ACCA holds panel discussion on ‘Leadership in Corporate Reporting’

Wednesday, 9 April 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

As a result of the collapse of many significant corporations the effectiveness of corporate reporting has been under the spotlight with regulators introducing many requirements that will help to allay the fears of their stakeholders. Corporate Reporting is acknowledged as an important contributor to achieving confidence in the business and financial sectors today. The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) recently held a breakfast meeting and panel discussion titled ‘Leadership in corporate reporting’.

The panellists included ACCA Global Council Deputy President Anthony Harbinson, ACCA Sri Lanka Chairman CSR Committee Adrian Perera, ACCA Sri Lanka Consultant to the CSR Committee Franklyn Amerasinghe and ACCA Sri Lanka Member of the Panel of Judges for Sustainability Reporting Awards Prema Cooray. Amerasinghe outlined the key role played by ACCA in Sri Lanka in Corporate Reporting. He emphasised that as the global economy continues to reform its financial systems, better corporate reporting is required to meet the needs of investors. Therefore it was essential that organisations treat corporate reporting as an important part in their businesses. He further stated that good reports demonstrated a sense of openness and a desire to make known the stability of the organisation and how it was responding to the needs of the environment in which it operated. He outlined how the CSR Committee had been constantly encouraging contestants to be more comprehensive in disclosures. He said: “The better reports always address all the required relevant information concisely and disclose thoroughly the measures taken, including activities, corporate policy, strategic plans, the company’s prospects and current initiatives to protect the environment.” Influential reports by major organisations have suggested that a variety of new information types be reported. These included non financial, soft information and risk factors which needs to be effectively integrated into corporate reports in a more transparent and coherent way. Cooray explained that in practice, it will require a concerted effort by compilers, investors, auditors, standard-setters and regulators to move corporate reporting in the desired direction. Harbinson added that industries that are considered to be taboo such as tobacco and alcohol, will find corporate reporting as a useful and credible tool to profiling themselves positively. It will assist them to report in a transparent and ethical manner, the way they carry out their operations and of the CSR projects carried out. Perera touched on the assurance part of corporate reporting and commented: “A report must be relevant, – responsive to stakeholder concerns, social responsible investment requirements and stock exchange indices. It should be transparent and accountable and address the organisation’s performance and efficiency and the impacts arising from its process activities and products.” He pointed out that, stakeholders want to know about an organisation’s sustainability performance and how it is accurately reporting on its corporate activities to support climate change, resource scarcity and socially responsible investing. He went on to say that independent assurance , whether for internal or external use of an organisation’s processes, controls, and data also helps ensure the company’s sustainability data is reliable and accurate, thereby supporting the credibility of the information used. The conclusion arrived at during the discussion was, that good corporate reporting is generally an indication of competitiveness and superior corporate governance of an organisation. Corporate Reporting was also considered to be valuable to the company itself, requiring it to bring together information and data that can increase overall understanding of the company’s operation, thereby building credibility in the minds of stakeholders both internal and external. ACCA believes that corporate reporting needs to go beyond the financials. There is a wider concern for how natural and social capitals are reported and how these factors impact on the sustainability of companies. ACCA considers that the accountancy profession has the scope, skills and credibility to lead in corporate reporting, integrating a range of elements from risk and internal controls, to presentation of strategic outcomes, and developing a business model. ACCA has been a leader in the area of sustainability reporting and is also a founder member of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC). Integrated Reporting will also be fully embedded in the ACCA Qualification from December 2014.