Skip to main content
Primay navigation
Go home
IFRS Foundation Other Resources:

Businesses believe Integrated Reporting helps to break down silos

Posted 12 November, 2012

Research finds 93% of businesses believe Integrated Reporting helps to break down silos and connect departments

(London November 12, 2012)- A new research report produced by specialist corporate communications agency, Black Sun in association with the IIRC, finds that 93% of businesses that participated in the report believe that moving towards an Integrated Reporting framework helps to breakdown silos between teams and leads to better connected departments. The report ‘Understanding Transformation: Building the Business Case for Integrated Reporting’, tracks the behavioural changes of businesses on their journey towards Integrated Reporting <IR> during the first year of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC)’s Pilot Programme initiative.

Integrated Reporting provides an opportunity for companies to present a holistic and complete picture of the business in a clear, concise, connected and comparable manner. The organisations participating in the research are at different stages but are all involved in the IIRC’s Pilot Programme, which aims to help develop an International Integrated Reporting Framework. The Pilot Programme involves more than 80 private and public organisations in the business network and 25 institutional investors. Drawn from all over the world, participants are trialling the principles, content and practicalities of the Framework to provide feedback and build business momentum towards its implementation. The Black Sun report provides a baseline for follow-up research that will track the progress these organisations are making.

Paul Druckman, CEO of the IIRC commented “It is clear that much of the change to achieve Integrated Reporting needs to be driven by businesses themselves. It is up to them to demonstrate what constitutes good business, and an Integrated Report is an important tool to achieve this. I think that the report by Black Sun highlights this thinking and I am encouraged by its results. The IIRC are looking forward to further shaping the future of the framework with the Pilot Programme participants and welcoming the next phase in our journey towards Integrated Reporting”

Some of the other key findings from the report include:

  • 98% agreed that the shift towards Integrated Reporting leads to a better understanding of how the organisation will create value over time; 74% agreed that it will lead to more consistency in external communications.
  • 93% agreed that it leads to better quality data collection.
  • 64% think that analysts will benefit significantly from Integrated Reporting in future.
  • 95% think that employees will benefit.
  • 28% are already seeing significant benefit to the Board from Integrated Reporting; 56% expected to see significant benefit to the Board in future, with 97% anticipating positive change overall.

Sallie Pilot, Director of Research & Strategy at Black Sun commented “As advocates for Integrated Reporting, we undertook the research to track the positive changes and trends which the Pilot Programme participants were experiencing since partaking in the initiative. I find the initial research findings promising as they evidence and bring to life both the internal and external benefits of Integrated Reporting. As the title suggests, I anticipate that the findings will help support the business case for not just Integrated Reporting but also good reporting right across the globe and encourage other organisations to get involved in the programme.”

Read the research report here.

NOTES TO EDITORS:

• Established in 1991, Black Sun is one of Europe’s leading strategic corporate reporting consultancies, bringing together corporate reporting, corporate responsibility communications and digital communications to create powerful integrated solutions. Black Sun helps businesses build more valuable and engaging relationships with their investors and other corporate audiences through powerful strategic communications programmes.

• The IIRC is a global coalition of regulators, investors, companies, standard setters, the accountancy profession and NGOs. Together, this coalition shares the view that the communication of value (applying) should be the next step in the evolution of corporate reporting. The International Framework is being developed in consultation with standard setters and regulators to encourage a consistent evolution in the standards, regulation and practice of corporate reporting.

• The IIRC’s mission is to create the globally accepted International <IR> Framework that elicits from businesses information about their strategy, governance, performance and prospects in a clear, concise and comparable format. The International <IR> Framework will underpin and accelerate the evolution of corporate reporting, reflecting developments in financial, governance, social and sustainability reporting.

• Our vision is for <IR> to be accepted globally as the corporate reporting norm, benefiting businesses, their investors and other stakeholders by enabling informed decision-making that leads to efficient capital allocation and the creation and preservation of value. By encouraging a different way of thinking, <IR> will contribute towards the advancement of a more resilient global economy.

The Framework will accelerate the global evolution of corporate reporting because organisations will be able to:

o    Share information across departments, contributing to the report – adding strategic focus and creating value for the organisation

o    Embed the Framework within the company’s own strategy

For more detailed information about the IIRC’s activities, please consult the website: https://integratedreporting.ifrs.org.

Contact Kate Turner on the Communications team at: [email protected]