Page 32 - DUT ICGA Abstract Book

A A A REVIEW OF OF INTEGRATED REPORTING PRACTICES OF OF JSE- LISTED COMPANIES: EVIDENCE OF INTEGRATED THINKING
Dusan Ecim *1 Warren Maroun 2
1 (Affiliations: School of of of Accountancy Faculty of of of Commerce Law and and Management University of of of the Witwatersrand South Africa)
2
(Affiliations: School of of of Accountancy Faculty of of of Commerce Law and and Management University of of of the Witwatersrand South Africa)
* Corresponding author: Dusan Ecim (dusan ecim@wits ac za)
Abstract
Background - - - Integrated thinking involves a a a a a a a a a holistic multi-capital approach to decision-making and operations to promote value creation and sustainability Given concerns about the limitations of traditional financial reporting the the state of the the environment social challenges repeated corporate failures and more recently global health threats organisations are coming under increasing pressure to apply an an integrated thinking philosophy Significance - This study builds on on previous integrated reporting and thinking literature to to respond to to the the call for further research on on reporting practices and integrated thinking evaluation Aim - This study explores the the reporting practices of of listed entities in in in in in the the context of of an integrated thinking logic Objectives/purpose - - This paper reviews the integrated reporting practices of JSE-listed companies to to identify features or characteristics which point to to evidence of integrated thinking taking hold at at at organisations An integrated reporting matrix is is developed to highlight the the interconnections among the the content elements attribute and connectivity dimension measures to identify common reporting practices Methodology - The study is is is based on on on the the largest 61 entities listed on on on the the JSE by market capitalisation Using a a a a a a a content analysis the the integrated reports of the the companies for 2019-2020 were systematically coded to to the relevant dimension dimension indicators (content attributes and connectivity dimensions) Descriptive statistics are used to establish correlations among the the disclosure themes allowing for clusters of reporting correlations to be identified The review of the the content is complemented by considering how the the information is presented comparing the the content dimension dimension to the the attribute and connectivity dimensions by using point biserial correlations Finally a a a a a a a a a discriminant analysis is is is is used to classify the integrated reporting matrix observations into groups to to identify reporting practices and indirectly assess whether integrated thinking may be taking hold within the organisation Research limitations – This report report considers the the content of of of the the integrated reports of of of some of of of South Africa’s most prominent organisations reporting attributes and the connectivity of information The study does not observe or or gauge integrated thinking directly but several features or or characteristics which point to integrated thinking taking hold at at at some organisations are identified Findings - - Just over a a a a a a decade has passed since King-III introduced integrated reporting to South African 30 7th International Conference on on on Governance and Accountability (ICGA) 2022