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1. Introduction
The release of the Integrated Reporting (<IR>) Framework in December 2013 (IIRC, 2013d) marked a potential watershed moment in the evolution of corporate reporting. <IR> is a new reporting paradigm that encourages companies to provide a concise, holistic account of company performance based on a "multiple capitals" approach that outlines an organisation's value creation process over the short, medium and long terms. Salient elements of <IR> include reporting on a company's business model, promoting understandings of the interdependencies between financial and non-financial aspects of a company's strategy, and disclosure of material opportunities and risks. This paper provides insights into the more contentious issues in the development of the <IR> Framework, and emerging issues in the implementation of this Framework, with the aim of illustrating important opportunities for future research.
The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) is a strong global coalition of regulators, investors, companies, academics, standard setters, the accounting profession and NGOs that developed and released the <IR> Framework. The IIRC envisions that the integrated report may, in time, serve as "the next step in the evolution of corporate reporting", which incorporates but goes beyond the types of information currently reported in organisations' financial statements (IIRC, 2014a). The significance of this new reporting model for reshaping the landscape of corporate reporting is evidenced by, inter alia , the number of companies engaging with <IR>, including through participating in the IIRC's Pilot Program[1] and the increasing regulatory interest in <IR>. One of the forerunning countries in <IR> initiatives is South Africa. Since the effect of the King III changes[2] in March 2010, South Africa became the first country to mandate <IR> for listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange on a "apply or explain" basis.
In addition to the initiatives in South Africa, there is considerable momentum towards <IR> in other parts of the world. Although these regulatory initiatives are not necessarily endorsing the <IR> Framework in its entirety, they are picking up important aspects of it. For example, in April 2014, the European Parliament passed a legislative resolution regarding disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large companies in Europe (European Parliament, 2014). This initiative builds upon pre-existing developments at the individual country level in Europe, including the Grenelle II Act in...