Trends in integrated reporting: a state-owned company analysis

Abstract

The need for an oversight mechanism to improve governance and accountability is required for state-owned companies. Integrated reporting, if appropriately implemented, can answer this call due to its ability to provide a holistic view of the factors that create value for an entity in the short, medium and long term. This study investigated the trends in integrated reporting by state-owned companies for the 2013, 2014 and 2015 financial periods with reference to section 2 of The Public Finance Management Act 1999. The nature and extent of disclosures made by state-owned companies with reference to the recommendations and requirements of King III and The International Integrated Reporting Framework with respect to integrated reporting were studied by using a scorecard approach to identify the level of disclosure made by each state-owned company. Key findings suggest that the level of reporting disclosure by state-owned companies increased over the period evaluated. A positive trend was identified in the level of reporting disclosures over the measurement period. Reporting disclosures generally increased from providing "little information" in 2013 to providing "some information" in 2015. There were no instances of non-compliance with overall disclosures with respect to King III and the IR Framework by any of the state-owned companies analysed over the three-year period. Furthermore, no company provided disclosure overall at an excellent level in any of the three years analysed. Thus, although improving, the level of integrated reporting disclosure by state-owned companies is still only satisfactory and as such there is still much room for improvement.

Keywords: accountability; corporate governance; corporate reporting; integrated reporting; International Integrated Reporting Framework; King III; non-financial information; state-owned entities