More than a third of Dutch listed companies are working towards <IR>

The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) has welcomed the increased take up of Integrated Reporting by Dutch firms in a new report just published.

Eumedion, which represent institutional investors’ interests in corporate governance in the Netherlands, have found that “more than one-third of Dutch listed companies are working on preparations for changing over to Integrated Reporting.” Six listed companies declared that their 2014 annual reports had been prepared in accordance with the International <IR> Framework, with further organisations publishing integrated reports without explicitly referencing the International <IR> Framework as inspiration for their reports.

In their 2015 Focus Letter, Eumedion called on Dutch companies to take concrete steps towards <IR>. They stress the need for investors to be “provided with a more cohesive overview of the business model, the value creating power of the enterprise and the various kinds of capital that the company uses to create this value.” Eumedion understand that many companies have taken note of this encouragement, as they indicate their move towards <IR> – a journey that for some of them may take up to three years. Considering the <IR> Framework has only been available for one reporting cycle, this is extremely encouraging progress.

Angeli van Buren, Eumedion said: “Eumedion are happy with the progress in integrated reports in the Netherlands and trust that more companies will follow in the coming year to satisfy the need of investors for more strategic information in the annual report.”

The Netherlands has a strong history of leading practice for corporate reporting, with prominent <IR> leaders. Many Dutch companies were instrumental in driving forwards the development of the Framework through testing concepts and feeding in ideas to the IIRC Pilot Programme. Among them were companies such as Aegon, BAM Groep and Randstad Holdings which have been cited by Eumedion as declaring their 2014 annual reports have been prepared in accordance with the Framework.

Commenting on the <IR> Business Network, Simon Braaksma, Senior Director, Philips said: “Philips has issued an integrated annual report for six years in a row now and we try to improve year over year. What we have also seen is that there are other companies that are doing excellent things in specific areas – those companies you normally find in the <IR> Business Network – so we think it will help us accelerate to the next level of Integrated Reporting.”

Commenting on Eumedion’s announcement, Paul Druckman, Chief Executive Officer, IIRC said: “The IIRC has always been clear with investors that if they are not satisfied with the information they are receiving, they need to demonstrate their need for information on areas such as strategy, governance, performance and prospects. For Integrated Reporting to become mainstream there must be a pull from the investor community. Eumedion have acted, they have put out a message to listed companies in the Netherlands on behalf of the investor community, and I am delighted to see that so many companies have responded to this investor pull.”

Media contact:
Mary Ann Day | Media and Communications Manager, IIRC:
+44 207 504 2570; [email protected]