Development of Integrated Reporting in the SME Sector


Book Description

This book examines on an international basis how small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) cope with the changing economic and social challenges, which are also reflected in financial and non-financial reporting. To this end, it presents six case studies from Germany, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Italy, and the United Kingdom, with a particular focus on integrated reporting (IR). The cases presented are drawn from collaborative research within the international network of INTEREST, an international project on integrated reporting for SME transparency. The book will be of interest to researchers and practitioners.




Business Sustainability


Book Description

Business sustainability has advanced from greenwashing and branding to being a business imperative. Stakeholders, including shareholders, demand, regulators require, and companies now need to report their sustainability performance. No longer is this a choice for businesses. A decade ago, fewer than 50 companies released sustainability reports, and now more 8,000 global public companies disclose sustainability performance information on some or all five economic, governance, social, ethical, and environmental (EGSEE) dimensions of sustainability performance, and this trend is expected to continue. Indeed, more than 6,000 European public companies would be required to disclose their environmental, social, governance and diversity information for their 2017 reporting year. However, the proper determination of sustainability performance, accurate and reliable reporting and independent assurance of sustainability information remain major challenges for organizations of all types and sizes. Through reading this book, you will: Identify sustainability strategies to create innovation in new products, services, energy-efficiency, environmental facilities and green initiatives. Understand the role and responsibilities of all participants in the corporate reporting process, including directors, officers, internal auditors, external auditors, legal counsel, and investors. See ways to improve public trust, investor confidence, business reputation, employee satisfaction, corporate culture, social responsibility and environmental performance. Learn all five economic, governance, social, ethical and environmental (EGSEE) dimensions of sustainability performance separately and their integrated and interactive effects on achieving the goal of creating sustainable value for all stakeholders, including shareholders. Learn how to adopt best practices in sustainability development and performance, and deliver effective integrated sustainability reporting and assurance.




Integrated Reporting


Book Description

This book focuses on Integrated Reporting as a contemporary social and managerial innovation where a number of initiatives, organizations and individuals began to converge in response to the need for a consistent, collaborative and internationally accepted approach to redesign corporate reporting. Integrated Reporting is a process that results in communication of the annual “integrated report” which describes value creation over time. An integrated report is a concise communication about how an organization’s strategy, governance, performance and prospects lead to the creation of value over the short, medium and long term. This book offers a fresh perspective with expert contributions focusing on both the theoretical underpinnings and the practical challenges for the future of corporate reporting.




Sustainability Accounting and Integrated Reporting


Book Description

Sustainability Accounting and Integrated Reporting deals with organizations’ assessment, articulation and disclosure of their social and environmental impact on various groups in society. There is increasingly an understanding that financial information does not sufficiently discharge organizational accountability to members of society who are demanding an account of the social and environmental impacts of companies’ and other organizations’ activities. As a result, organizations report ever more social and environmental information, and there are simultaneous movements towards providing the information in an integrated fashion, showing how social and environmental activities influence each other, members of society and the financial aims of the organization. The book Sustainability Accounting and Integrated Reporting provides a broad and comprehensive review of the field, focusing on the interconnection between different elements of these topics, often dealt with in isolation. The book examines the accounting involved in the collection and analysis of data, control processes over the data, how information is reported to external parties, and the assurance of the information being reported. The book thereby provides an overview useful to practitioners (including sustainability managers, consultants, members of the accounting profession, and other assurance providers), academics, and students.




The Sustainability Debate


Book Description

This book goes beyond environmental protection and looks at sustainability by predominantly focusing on human and social sustainability and this focus is carried into sections of the book that discuss sustainable policies, media and gender. The book takes an academic and practitioner approach.




Integrated Reporting


Book Description

This book critically examines the implementation and adoption of integrated reporting (IR) in organizations and corporations. A relatively new area of policy and practice, IR has rapidly gained considerable prominence since the formation of the International Integrated Reporting Committee in 2010. The book analyzes the outcomes and benefits as well as the shortfalls of integrated reporting. It offers an introduction to the foundations of IR and a comprehensive overview of its use through a number of detailed case studies. Lastly, it discusses the outlook for further developments in sustainability accounting and reporting.




Accounting for Sustainability


Book Description

If businesses and other organizations are to meet the many and complex challenges of sustainable development, then they all, both public and private, need to embed sustainability considerations into their decision-making and reporting. However, the translation of this aspiration into effective action is often inhibited by the lack of systems and procedures that take sustainability into account. Accounting for Sustainability: Practical Insights will help organizations to address these issues. The book sets out a number of tools and approaches that have been developed and applied by leading organizations to: - embed sustainability into decision-making, extending beyond an organization's boundaries to take into account suppliers, customers and other stakeholders; - measure and link sustainability and financial performance; - integrate sustainability into 'mainstream' reporting, both to management and external stakeholders. In-depth cases studies from Aviva, BT, the Environment Agency, EDF Energy, HSBC, Novo Nordisk, Sainsbury's and West Sussex County Council show in detail how accounting for sustainability works in practice in a wide range of organizational contexts. Published with The Prince's Charities: Accounting for Sustainability




Small and Medium Enterprises Across the Globe


Book Description

This paper describes a new cross-country database on the importance of small and medium enterprises (SMEs). This database is unique in that it presents consistent and comparable information on the contribution of the SME sector to total employment and GDP across different countries. The dataset improves on existing publicly available datasets on several grounds. First, it extends coverage to a broader set of developing and industrial economies. Second, it provides information on the contribution of the SME sector using a uniform definition of SMEs across different countries, allowing for consistent cross-country comparisons. Third, while we follow the traditional definition of the SME sector as being part of the formal sector, the new database also includes the size of the SME sector relative to the informal sector. This paper describes the sources and the construction of the different indicators, presents descriptive statistics, and explores correlations with other socioeconomic variables. This paper--a product of Finance, Development Research Group--is part of a larger effort in the group to study SME-related issues.




SMEs in Asian Developing Countries


Book Description

Analyzing the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Asian developing countries, the book is based on a survey of key literature and data on SMEs with the focus on; recent development, export performance, main constraints, competitiveness, innovation and technology transfer, and female entrepreneurs.




The Routledge Handbook of Integrated Reporting


Book Description

This timely handbook provides a current and comprehensive examination of integrated reporting, both practical and research-based. It offers insights and different perspectives from more than 60 authors, including representatives of the International Integrated Reporting Council, Integrated Reporting Committee of South Africa, professional bodies and audit firms, as well as leading academics in the fields of integrated reporting, sustainability reporting and corporate social responsibility. This collected work provides an in-depth review of the development of integrated reporting, with a focus on the interpretation and guidance provided by the International Integrated Reporting Council. It encourages the development of new thinking and research topics in the area of integrated reporting (such as links between integrated reporting and reports focused on financial and corporate social responsibility matters), as well as showcasing how integrated reporting issues are seen and practiced in different parts of the world. The chapters include reviews of the most recent research, practitioner viewpoints, conceptual pieces, case studies and disclosure analyses. Accessible and engaging, this handbook will be an invaluable overview for those new to the field or those who are interested in ensuring they are up to date with its developments, as well as those who are concerned with how to construct an integrated report.