Disclosure no relato integrado em países aderentes ao framework do IIRC

Abstract

In light of the demand of the society for financial and non-financial information on the externalities generated by business models, initiatives such as the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) have been developed. The IIRC encourages organizations to disclose their financial and non-financial information on an integrated fashion, using the Integrated Reporting (IR) framework. The purpose of this research was to identify the level of total disclosure of the IR in companies that adhere to the IIRC framework, and to check if the differences might be linked to the characteristic of countries and companies. From an IIRC framework and previous literature standpoint, an INTEGRATED REPORTING INDEX (IRI) was developed. The sample comprised 166 companies from 25 countries that issued the IR in 2018. The IRI was obtained through the analyses of IRs, and their validation was conducted by specialists. For the countries, the analysis was based on cultural, social and economic variables (HDI, GNP per capita, Index of Economic Freedom). For companies, the analysis covered size, ROA, foreign market share and controlling interest. The IRI indicates heterogeneity in the level of disclosure, and the financial and natural capitals reached the best level of disclosure among the six capitals of the framework. India, Germany, Italy and Brazil had the best total disclosure index. The petrochemical sector had the best level of total and by capital disclosure, except for the financial capital, where it had the worse level among the sectors. In the linear regression analysis, association with the level of disclosure index and the characteristics of countries or companies may vary between the capitals. The research contributes to develop an instrument for the level of disclosure that can be applied by companies and public institutions using the IIRC framework, especially to track their evolution. By analyzing the relation between financial and non-financial capitals with characteristics of companies and countries, it also helps regulators, companies and other stakeholders to identify factors that motivate or hinder disclosures.