A word from the president: 'integrated reporting requires a considerable shift in attitude'.

AuthorFurber, Malcolm

I have always enjoyed CIMAs annual president's dinner, but I am especially delighted that the guest speaker at this event during my year in office is a fellow resident of South Africa and a major catalyst for change in international business. It is no exaggeration to say that Professor Mervyn King is a game-changer.

He is one of the principal architects of integrated reporting and his work has led South Africa to become the first country to make this form of reporting mandatory for plcs.

King has the gift of being able to see the bigger picture while focusing on the nitty-gritty of an issue at the same time. Sustainability has been his main area of work for many years. He was chairman of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) before moving on to chair the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) in 2011. In recognition of his efforts, CIMA awarded this former supreme-court judge an honorary fellowship in November 2012. He is only the sixth person to receive this accolade.

Like CIMA's chief executive, Charles Tilley, I am extremely energised by the potential that integrated reporting offers the business world. By providing a more holistic overview of the vision, strategy and direction of public--and private-sector organisations, we can improve both public and shareholder confidence considerably. The integrated reporting movement gained momentum earlier this year when the IIRC signed separate agreements with IFAC, the International Accounting Standards Board and the GRI to deepen their co-operation in transforming reporting. The IIRC received more than 350 responses to its consultation document and it plans to produce the first version of its integrated reporting framework in December.

Integrated reporting requires a considerable shift in attitude. But, judging from developments in South Africa, good progress is being made. For the first time last year, Ernst & Young studied the integrated reports of South Africa's top 100 companies together with those of the nation's top 10 state-owned entities. Given the lack of published examples, EY was "pleasantly surprised" by their overall standard. But there is still work to be done. The research also found that too often organisations were failing to identify and describe their...

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