THE INTEGRATED REPORT FRAMEWORK (Part 1)

ACCA P2 考試：THE INTEGRATED REPORT FRAMEWORK (Part 1)

In 2013, the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) released a framework for integrated reporting. This followed a three-month global consultation and trials in 25 countries.

The framework establishes principles and concepts that govern the overall content of an integrated report. An integrated report sets out how the organisation’s strategy, governance, performance and prospects, which lead to the creation of value. There is no benchmarking for the above matters and the report is aimed primarily at the private sector but it could be adapted for public sector and not-for-profit organisations.

The primary purpose of an integrated report is to explain to providers of financial capital how an organisation creates value over time. An integrated report benefits all stakeholders interested in a company’s ability to create value, including employees, customers, suppliers, business partners, local communities, legislators, regulators and policymakers, although it is not directly aimed at all stakeholders. Providers of financial capital can have a significant effect on the capital allocation and attempting to aim the report at all stakeholders would be an impossible task and would reduce the focus and increase the length of the report. This would be contrary to the objectives of the report, which is value creation.

Historical financial statements are essential in corporate reporting, particularly for compliance purposes, but do not provide meaningful information regarding business value. Users need a more forward-looking focus without the necessity of companies providing their own forecasts and projections. Companies have recognised the benefits of showing a fuller picture of company value and a more holistic view of the organisation.

The International Integrated Reporting Framework will encourage the preparation of a report that shows their performance against strategy, explains the various capitals used and affected, and gives a longer-term view of the organisation. The integrated report is creating the next generation of the annual report as it enables stakeholders to make a more informed assessment of the organisation and its prospects.

PRINCIPLE-BASED FRAMEWORK

The IIRC has set out a principle-based framework rather than specifying a detailed disclosure and measurement standard. This enables each company to set out its own report rather than adopting a checklist approach. The culture change should enable companies to communicate their value creation better than the often boilerplate disclosures under IFRS. The report acts as a platform to explain what creates the underlying value in the business and how management protects this value. This gives the report more business relevance rather than the compliance led approach currently used.

Integrated reporting will not replace other forms of reporting but the vision is that preparers will pull together relevant information already produced to explain the key drivers of their business’s value. Information will only be included in the report where it is material to the stakeholder’s assessment of the business. There were concerns that the term ‘materiality’ had a certain legal connotation, with the result that some entities may feel that they should include regulatory information in the integrated report. However, the IIRC concluded that the term should continue to be used in this context as it is well understood.

The integrated report aims to provide an insight into the company’s resources and relationships that are known as the capitals and how the company interacts with the external environment and the capitals to create value. These capitals can be financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social and relationship, and natural capital, but companies need not adopt these classifications. The purpose of this framework is to establish principles and content that governs the report, and to explain the fundamental concepts that underpin them. The report should be concise, reliable and complete, including all material matters, both positive and negative in a balanced way and without material error.

Integrated reporting is built around the following key components:

1. Organisational overview and the external environment under which it operates

2. Governance structure and how this supports its ability to create value

3. Business model

4. Risks and opportunities and how they are dealing with them and how they affect the company’s ability to create value

5. Strategy and resource allocation

6. Performance and achievement of strategic objectives for the period and outcomes

7. Outlook and challenges facing the company and their implications

8. The basis of presentation needs to be determined, including what matters are to be included in the integrated report and how the elements are quantified or evaluated.

The framework does not require discrete sections to be compiled in the report but there should be a high level review to ensure that all relevant aspects are included. The linkage across the above content can create a key storyline and can determine the major elements of the report such that the information relevant to each company would be different.