This report emphasizes the role of accountants in the integrated reporting (IR) framework. It includes the benefits of IR, sustainability challenges, and a stakeholder approach to IR.

The corporate reporting landscape has evolved in the last 20 years from financial reporting to sustainability reporting to “integrated reporting.” Since 2010, the IIRC (International Integrated Reporting Council) has led the work on building the first Integrated Reporting (IR) framework, published in December 2013.

The accounting profession has played a crucial role in pushing the idea of integrated reporting forward. Now, accountants are looking at how they can best participate in IR corporate practice. This report is aimed at accountants who would like to get involved more closely, or even drive, the IR efforts within their organization.

“From Share Value to Shared Value” is the result of a joint IMA/ACCA call for research proposals. The report is based on participative observation within a leading multinational company—pilot of the IIRC— interviews with international experts, and other multinational companies on their IR journey, as well as documentary evidence collected from 2011 to 2015.

Key Insights:

• The global tide is turning in favor of integrated reporting, and accountants have a fundamental role to play. They must equip themselves with new skills to help steer integrated reporting properly.
• Ultimately, creating shared value acknowledges both the work that corporations need to do to reduce negative impacts on society as well as, and more fundamentally, how they can be part of progress on global challenges, such as climate change and the enforcement of human rights.
• Central to IR is the value-creation process. The objective of an integrated report is to expose how an organization creates value over time, taking into consideration that this process is influenced by the company’s external environment, as well as its stakeholders, and relies on multiple resources.

Source: imanet.org