?
Integrated Reporting (IR), is a method of communicating to different stakeholders and the common public in general about the value creation of the company over time and it reflects the governance, strategy, prospects and the performance of the company over a period of time. IR is an important medium by which the company is able to represent the relevant information of the company and at the same time the different financial information to the company. It reflects the value creation of the company over a period. In the given essay, the integrated reports of the different company are presented and analyzed whether they truly reflects the true meaning of the integrated reporting. The IR of four companies are analyzed, and two companies are taken from the Australia and other two are non-Australian companies that have operations in this country.
On analysis of the New Zealand and Australian Bank (NAB), it was found that the company is working on the area of cutting off the emissions of the carbon through its various activities and has certifications regarding the climate change actions. They assure the stakeholders, the related parties concerned about their activities of theirs, and they are working on the different activities to meet the climate change challenges. The IR of the company presents the quantum of the reduction made by the company regarding the cutting of the green house gases and the increase in the efficiency of the resources (Hughen et al., 2014).
On analysis of the Integrated Reporting, it can be concluded that this company has a long-term vision and they are not restricted only to the short-term views or the profitability of the concern. At the same time, this company spends a lot of their resources as well as time in making the sustainability concerns. They spare a thought on the ecological benefits of the company and try to implement the same in the activities of the company. Although, they are involved in the financial services sectors they are actively involved in the different ecological benefits and concerns. The Reporting provides a snapshot of the different governance policies, strategies and the policies of the company, but it does not provides deep clarity about the prospects of the company regarding the IR. Some more insights should have been given in the IR, to provide clarity about the prospects of the company (García-Sánchez et al., 2013).
The second company whose IR was analyzed was of Pilot Energy Limited. It is a well renowned company in the energy division and this company is based in Australia. They have undertaken IIRC Pilot Program for looking into the matters of the integrated reporting and the sustainability. The company throughout the world in which they have operations applies the business framework that this company undertakes (James, 2013). The communication policies of this company are very clear and they target recognizing the value that is provided through clear communications.
On the other hand, this company has separate divisions for different divisions, namely the corporate governance, communication policy, disclosure policy and many other such disclosures policies. They contribute equally to the development of the local communities along with the ethical contribution to the society in general. The recycling of the materials are done by this company so that there is minimum bad impact of the company on the environment (Flower 2015). All the factors contribute to the effective management of the company and at the same time the shareholders have proper information regarding the same. Market disclosure policies are made in a manner in such a way that timely information are available to the concerned stakeholders and they are passed on the appropriate channels. There are different others policies of the company and they highlights the strategies and planning of the company. This company has a reporting, which focuses more on the actions of the company rather than the views of the concern. Different disclosure policies are made in the reporting, which helps the reader in getting an idea of the strategies and the governance of the company. On the other hand, the prospects and the performance of the company is difficult to decipher out of the given reporting and the reporting is not does not have complete information regarding all the functioning of the company. Few of the acts have clarity, while most of them do not have a proper outlining, which makes the IR tad confusing.
Next company whose Integrated Reporting was analyzed is Price Waterhouse Coopers. This company is a renowned company the field of consulting and ii belongs to the Big four accounting firms of the world. The IR data provided by this company suggests that there is a scorecard, which measures the sustainability of the company and the different commitments of the company that they are entitled to receive. This company has different parameters to measure the activities of the company and they have to oblige to the set benchmark and act accordingly. They set the platform of measuring their performances in many parameters (www.pwc.com., 2016).
On further investigation of the reporting of the company, it can be seen that supply chain, environment sustainability, quality of the content and the ethical matters surrounding the performance of the company is viewed here. Carbon emissions, involvement of the community, diversity in the workplaces and other matters are involved in the reporting of the company. There is clarity in the overall presentation of the reports and the most important part of the report is the setting of the benchmarks in which the performance of the company is measured. The performance of the company will be guided by the vision, goals and the strategies of the concerns (Eccles & Krzus, 2014). From the report, it is difficult to make out the performances of the company but it is understood that their actions will be guided by the goals and strategies that they have. It will not be very much difficult for the users of this report to make out useful information and use them as per their needs.
The last company that is analyzed is KPMG. This company is another leading consulting firm and comes under the big four consulting firms of the world. This company operates globally and has a huge client base across the world. There are different committees active in this company and different issues relating to the company are discussed in those committees. The review of the committee is an important factor in determining the different criteria of the company (www.kpmg.com. 2016).
There is a strong measurement tool for assessing the risk as well as the quality issues of the company and this helps the company to review their actions and make changes accordingly. The IR of this company will help in determining the different strategies, policies, actions and the performances of the company, thus assuring the stakeholders in the performance of the company (Churet & Eccles, 2014). Moreover, this company has a strong brand positioning in market, thus making the performance of the company even more credible to the different stakeholders. Overall, the reporting of the company is satisfactory and information that is even more relevant are reflected through the reporting.
Integrated Reporting framework provides guidelines to the companies as to what the companies must disclose in the reporting standards to meet the regulatory requirements and at the same time, make aware of the different activities of the companies to the stakeholders as well as to the regulatory bodies. After analysis of the different IR of the companies and the framework, it is clear that this reporting gives an idea to the public about the activities, strategies and the vision of the company. On the other hand, it is difficult for the users to decipher the prospects of the company.
It is possible for the users to make out the strategies, visions, governance and the performance of the company. On the other hand, the prospects of the company are not always reflected from the IR reporting of the companies. The prospects of the company cannot be determined simply by looking at the IR standards of the company. Different other things needs to be analyzed by the users, like the competition in the markets, sectors in which the company is operating and different other parameters. Only the prospects of the company cannot be determined by the IR disclosures of the company, and the rest portions can be determined by the disclosures of the company.
Conclusion
The integrated reports of four companies are analyzed and the four companies included PwC, KPMG, NAB and Pilot Energy Limited. Pilot Energy and NAB are from Australia and rest of the companies is from outside Australia. The reporting are analyzed and they are rated on the basis of few of the parameters like the assurance to shareholders, the strategies of the company, corporate governance and the prospects of the company regarding the IR framework. NAB, PwC and KPMG have a strong reporting of the IR, and they present a wholesome view of all the parameters. Pilot Energy Limited does not have a strong IR disclosures and the going through the IR reporting cannot do the performance analysis. Few of the factors are satisfied in the case of Pilot Energy and they need to do a lot of work in improving the IR reporting of the company.
Reference
Churet, C., & Eccles, R. G. (2014). Integrated reporting, quality of management, and financial performance. Journal of Applied Corporate Finance, 26(1), 56-64.
de Villiers, C., Rinaldi, L., & Unerman, J. (2014). Integrated Reporting: Insights, gaps and an agenda for future research. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 27(7), 1042-1067.
Eccles, R. G., & Krzus, M. P. (2014). The integrated reporting movement: Meaning, momentum, motives, and materiality. John Wiley & Sons.
Flower, J. (2015). The international integrated reporting council: a story of failure. Critical Perspectives on Accounting, 27, 1-17.
Frías-Aceituno, J. V., Rodríguez-Ariza, L., & García-Sánchez, I. M. (2013). Is integrated reporting determined by a country’s legal system? An exploratory study. Journal of cleaner production, 44, 45-55.
García-Sánchez, I. M., Rodríguez-Ariza, L., & Frías-Aceituno, J. V. (2013). The cultural system and integrated reporting. International Business Review,22(5), 828-838.
Hughen, L., Lulseged, A., & Upton, D. R. (2014). Improving stakeholder value through sustainability and integrated reporting. The CPA Journal, 84(3), 57.
James, M. L. (2013). Sustainability and integrated reporting: Opportunities and strategies for small and midsize companies. The Entrepreneurial Executive, 18, 17.
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