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Debate: Integrated reporting and accounting for sustainable development across generations by universities
... Universities thus had the potential to make one of the biggest impacts of any sector through sustainability reporting and stand to be among the biggest beneficiaries of integrated thinking and integrated reporting. Yet despite 20 years of developments in sustainability reporting and more than five in integrated reporting, the annual reporting packages of universities have barely changed (Adams, 2018a This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. ...
... The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein. 28 government intervention in their affairs and reduce reliance on flawed approaches to ranking (Adams, 2018a). ...
... The benefit to a university (and its stakeholders) of working out how it creates value and for whom (i.e., developing the value creation statement of an integrated report) is incalculable. The resulting statement would resonate much more than the bland and undifferentiated vision and mission statements (often involving mention of a higher position in rankings) which populate university websites (Adams, 2018a) ERASMUS+ KA2 Strategic Partnership 2018-1-HU01-KA202-047730 ...
Innovative Solutions for Sustainability in Education (ISSUE) aims to encourage and support change based on the UN principles and goals of integrated reporting and sustainable development. Seeks to embed sustainability through the exchange of knowledge, stakeholder engagement, collaboration and innovation. Supports the development of governance, faculty, staff and students in Higher Education and to promote greater understanding of sustainability and the capacity to act and promote sustainable practices. Integrated reporting manual for universities based on the Integrated Reporting Framework to consider the concept of value creation and synthesises a range of resources and contextualise their use in the HEI sector that wants to transparently communicate their achievements
... Higher education institutions (HEIs) can be engines of societal transformations [1], and universities are important incubators for finance, talent, and innovations [2,3]. In addition to this wider significance, universities are being buffeted by many forces and forced to reconsider their missions and goals [4] as these institutions create, form, and shape the future leaders, decision-makers, and intellectuals of the social, political, economic, and academic sectors [5][6][7][8][9][10], contributing to the advancement of society [11]. ...
... Sustainable development goals (SDGs) have been prepared as a continuation of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals implemented in 2000 and as an agenda institutions need to educate students with the necessary knowledge and skills to achieve the SDG targets [2,33,35]. Universities are also considered to be role models that emphasize global goals through innovative initiatives and active policies [2,33,36]. ...
... Sustainable development goals (SDGs) have been prepared as a continuation of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals implemented in 2000 and as an agenda institutions need to educate students with the necessary knowledge and skills to achieve the SDG targets [2,33,35]. Universities are also considered to be role models that emphasize global goals through innovative initiatives and active policies [2,33,36]. ...
The strategic plans of universities have an important role in enabling HEIs to contribute to sustainability transitions. To address the current lack of studies in HEIs in Türkiye, this paper aims to determine how universities in Türkiye integrate sustainable development goals (SDGs) into their strategic plans to indicate the extent to which these universities align with the 17 SDGs and to discuss the visibility of SDGs in strategies. The research has been designed as a qualitative study involving document analysis. QS World University Rankings or being a research university are the two criteria for the sampling. The scope of the study consists of 27 universities, representing 13.4% of the universities in Türkiye. The most striking result was that, apparently, none of the strategic plans mentioned Goals 1 (no poverty), 6 (clean water), and 13 (climate action). The sampled universities in Turkey have established a restricted set of strategic objectives linked to SD Goals 2, 5, 10, and 11. These remarkable findings prompt inquiries into the underlying reasons for this constrained scope, warranting further investigation. A potential factor contributing to the limited objectives regarding these goals could be traced to a lack of awareness and understanding of the intricate connections between these goals and the overarching mission of higher education institutions.
... Previous studies were developed to investigate the practice of disclosing IR in both the private and public sectors (Haji and Hossain, 2016;Ahmed Haji and Anifowose, 2017;Montecalvo et al., 2018;Nistor et al., 2019;Tirado-Valencia et al., 2019;Mauro et al., 2020), as well as the quality of these disclosures (Ahmed Haji and Anifowose, 2016;Sofian and Dumitru, 2017;Pratama, 2017;Kilic and Kuzey, 2018;Pistoni et al., 2018). However, in the Brazilian context, there is little research on IR (Romã o et al., 2022), especially when considering the public sector (Adams, 2018;Ribeiro et al., 2020). ...
... In this vein, Montesinos and Brusca (2019) advocate that integrated information is still a new concept, with excellent opportunities for the public sector, but little explored in practice. Specifically, Adams (2018) defends the need for a debate on the adoption of IR in higher education institutions (HEIs) because there are few previous studies of IR in this environment. In addition, such studies are developed in the international context of voluntary adoption (Adhikariparajuli et al., 2020;Adhikariparajuli et al., 2021;Sun et al., 2022;Aras et al., 2022). ...
... This research is justified given the need to explore the practice of disseminating IR in public organizations, whose studies are scarce compared to the private sector (Ribeiro et al., 2020), especially in the Brazilian context. In addition, given the growing demand for accountability and transparency in the use of public resources by public universities, there is a need to carry out studies in these institutions (Adams, 2018;Brusca et al., 2018) and case studies that discuss how public organizations adopted the IR after the issuance of Normative Decision (ND) TCU No. 170/2018(Costa Maria et al., 2022. IR assessment helps universities improve their IR practices (Sun et al., 2022). ...
Purpose
This paper aims to assess the level of compliance of the Integrated Management Reports of four Brazilian public universities with the International Integrated Reporting Framework.
Design/methodology/approach
The authors carried out documentary research on the management reports of four Brazilian public universities for the period 2018–2020. For the analysis, the authors developed a Disclosure Index (DI) that analyzes the content of the reports and allows them to verify the quality of these institutional documents.
Findings
The results show that two universities present low quality of their reports with a disclosure rate lower than 50%, while the other two demonstrate evolution in the quality of reporting over the years. In addition, the findings point to the need for greater conciseness in the preparation of reports and accessibility of disclosures, as well as inclusion of the impacts of organizations’ activities on society and the environment.
Practical implications
This research brings relevant contributions by identifying points of improvement in the dissemination of information by management reports from an Integrated Reporting approach and by identifying the need to adopt strategies that expand the understanding and knowledge of the preparers about this new approach.
Originality/value
The authors adapted a DI to measure the adhesion of the management reports of Brazilian universities to the Integrated Reporting approach. The results will be of interest to public organizations that seek to improve information disclosure based on an Integrated Reporting approach.
... We selected HEIs as location for our study. This is because HEIs are responsible for the significance influence over a large population of future leaders (Adams, 2018;Nejati et al., 2011). This influence is not limited to teaching and research, but it extends to include the need and ability to maintain long-terms performance comparing with competitors (Ismail & Shujaat, 2019;Dahan & Senol, 2012). ...
... This provides an appropriate justification to investigate and gather data on NFR from HEIs. HEIs can influence a large proportion of future leaders and make a huge impact on short, medium, and long-term value creation (Veltri & Silvestri, 2015;Brusca et al., 2018;Adams, 2018). In addition, empirical studies exploring NFR is not only scarce (Guthrie et al., 2017;La Torre et al., 2020) but also, arguably, presents fragmented and inconsistent results due to practical challenges to convert them into practice (Carungu et al., 2020, La Torre et al., 2020. ...
... The entire business of HEIs, brand image and ranks are highly influenced by student satisfaction and their experiences during their studies, which influences different reporting as a key stakeholder (Burgess et al., 2018;Adams, 2018). However, students can be a strong pillar of HEIs sustainable existence (Sam & Dahles, 2017) where student-staff ratios in higher education have a significant impact on teaching & learning, financial implications, and voluntary disclosure (McDonald, 2013). ...
Purpose-This study aims to measure the relationship between corporate governance and Non-Financial Reporting (NFR) in Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). Board effectiveness, student engagement, audit quality, Vice-Chancellors (VC) pay, and VC gender are targeted for analysis. Design/methodology/approach-This study is based on content analysis. We used the EU NFR Directive (2014/95/EU) to measure NFR. This includes environmental, corporate social responsibility, human rights, corporate board effectiveness, and corruption and bribery. Cross sectional data was collected form 89 HEIs worldwide across 15 different countries over three years. Content analysis, the weighted scoring method and panel data analysis are employed to obtain the results. Findings-Through a neo-institutional theoretical lens, this study provides a broader understanding of NFR content disclosure practices within HEIs. Our findings reveal that the audit quality, VC pay, and VC gender are significantly and positively associated with NFR content disclosure. However, board effectiveness has a significant negative impact on NFR content disclosure. More interestingly, our findings reveal that student engagement has an insignificant association with NFR content disclosure and there significant difference on the level of NFR content disclosure across universities situated in different geographical region such as USA, Australia, UK, and EU, Asia & Canada. Our findings have important implications for regulators and policymakers. Our evidence appears to be robust when controlling for possible endogeneities. Originality/value-The study contributes to the literature on corporate non-financial disclosure as it provides new insights of corporate governance mechanism and NFR disclosure within HEIs.
... The emergence of integrated reporting (IR) has created significant implications for accounting education for both professional accounting bodies and university degree programs alike (Adams, 2018;Owen, 2013). However, research on the education of this novel new IR concept is limited (Barac et al., 2020). ...
... For this reason, the country is recognised as an accounting education hub that produces accountants for many regions, including the Middle East, the Asia Pacific and Africa (AT Kearney, 2012). Second, Sri Lanka has witnessed a high rate of IR take-up in recent years despite it being a voluntary exercise , 2018KPMG, 2020). Third, Sri Lanka's professional accounting bodies and some of its accounting degree programs have played a key role in promoting sustainability reporting and IR in the corporate sector (Gunarathne & Alahakoon, 2016;Gunarathne & Senaratne, 2018). ...
... In all these universities, a handful of individual actors have played a crucial role in instigating the curriculum revisions to accommodate the pressures of the surrounding professional environment (Webber, 2012). The influence of the normative pressure in the voluntary reporting landscape of the Sri Lankan accounting profession has been welldocumented (Beddewela & Herzig, 2013;, 2018, and, in this study, we evidenced that these pressures are applicable in the country's accounting education as well. Accordingly, new developments, such as sustainability accounting and IR, have been incorporated into the curricula of accounting degrees. ...
This paper explores the institutional pressures and responses associated with introducing integrated reporting into university-level accounting education in Sri Lanka. In particular, we are looking to see whether those responses lead to deep or surface learning in students. Drawing on the theory of new institutional sociology, the institutional pressures framework, and the model of constructive alignment, the analysis spans data on Sri Lanka’s ten universities that offer accounting degrees. We find that most universities have incorporated integrated reporting into their accounting degrees by following either a ‘compromise’ or ‘acquiescence’ strategy. This comes in response to numerous isomorphic pressures at the institutional level. These pressures are brought to bear through the extent to which teaching, learning and assessment activities follow constructive alignment. In this context, the institutions themselves can be categorised into four response groups: beginners, followers, impressionists, and prospectors.
... In raising the future leaders and decision-makers, HEIs have a direct role in developing strategies for sustainable development issues. HEIs and stakeholders have the biggest beneficiaries of integrated thinking, and they have an incredible potential over any sector through corporate reporting (Adams, 2018). Additionally, HEIs have a significant role in raising future policy-makers and therefore could create new structures by the way of building the skills (Adams, 2018). ...
... HEIs and stakeholders have the biggest beneficiaries of integrated thinking, and they have an incredible potential over any sector through corporate reporting (Adams, 2018). Additionally, HEIs have a significant role in raising future policy-makers and therefore could create new structures by the way of building the skills (Adams, 2018). Moreover, the empirical evidence of integrated reporting in HEIs is scarce. ...
... Moreover, the adoption of an integrated reporting framework was found positively related to the IIRC content elements framework. For UK universities, Adams (2018) explores that the related universities are not following the IIRC framework. From that perspective, the BUFDG report (2016) reveals that HEIs have a curious value creation story to tell their stakeholders. ...
Purpose
The main purpose of this paper is to evaluate to what extent a public university, named Yildiz Technical University, integrated report provides disclosure on International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) content elements, suggesting the presence of integrated thinking, and whether higher education institutions’(HEIs) characteristics could affect the level of disclosure on that framework. Additionally, the purpose of this paper is to identify whether the Yildiz Technical University follows the IIRC framework and how integrated reporting can enhance the value creation for HEIs’ stakeholders in the context of voluntary reporting.
Design/methodology/approach
To conduct integrated reporting framework in HEIs specifically from a public university perspective, this paper has used a case study approach. Research data have been triangulated through interviews, questionnaires and finally, documents and archival records.
Findings
This paper gives insights into the reporting practices from a public institution, specifically from HEIs. Delivering high-quality services in an economically, environmentally and socially sustainable manner is significant to public accountability and transparency. The Yildiz Technical University has been the best example in disclosing non-financial information to its stakeholders and enhancing the accountability tool.
Practical implications
This paper can be a leading practice and can be considered as an integrated reporting framework for HEIs willing to follow the same path.
Originality/value
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is the first to investigate the integrated reporting framework in a developing country, under HEIs and specifically for a public university.
... Higher education institutions (HEIs) can influence a large proportion of future leaders and make a huge impact on short, medium and long-term value creation (Adams 2018). However, HEIs are very poor at communicating their contribution and value-added activities to society, environment and governance (BUFDG 2016;Hassan et al. 2019). ...
... In the Spanish context, researchers found that HEIs do not embed IT within the organisation and IR can be considered as a further step in the sustainability journey, which may be developed in near future but there is a long way to go to achieve this end (Brusca et al. 2018). In the UK, Adams (2018) suggests that universities have the biggest impact of any sector via sustainability reporting and are the largest beneficiaries of IT and IR. Therefore, HEIs can embed the IT approach by connecting internal management, stakeholder engagement and external reporting. ...
... Similarly, Table 3 presents the analogous increasing patterns in IR content elements and HEI core activities disclosure in both IR adopted and non-IR adopted HEIs. Even though very limited number of HEIs adopted IR, the UK HEIs are strongly encouraged to disclosure more activities, which have done for their long term, value creation for their stakeholders as a corporate citizen (Adams 2018;King Report IV 2016). Likewise, BUFDG (2016 called UK HEIs to take part in an IR pilot study and six universities participated (BUFDG 2016). ...
Through integrated reporting (IR) and integrated thinking (IT), higher education institutions (HEIs) can engage future students, staff and other key stakeholders. This paper examines the impact of IR framework implementation on core activities disclosure within the UK HEIs. In particular, the authors explore the influence of the integrated thinking approach, intended to enhance the extent of the IR content elements, teaching and learning, internationalisation and research activities disclosure. The study is based on the annual reports of 123 UK HEIs over 3 years—2015–16, 2016–17 and 2017–18. Consistent with the predictions of legitimacy theory and the integrated thinking approach, the results show the extent that integrated reporting content elements and HEIs core activities disclosure practices have increased over the study period. The results also indicate that adoption of the IR framework, league table ranking position, key performance indicator reporting, size, research quality and graduate prospects all have significant positive influences on HEIs core activities disclosure. Based on the findings, the recommendations are that UK HEI governing and other regularity bodies, such as British Universities Finance Director Groups, Leadership Foundation in Higher Education and the Higher Education Funding Council, should consider development of voluntary integrated reporting guidelines and a core activities disclosure framework.
... The latest initiative to encourage socio-environmental sustainability was the United Nations' 2030 Agenda, a worldwide agreement to introduce a set of common strategies to achieve 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs). In this vein, organizations had to adopt a holistic approach, adjust their strategy, implement concepts based on integrated thinking and value creation [3], and create tools for sustainability reporting [4,5]. ...
... These results are consistent with prior scholars' doubts regarding the appropriateness of using GRI standards, as the supplement for the public sector does not fulfil the reporting duties, thus recalling the concept of integrated thinking [17]. Besides, they acknowledged the potential of higher education institutions as a "force for change" to stimulate sustainable development and reporting [3]. ...
... The bulk of the papers within this cluster are focused on universities [5,42,45,61] 2015), thus confirming the theoretical viewpoint [3] stating that <IR> can support higher education institutions to better develop their strategies around the value-creation process. ...
In the wake of increased awareness, as there has been an increasing need for sustainability reporting, research studies have evolved over time. Addressing the challenges and pathways of research in the particular realm of public entities was appropriate to enrich the scientific literature. Since prior studies either conducted a structured literature review on non-financial reporting formats or were focused exclusively on social and environmental accounting, and no bibliometric review has yet been conducted on sustainability reporting in the public sector, this study aims to fill this gap. The objective of the paper is to identify the trends and patterns in knowledge development in the area of sustainability reporting in the public sector to investigate its structure and derive inferences and insights. Bibliometric results reveal that research in this field is still at an early stage, showing an unsteady, slightly upward trend. The literature responded well to the need to enhance the understanding of the public institutions’ role in advancing non-financial reporting and evolved along with the continuous development of the related voluntary frameworks (e.g., GRI, ). In this assent, further studies approaching the first mandatory regulation of non-financial information disclosure (Directive 95/2014/EU) are encouraged.
... More specifically, all articles included in this SLR deal with HEIs, while other kind of institutions has not been considered, thus indicating a further gap in the literature. The majority of the articles (20 out of 27) discuss the adoption of SRs, while two (Adams, 2018;Veltri and Silvestri, 2015) consider the adoption of IRs and one (Seibert and Macagnan, 2019) investigates sustainability disclosure provided through the web. Only two articles investigate a mixed form of reports-namely, integrated SRs (Brusca et al., 2018;Kr€ ausche and Pilz, 2018). ...
... Veltri and Silvestri (2015) show that the adoption of IRs in a South African HEI mainly stems from institutional pressures, but that the interconnection of capitals is not disclosed, stakeholders' relationships are not highlighted and the level of reliability of the IR seems low. Nonetheless, from a theoretical viewpoint, Adams (2018) theorizes that IRs can support HEIs in better developing their strategies around the value-creation process. ...
... IRs and PRs) in PSOs-in enriching the debate about accountability innovations in the public sector and depicting future research paths for scholars (e.g. Cohen and Karatzimas, 2015;Adams, 2018;Biondi and Bracci, 2018;Manes-Rossi, 2019). ...
Purpose
Research dealing with non-financial reporting formats in public sector organizations is progressively expanding. This paper systematizes the existing literature with the aim of understanding how research is developing and identifying the gaps in need of further investigation.
Design/methodology/approach
A structured literature review was conducted by rigorously following the steps defined in previous studies. The structured nature of the literature review paves the way for a solid understanding and critical analysis of the state of the art of research on non-financial reporting formats in public sector organizations.
Findings
The critical analysis of the literature shows that most existing studies have focused on sustainability reporting in higher education institutions, local governments and state-owned enterprises, while remaining silent on the healthcare sector. Additional theoretical and empirical approaches should feed future research. Several areas deserve further investigations that might impactfully affect public sector organizations, standard setters, practitioners and scholars.
Originality/value
This paper offers a comprehensive review of the literature on different reporting formats that public sector organizations adopt to report various dimensions of their performance to both internal and external stakeholders. The structured literature review enables the identification of future directions for the literature in this field.
... Therefore, multiple forms of non-financial reporting have emerged. Following the adoption of diverse reporting practices in the public sector, including sustainability and integrated reporting [6,11,12], the higher education field has started to embrace multiple reporting approaches, such as intellectual capital reporting [10,13,14], sustainability reporting [15,16], social reporting [17,18], and more recently integrated reporting [19,20]. ...
... Indeed, among the different reporting approaches, IR is gaining momentum as a tool suitable for building and communicating connections between all the factors that affect an organization's ability to create value over time [22]. In particular, it has been considered as a possible step further in the reporting journey, representing an incremental next phase which enhances sustainability reporting [12,19,21,23,24]. The underlying assumption is that IR could incorporate social/sustainability reporting into financial reporting, thereby improving the social/sustainability reporting itself [23] and providing more opportunities to report on public sector organizations' accountability [12]. ...
... The underlying assumption is that IR could incorporate social/sustainability reporting into financial reporting, thereby improving the social/sustainability reporting itself [23] and providing more opportunities to report on public sector organizations' accountability [12]. Given the still limited research on the topic, the current research aims to contribute to this debate with a focus on universities [19,21,25,26] by investigating whether and to what extent IR may be adopted by universities moving from the currently more widespread forms of social/sustainability reporting in order to improve their reporting practices and reinforce accountability. ...
Over recent years, the meaning of accountability has evolved and has reshaped what public sector institutions are expected to account for and how. Consequently, a large number of initiatives have emerged promoting non-financial reporting. In this context, public universities have started to experiment with sustainability reporting initiatives, but these efforts are still limited and challenged by the parallel development of multiple forms of reporting, which include integrated reporting (IR). IR has been interpreted as a further step in the reporting journey, suitable for representing the creation of public value and addressing accountability pressures. The current research aims at understanding if and how IR constitutes a feasible next step for improving the reporting practices of public universities. For this purpose, the research carries out a content analysis of social or sustainability reports written by a number of Italian public universities to find out which of the key elements of IR have already been included in such reports. Results show that some of those elements are already included, but often in a fragmented and non-homogeneous way. The findings pave the way for further considerations on how the potential adoption of IR may strengthen the value of social and sustainability reporting by integrating the information reported in different documents, fostering toward a bureaucracy that is more sustainable and providing more opportunities of innovation in reports on public sector organizations’ accountability.
... To be precise, researchers focused on an assessment of the framework (see for example Haller and van Staden 2014), of its goals and objectives (e.g. Dumay et al. 2016;Stacchezzini et al. 2016) on how it is correlated with other reports (Maas et al. 2016), on its association with the sustainable development objectives of the United Nations (Adams 2018(Adams , 2017 and the dynamics influencing its adoption. Mervelskemper and Streit (2017) analysed the value relevance of environmental, social, and governance scores within three contexts: without environmental, social, governance, when an environmental, social, governance report is published and when an Integrated Report is developed. ...
... Validating the view of Flower (2015) to some extent, they provided proof that the efficiency of an Integrated Report is superior to that of stand-alone reports, in communicating environmental, social, governance information. Likewise, Adams (2017Adams ( , 2018 supported the efficiency of IR in addressing sustainability to the extent that the new reporting framework might assist the realization of the sustainability development goals of the United Nations. Conversely, Pistoni et al. (2018) assessed IR quality, finding that it is still low. ...
Issues related to transparency and sustainability have been revolutionizing the nature of corporate reporting. Stakeholders are interested in accessing financial and non-financial data on the business activities of companies. Despite information accessibility, many stakeholders cannot use the disclosed information mainly due to segregation of reports. Thus, an ‘Integrated Report’ demonstrates the links among financial and non-financial performance metrics. This paper attempts to study the impact of integrated reporting (IR) on Tata Steel over a period of 3 years—post its adoption in 2017. Tata Steel has been a pioneer in India in developing an integrated report in the true sense of the word and in the spirit of enabling stakeholders to analyse and assess the company’s ability to create and sustain value in the medium to long-term horizon. We investigated Tata Steel’s IR reports post implementation period and its corporate/annual reports pre-implementation period to assess how IR has altered the reporting process and the benefits that have accrued to Tata Steel and its stakeholders after IR adoption. The adoption of IR has been based on the six capitals, viz. financial, manufactured, intellectual, human, social and relationship, and natural capitals.
... <IR> is considered a medium of reporting for universities to disclose economic, social and environmental risks and opportunities (RO) through research. The research comprises areas such as climate change, water, food security, increased inequality, poverty and recent phenomena of refugee populations (Adams, 2018). Integrated thinking fosters innovative collaborations, such as interdisciplinary research, enhancing the outlook of universities in society vis-a-vis value creation. ...
... This finding implies that older institutions are using <IR> and integrated thinking to remain contemporary within their stakeholder community encompassing the alumni, prospective students, employers and, in turn, opening new competitive market environments. Ntim et al. (2017) The literature review above suggests further exploring the <IR> concept to achieve sustainability in HEIs (Adams, 2018;Brusca et al., 2018). The review demonstrates the concepts of integrated thinking, strategic decision-making and value creation, driven by the public with the <IR> production by HEIs (Mauro et al., 2020;Fissi et al., 2021;Aras et al., 2021). ...
Purpose
The recent development in integrated reporting demonstrated a potential government tool for decision-making in allocating resources and developing sustainable policies for higher education institutions. This paper aims to examine the extent of the disclosure level of content elements in the annual reports of Malaysian Public Universities (MPUs). Additionally, the relationship between the disclosure level of content elements and the specific characteristics of MPUs is investigated.
Design/methodology/approach
The study performed descriptive statistics analysis for each component of content elements. This idea is achieved by examining the annual reports of MPUs between 2016 and 2018. The relationship was also investigated using ordinary least squares, fixed effect and lagged models.
Findings
The findings showed an increasing trend in the disclosure level of content elements in MPUs’ annual reports, supported by institutional theory. Furthermore, RUs exhibited a significant positive relationship with the disclosure level of content elements, whereas university size and report conciseness are insignificant variables.
Originality/value
The study adds to the body of knowledge in public sector accounting and has significant implications in the industry. This implication is specific to achieving sustainable development goals within the context of a developing country, paving avenues for further MPU reporting studies.
... Universities are expected to embed the global Agenda into their value creation processes through a holistic and twofold approach (Abad-Segura and González-Zamar 2021; Blasco et al. 2021;Caputo et al. 2021). On the one hand, through their teaching, research, and third mission activities, they can promote awareness among students and local communities, equipping them with the knowledge, skills, motivation, and creativity required to achieve the SDGs (Adams 2018;Blasco et al. 2021;Leal Filho et al. 2021). On the other, through their initiatives and active policies, universities might develop the global goals by themselves and act as role models for different types of public and private organisations if they "walk the talk" (Kestin et al. 2017;Mhlanga et al. 2018;Leal Filho et al. 2021). ...
... As SDGs are becoming a cornerstone of the sustainability strategies of universities, interest in their contribution has increased (Adams 2018). Universities can satisfy the emerging and growing accountability expectations from their social interlocutors (e.g., policymakers, accreditation agencies, and students) by disclosing the information on their impact on economic, environmental, and societal issues (Brusca et al. 2019;Findler et al. 2019;Raimo et al. 2021). ...
Universities are expected to have a leading role in the advancement, promotion, and achievement of the 2030 UN Agenda, embedding the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) across their four dimensions (teaching, research, campus operations and governance, and community outreach) and in their reporting cycles from a whole-institution perspective. In this landscape, academics and practitioners have started to assess universities’ commitment toward the global goals. Nonetheless, research on university SDG disclosure is still in its infancy, being limited to descriptive studies, single case studies, or national contexts. This paper aims to analyse SDG disclosure in the university context from a cross-country perspective. Specifically, it investigates the internal and external factors affecting the universities’ disclosure choices through an OLS regression technique based on multiple and complementary theoretical frameworks (i.e., legitimacy theory, stakeholder theory, and institutional theory). Starting from the Times Higher Education (THE) world university ranking, the sample comprises 844 universities in 81 countries observed over the course of 2021. The empirical findings show a significant and positive impact of the institutional macro-context, university size, age, and diversity on SDG disclosure. The results aim to contribute to the debate by the academic community and policy makers on the universities’ commitment to fostering the awareness, collaboration, measurement, and achievement of SDGs.
... Among the latest works we could mention Dilling & Harris (2018), Montecalvo, Farneti, & de Villiers (2018), Adams (2018), Gibassier, Rodrigue, & Arjaliès (2018), Rinaldi, Unerman, & de Villiers (2018), Lai, Melloni, & Stacchezzini (2018), Raut, Naoufel, & Kharat (2017), Yip & Bocken (2018), Gibson (2011) and Ramin & Reiman (2013). Overview of the ideas of these authors is represented in the table below. ...
... However, this information did not cover all aspects of sustainability-in particular intergenerational equity. The adoption of IR was, in this case, largely driven by normative isomorphism Adams (2018) To stimulate debate on how integrated thinking and reporting can contribute to value creation for university stakeholders and help to achieve the UN's sustainable development goals (sdgs) ...
... Namely, researchers focused on the analysis of the framework (see for example Haller and van Staden, 2014), of its objectives (e.g. Dumay et al., 2016;Stacchezzini et al., 2016;Brown and Dillard, 2014), on how it is related with other reports (Maas et al., 2016), on its relation with the United Nation's sustainable development goals (Adams, 2018(Adams, , 2017 and on the factors affecting its adoption. ...
... Somewhat reversing the view of Flower (2015), they provide evidence on the effectiveness of the IR, greater than that of stand-alone reports, in conveying ESG information. Similarly, Adams (2018Adams ( , 2017 supports the effectiveness of IR in addressing sustainability to the extent that the new reporting framework may help to achieve the United Nations' sustainability development goals. Conversely, Pistoni et al. (2018) evaluate the quality of IR, finding that it is still low. ...
In response to the growing information needs of stakeholders, the Integrated Report (IR) has been proposed to enhance overall transparency by merging traditional reporting and corporate social responsibility. Despite the wide debate on IR, the evidence of its effects remains mainly confined to a mandatory adoption context. We thus resort to a panel specification of the value relevance framework to analyse the effects of IR voluntary adoption on a sample that spans 15 years, from 2003 to 2017, covering 636 companies from 57 countries. The results support the view that the IR (i) enhances corporate disclosure and reduces information asymmetries; (ii) increases the quality of reported earnings per share; (iii) does not positively influence the value relevance of book value; and it (iv) has marginally decreasing benefits. Lastly, our results (v) do not seem to be affected by the geographical provenance and countries’ economic structures and (vi) do not reveal clear-cut evidence on the relationship between the factors influencing adoption and greater benefits for companies mostly exposed to them.
... Namely, researchers focused on the analysis of the framework (see for example Haller and van Staden, 2014), of its objectives (e.g. Dumay et al., 2016;Stacchezzini et al., 2016;Brown and Dillard, 2014), on how it is related with other reports (Maas et al., 2016), on its relation with the United Nation's sustainable development goals (Adams, 2018(Adams, , 2017 and on the factors affecting its adoption. ...
... Somewhat reversing the view of Flower (2015), they provide evidence on the effectiveness of the IR, greater than that of stand-alone reports, in conveying ESG information. Similarly, Adams (2018Adams ( , 2017 supports the effectiveness of IR in addressing sustainability to the extent that the new reporting framework may help to achieve the United Nations' sustainability development goals. Conversely, Pistoni et al. (2018) evaluate the quality of IR, finding that it is still low. ...
In response to the growing information needs of stakeholders, the Integrated Report (IR) has been proposed to enhance overall transparency by merging traditional reporting and corporate social responsibility. Despite the wide debate on IR, the evidence of its effects remains mainly confined to a mandatory adoption context. We thus resort to a panel specification of the value relevance framework to analyse the effects of IR voluntary adoption on a sample that spans 15 years, from 2003 to 2017, covering 636 companies from 57 countries. The results support the view that the IR (i) enhances corporate disclosure and reduces information asymmetries; (ii) increases the quality of reported earnings per share; (iii) does not positively influence the value relevance of book value; and it (iv) has marginally decreasing benefits. Lastly, our results (v) do not seem to be affected by the geographical provenance and countries’ economic structures and (vi) do not reveal clear-cut evidence on the relationship between the factors influencing adoption and greater benefits for companies mostly exposed to them.
... As a result, universities are increasingly expected to be more connected and accountable to society, expanding the information package provided to stakeholders from financial to non-financial matters (Ntim et al., 2017;Larrán Jorge et al., 2019). While traditional financial reports do not fill this scope, Sustainability Reports (SRs) or more dynamic and accessible forms of reporting -such as websites -allow universities to outline their environmental, social, and economic performance and the efforts made in progress toward the SD to stakeholders transparently and comprehensively (Adams, 2018). ...
Today, universities are responsible for promoting and advancing the 17 Sustainable Development Goals included in the 2030 Agenda. The importance of higher education institutions׳ role in achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) is well established in the literature discussing sustainability issues and related disclosure. This chapter examines how the SDGs are disclosed and how the university contributes to sustainable development.
... Furthermore, few of these universities have adopted a behaviour through which sustainability and the SDGs have become a habit and a daily routine within their management practices. Some critics have manifested that, despite more than 20 years of development in sustainability accounting and reporting, universities´ commitment to managing sustainable development issues has changed little (Adams, 2018). ...
... O meio acadêmico focou sua atenção em entidades privadas, introduziu forças nas motivações das empresas para adotá-lo (Stubbs&Higgins, 2014); nos fatores institucionais que influenciam sua adoção (Frías; Aceituno, Rodríguez; Ariza&García;Sánchez, 2013); nas perspectivas e percepções gerenciais dos adotantes internos (Adams, 2018;Esch, Schnellbächer& Wald, 2019;Perego;Kennedy&Whiteman, 2016;Stubbs&Higgins, 2014); na qualidade das informações de sustentabilidade de seus relatórios (Romero, Ruiz &Fernandez;Feijoo, 2019); na qualidade da divulgação de conteúdo material (Fasan& Mio, 2017;Gerwanski, Kordsachia&Velte, 2019); e em "como" o RI é aplicado (Gibassier, Rodrigues&Arjaliès, 2018). ...
O objetivo deste estudo visa analisar os relatórios integrados no prisma motivacional da instituição. Realizada através de análise de documentos, artigos e congressos que relatam sobre os impactos na qualidade motivacional causados com a divulgação dos relatórios corporativos integrados. Foram coletadas 12 experiências positivistas práticas realizadas de 2014 a 2022 para realização de um checklist, onde as promessas oferecidas na adoção do Integrated Reporting Framework (Estrutura Internacional para o Relatório Integrado) foram comparadas aos resultados das pesquisas. Os resultados apontam que na prática, a padronização dos relatórios integrados como prestação de contas, possibilita o cumprimento das promessas oferecidas no Integrated Reporting Framework em organizações de diversos segmentos. Promover a comunicação da criação de valor aos seus investidores, partes interessadas, especialistas, elaboradores dos relatórios e reguladores, tornando-se uma evolução na comunicação corporativa.
... Policymakers, practitioners, and scholars widely accept that IR, as a novel sustainability reporting model, can contribute significantly to sustainable development at both domestic and global levels. This acceptance has resulted in the rapid growth of IR in countries such as South Africa and Japan (Adams, 2018;Hosoda, 2022;Nicolò et al., 2020;Shen et al., 2020). ...
Integrated reporting (IR) represents a cutting-edge model for sustainability reporting. Despite gaining traction in several countries, its acceptance in China remains limited, with research exploring its implementation within the Chinese context being notably sparse. Whether IR is a universally applicable reporting approach is under debate, but the context is deemed to influence the universality of IR adoption. Regrettably, context-specific research, especially concerning emerging markets such as China, is noticeably absent. This paper endeavours to address this gap, responding to the requests of IR scholars by examining the suitability of IR for China through a thorough consideration of wide-ranging national-level factors. A conceptual model, rooted in institutional theory, is presented to theorize the feasibility and necessity of IR in particular nations. To achieve the objectives of this study, a contextual analysis, comprising political, economic, social, and technological (PEST) analysis, coupled with content analysis, is employed. The PEST analysis evaluates factors uniquely relevant to the local Chinese environment, including cultural, economic, political, legal, international, social, and environmental aspects. Concurrently, content analysis is used to assess the alignment of Chinese firms’ corporate reports with the International Integrated Reporting Framework (IIRF) for the years 2012 and 2020. The findings suggest that in the Chinese context, IR is both feasible and necessary, affirming its applicability within the country. This research offers guidance for future studies similar to ours and serves as a roadmap for further IR research within China. The implications of this study will be of interest to both practitioners and regulatory bodies.
... Universities influence many of the world's future leaders significantly. Therefore, managing, reporting, and building strategy on sustainable development challenges have a big impact (Adams 2018). Change may be prompted by the way students are taught. ...
Sustainability education is education approach that aims to develop students, schools, and communities with the values and the motivation to take action for sustainability, in their personal lives, within their community and at a global scale, now and in the future. Sustainability Education for Sustainable Development is a common term used to describe education (ESD). Future-focused, sustainability education puts an emphasis on preserving the environment and fostering a more ecologically and socially equitable society via responsible conduct. Taking measures to promote more sustainable lifestyles necessitates taking into account the interconnection of the environmental, social, cultural, and economic systems (ACARA 2015). It enables all individuals to acquire the knowledge, abilities, attitudes, and values required to build a sustainable future. Assessment of historical practices, evaluation of scientific and technical advancements, and fair assessments based on anticipated future implications on the economy, society, and environment are all necessary components of sustainability education. Giving people the knowledge, abilities, and drive to organize and manage change toward sustainability within a company, sector of the economy, or community is part of education for sustainability. People who are educated about sustainability are encouraged to visualize a variety of sustainable futures.
... Several formats for reporting and disclosing sustainability data are available, including stand-alone reports, integrated reports, and the incorporation of sustainability data in annual reports. It often encompasses a wide variety of sustainability-related topics, including supply chain management, resource consumption, human rights, and labor standards (C. A. Adams, 2018;Ibrahim et al., 2022). ...
The paper focuses on a current study on sustainable accounting as well as potential future research issues. 679 publications dealing with sustainable accounting produced between 2003 and 2022 were assessed using a bibliometric and visualization tool for the Web of Science cor collection database and viewer-based literature. The study looks at cluster analysis, all-keyword co-occurrence analysis, and bibliographic coupling mapping. This study allows us to suggest future research directions that may be beneficial in reflecting on the major influence that technology will have on the expansion of sustainable accounting in a business. The survey identified four major research trends in accounting for sustainability: reporting and disclosure, sustainability as part of management control systems, accounting and environmental management, stakeholder involvement and accountability, sustainability and business social responsibility. Education and Information Sharing About Sustainable Accounting, Green Sustainable Accounting, Technology Usage in Sustainable Accounting, Including AI, Big Data, and IoT, and ESG: Sustainable Accounting. This report presents a thorough examination of research trends in the intersection of sustainable accounting, as well as prospective research directions.
... The Higher Education sector has been at the forefront of supporting and promoting the 2030 agenda (Mori Junior et al. 2019;Venturelli et al. 2021;De Iorio et al. 2022). Besides the SDG4, which specifically endeavors to "Ensure inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong learning opportunities for all" (UN 2015;Venturelli et al. 2021), universities have been considered primary actors able to directly or indirectly contribute to all the 17 SDGs (Adams 2018;De Iorio et al. 2022). ...
In recent decades, there have been increasing concerns about the role of organizations in society and their impact on climate change, environmental degradation, resource depletion, health crises, and human rights’ inequalities (Yanez et al [...]
... Além do mais, os sistemas de educação têm sido um reflexo das aspirações e desafios postos na sociedade (Assumpção & Monzoni Neto, 2020). Acrescenta-se que as universidades têm influência significativa sobre uma proporção dos futuros líderes do mundo, abrangendo a responsabilidade em formar líderes e agentes de mudança no desenvolvimento de uma sociedade mais sustentável (Assumpção & Monzoni Neto, 2020, Adams et al., 2011Jacobi, Raufflet, & Arruda, 2011;Adams, 2018). ...
Objetivo: Compreender o processo de institucionalização do tema sustentabilidade no curso de Ciências Contábeis da Faculdade de Economia, Administração e Ciências Contábeis da Universidade de São Paulo (FEA/USP).
Método: Estudo de caso exploratório com entrevistas semiestruturadas com 8 docentes que estão envolvidos com o tema e/ou presenciaram a sua inserção no curso. Empregou-se a análise de conteúdo, na qual foram estabelecidas 6 categorias. A triangulação dos dados foi estabelecida utilizando as respostas dos entrevistados e os Projetos Políticos Pedagógicos (PPP) referentes aos anos 2000, 2006, 2009, 2013 e 2016.
Resultados: Demonstram que o tema sustentabilidade está semi-institucionalizado em transição para o institucionalizado. A natureza do conceito de sustentabilidade adotado pelo curso possui características de manutenção do status quo e reformista. Concluiu-se que a disciplina que aborda sustentabilidade tem atributos mais holísticos e interdisciplinares do que o curso de contabilidade como um todo.
Contribuições: A contribuição prática deste estudo é servir de base para que outras instituições possam inserir o tema sustentabilidade em seus projetos pedagógicos. Quanto à contribuição teórica, o estudo mostra a aplicabilidade da teoria Institucional de modo empírico, além do nível organizacional empresarial, adentrando no ambiente educacional.
... HEIs are the biggest beneficiaries of integrated thinking and have an incredible potential than any other sector through corporate reporting (Adams, 2018). Moreover, empirical evidence of integrated reporting in HEIs is scarce. ...
Purpose
The purpose of this study is to shed light on the association between stakeholders’ materiality and the sustainable development goals (SDGs), highlighting how higher education institutions (HEIs) can pursue sustainable development and provide a holistic perspective by mapping material issues. This paper provides a clear understanding of the universities’ role, specifically a state university in a developing country in fostering sustainable development. Particularly, this study identifies where the service industry and Yildiz Technical University (YTU) can contribute to the SDGs.
Design/methodology/approach
This methodology contains three stages. In the first stage, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board categories have been mapped to the SDGs, in the second stage mapping of the service sector and its industries has been carried out. Additionally, the methodology was based on an exploratory case study.
Findings
This paper provides empirical results on the significance of the service sector, education and YTU in contributing to the SDGs. Moreover, this paper provides a framework by mapping the material issues on how the education sector can make contributions to the SDGs.
Practical implications
Exhibiting how HEIs’ implement integrated thinking and voluntarily implemented International Integrated Reporting Council guidelines can assist policymakers to make regulations based on the voluntary reporting framework.
Social implications
This paper contributes to increasing academics’ awareness of sustainability practices. The research process and findings of this study can assist policymakers to make regulations based on the HEIs’ voluntary reporting framework.
Originality/value
This study is the first to identify specifically where the service industry and specifically a state university in a developing country can contribute to the SDGs and one of a few in the emerging academic studies. Additionally, how integrated reporting can contribute to value creation by establishing and proactively achieving the SDGs.
... This, in turn, would be seen as an increase in the level of disclosure and would enhance their accountability and trust [56]. Furthermore, integrated thinking-as a tool for connectivity and interdependence between different departments-would eliminate the imbalance and clearly articulate the value created by the HEI sector [57]. The cause is simple: if managers are engaged in integrated thinking, universities can demonstrate interconnectivity between strategy, strategic objectives, risk and incentives, breaking down the barriers between departments and stimulating dialogue within different teams and contributing to holistic corporate reports [58]. ...
This paper adopted a case study approach to investigate the sustainability practices of a Scottish university in order to understand if sustainability forms part of its central policy agenda. As such, the paper focuses on the levels of awareness and disclosure of their sustainable practices, measuring the impacts and effectiveness of those initiatives. This paper introduces signaling theory to explore the idea that appropriate communication via integrated thinking can close the gap between the organization and its stakeholders. We believe that the provision of this relevant information will lead to better communication between the organization and its stakeholders, supporting a signaling theory interpretation. Therefore, we are suggesting that integrated thinking is an internal process that organizations can follow to increase the level of disclosure as a communication tool with stakeholders. From the literature reviewed, four themes were identified (definition of university sustainability, sustainability awareness, disclosure framework within universities, and level of accountability). The research adopted a pragmatic view and conducted individual interviews with participants belonging to three stakeholder groups (members of the university’s senior management, the governing council, and the student union executive). Although this study focused on just one Scottish university, it should still provide some insight for the better understanding of the underpinning issues surrounding the sustainability accountability practices of Scottish universities in general. The research findings indicated that the university prioritized only two sustainability dimensions—economic and environmental—and that the university still perceived sustainability as a voluntary exercise. Additionally, it is evident that the university had no framework in place for measuring its sustainability delivery—and therefore had no established medium of communicating these activities to its stakeholders. Moreover, research findings showed that the social and educational context of sustainability was lacking at the university. The university has done little or nothing to educate its stakeholders on sustainability.
... Public sector organizations have the responsibility to pursue the objectives of the 2030 Agenda, due to their responsibility to promote wellbeing and equity, which is an addition to their regulatory power [25,38,41,50,51]. In more recent years, the < IRF> is used by numerous public sector organizations, with a clear connection to the SDGs, producing a sort of hybrid disclosure (IR and SDGs-related) that has enriched the value representation potential [52,53] in the public sector. Various authors [29,[54][55][56][57][58] examined the practice of the newest and challenging reporting challenges like Sustainability reporting, Integrated reporting and SGDs reports. ...
The present study aims at identifying accountability and reporting answers to the public sector challenges surrounding public value and sustainability. To that end, we take into account the Cohesion Policy Programmes, the EU major investment strategy to understand needs and possible answers in terms of accountability and reporting of the public sector. Particularly, we will consider how a specific policy, the cohesion policy, takes place in practice in the Emilia-Romagna Region case, one of the most advanced European regions in terms of capacity in managing funds received by the EU Cohesion Policy. The Emilia-Romagna Region experience shows the extent to which it planned forms of accountability and reporting that hybridize two of the most recent sustainability developments, integrated reporting and sustainable development goals, as a means to deliver sustainability and public value.
... However, research on the adoption of IR in the public sector context is still scarce (Dumay et al., 2016). In particular, research has not investigated the potential of the IIRC Framework in the context of universities (Adams, 2018;Brusca et al., 2018). The next section provides an overview of previous studies discussing sustainability reporting and IR in universities, which helps to frame our analysis. ...
This timely handbook provides a current and comprehensive examination of integrated reporting, both practical and research-based. It offers insights and different perspectives from more than 60 authors, including representatives of the International Integrated Reporting Council, Integrated Reporting Committee of South Africa, professional bodies and audit firms, as well as leading academics in the fields of integrated reporting, sustainability reporting and corporate social responsibility. This collected work provides an in-depth review of the development of integrated reporting, with a focus on the interpretation and guidance provided by the International Integrated Reporting Council. It encourages the development of new thinking and research topics in the area of integrated reporting (such as links between integrated reporting and reports focused on financial and corporate social responsibility matters), as well as showcasing how integrated reporting issues are seen and practiced in different parts of the world. The chapters include reviews of the most recent research, practitioner viewpoints, conceptual pieces, case studies and disclosure analyses. Accessible and engaging, this handbook will be an invaluable overview for those new to the field or those who are interested in ensuring they are up to date with its developments, as well as those who are concerned with how to construct an integrated report. Charl de Villiers is an expert on Integrated Reporting; Professor of Accounting, the University of Auckland, New Zealand; a professor at the University of Pretoria, South Africa; an adjunct professor at several other universities; and a research fellow at
... Universities have a significant influence on a large proportion of the world's future leaders. Reporting, managing, engaging, and developing strategy on SD issues, therefore, have a considerable impact [68]. The way the students are educated can be a force for change. ...
This paper elaborates and presents key issues established for a course on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD). ESD is supported by the United Nations (UN) organization and its agency, the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Quality education is also one of the seventeen UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The evolution of sustainable development and ESD is overviewed first in order to define the most important content of ESD in future teaching. Because of the fast development of humankind in all the SD pillars (economic, social and environmental), the climate crises as well as the new technologies and knowledge emerging, education leaders and teachers are lacking modern and effective content for ESD. Therefore, twelve key issues of ESD are identified and elaborated in the present article. The issues are organized into four groups (approach, contents, teaching, and organization) with three items each. The approach is including ESD scope, policy, and cooperation, the contents part deals with the three ESD pillars — environmental, social and economic; the third group, teaching, regards ESD methodologies, transformative teaching and learning, and capacity building; the organization group presents ESD metrics, documents, and institutions. The twelve issues have been synthesized after reviewing the available literature, enhanced by the participation in several international projects on education. In addition, they were further elaborated from feedback obtained from three international conferences focused on education for sustainable development, social responsibility, and sustainable consumption and production. The key goals suggested by the audience of the international conference in Vienna were holistic education, stakeholders’ awareness, participation and cooperation, and building capacity of stakeholders, while the challenge was found to be the timely evolution of human society towards the deep transformation. This paper is an informed perspective proposing content for an Education for Sustainable Development course.
... Recent findings, however, demonstrate that while the SDGs are being increasingly integrated into business strategies, few organizations are properly measuring and communicating about their contributions to the SDGs. 7,9,14,15 For instance, a recent research report by KPMG 16 found that 75 percent of the world's 250 largest companies discuss their impact on the SDGs and 39 percent reference the SDGs in their CEO/Chair's message. However, only one in five of these companies reported on any of the 169 SDG targets and less than 10 percent have targets that measure their contribution to the SDGs. ...
The education sector is one of the few sectors that can support, promote, and contribute to achieving all of the 17 United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Universities, in particular, are essential to achieving the SDGs because they can equip the next generation with the skills, knowledge, and understanding to address sustainability challenges and opportunities and perform research that advances the sustainable development agenda. Universities can also provide examples and use their expertise, capabilities, and leadership to influence stakeholders to adopt and model more sustainable practices. To be effective, however, universities should be fully committed to support and implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The SDGs are an important vehicle for creating positive impact by embedding sustainability into university business strategies, decision-making processes, and practices, and for improving their accountability to stakeholders. This article aims to contribute to research and practice fostering discussions and sharing the experience of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) University in Melbourne, Australia, in undertaking an ambitious and innovative project to raise awareness, foster collaboration, measure impact, and communicate the university's contributions toward achieving the SDGs across the entire university.
This study aims to investigated if the integrated report, according to the IIRC (International Integrated Reporting Council) Framework, has the potential to disclose health information and to address citizens’ expectations. An explorative case was conducted in an Italian public hospital follows the action research approach. Semi-structured interviews were asked by researchers to reach a deep understanding of the phenomenon under study. The results show that Integrated Reporting is able to disclose the value created: the health outcome. There is a need for Integrated Reporting Framework adjustments for health sector purposes: in relation to some capitals of the framework, to the concept of value created in its particular emphasis on health outcome for patients and to the need to find a more effective communication method. The absence of stakeholder engagement activities in the Integrated Reporting adoption process influences the attractiveness of the document. In fact, the Integrated Reporting user appears to be only the financing institution.This study aims to investigated if the integrated report, according to the IIRC (International Integrated Reporting Council) Framework, has the potential to disclose health information and to address citizens’ expectations. An explorative case was conducted in an Italian public hospital follows the action research approach. Semi-structured interviews were asked by researchers to reach a deep understanding of the phenomenon under study. The results show that Integrated Reporting is able to disclose the value created: the health outcome. There is a need for Integrated Reporting Framework adjustments for health sector purposes: in relation to some capitals of the framework, to the concept of value created in its particular emphasis on health outcome for patients and to the need to find a more effective communication method. The absence of stakeholder engagement activities in the Integrated Reporting adoption process influences the attractiveness of the document. In fact, the Integrated Reporting user appears to be only the financing institution.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has become an increasing focus of activities in universities, particularly affecting research and education and integrating the SDGs into the curricular schedule. Universities can contribute to the SDGs not only through education and research but also by boosting public participation in addressing SDGs and promoting cross-sectoral dialogue through social networks, since they are now considered essential communication tools to interact and build relationships with stakeholders. In this chapter, we apply big data techniques to analyze universities’ messages related to SDGs on Twitter to demonstrate how the content of these messages influences stakeholders’ engagement. Using a large sample of recent tweets from European universities, we draw conclusions that shed light on universities’ impact when disseminating information about SDGs.
Universities serve as hubs for the creation and dissemination of knowledge – through educating future leaders, fostering scientific research and encouraging development – they pose perfect vessels for sustainable change. These institutions frequently participate in outreach activities, environmental projects, and partnerships to actively interact with their local communities, all the while arranging events, workshops, and campaigns with the aim of increasing awareness about environmental concerns and advocating for sustainable lifestyles. Universities can set an example by adopting sustainable practices on their premises. A “perfect” sustainable university is an educational institution that trains students to become global citizens equipped to address pressing societal concerns and contribute to sustainable development. Precisely for these reasons, the aim of this paper was to investigate implementation of sustainable practices at the University of Belgrade–Faculty of Organizational Sciences. For the purpose of the paper, the authors conducted a survey among faculty and staff members during the academic 2022/2023 year. The results of the survey were analysed using SPSS 24 software package.
In response to the persistent indeterminacy – and the salient discontents – surrounding the innovation-centred reporting in the global university-industry collaborations, this study seeks to investigate the reporting of innovation results in Norwegian centres for research-based innovation (SFIs). Based on a large amount of recent public-access documentary evidence (SFI annual reports 2020) which have never been synthesized or systematically analysed before, this study seeks to document and evince the range of innovation initiatives which are reported from SFIs and to raise awareness of the public value innovation propositions that exist within the innovation reporting of these SFIs such as intangible value creation – social and public values of more normative texture, such as internationalization values, transparency, and open access to information, as well as gender balance.
The overarching goal of this study is to clarify what is meant by the term “accounting outsourcing” and to identify the various accounting and auditing tasks that might be delegated to external auditors. Accounting auditors do more than just explain the benefits and drawbacks of outsourcing accounting and auditing services and other services. However, they also detail the specific outsourcing services that auditors provide in Iraq, and make suggestions for improving the efficiency and longevity of such services. The researchers used a questionnaire to collect data from businesses and auditors’ offices in Baghdad, and the descriptive analytical method to the hypotheses. The local environment study based on the contribution of Adams (2018) reveals that the bulk of the auditor’s work consists of economic feasibility studies and services closely related to auditings, such as internal control and fraud audits. Accounting and internal audits are two of the lowest-priority services. Subcontracting is the least prevalent form of support while enlisting the help of internal authorities to complete the work or providing only partial support is the most common
This chapter seeks to explore integrated reporting (IR) and its impact on companies` operations. It establishes a methodological framework for the communication of social information in order to generate adequate guidelines capable of achieving a wide and extensive dissemination of information. The chapter is split into two sections with the first part investigating the determinants and outcomes of integrated reporting. The second subsection of the chapter covers the principles, elements, and characteristics of the information collected in the IR. Both sections are structured around the findings in the field and the review of the studies conducted about IR. Even though the chapter aims to uncover a comprehensive view of IR, an emphasis is placed on non-financial elements specifically the inclusion of accountability and sustainability in the reports. This chapter aims to provide a foundation for theoretical background where practitioners and researchers can refer to and develop further models examining IR from different perspectives.
This article aims to comparatively examine the integrated reports (IRs) published by higher education institutions worldwide, and to reveal the content elements, capitals, operating model, stakeholder analysis, value creation model of these reports and the unique approaches of the institutions in integrated reporting. To examine their compliance with the principles in the IR guide of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), and to reveal the trend and scope of their content elements, the IRs published by eight universities from around the world between 2015 and 2019 were examined. Using a qualitative approach, which includes analysis of explanations and designed as case study analysis, this study contributes to the literature by providing evidence from the emerging market environment. In light of the findings using the case study analysis method, integrated reporting was concluded to be applicable for higher education institutions. Considering the current situation regarding sustainability activities, quality studies in higher education, and corporate social responsibility, the study is expected to make a significant contribution to the literature. The low number of higher education institutions publishing integrated reporting and the limited reporting periods at the global level restrict the analyses of the actual implementation of the roadmaps for the future. The findings serve as a roadmap for expanding integrated reporting to policymakers and serve as a guideline for organizations that plan to initiate their own integrated reporting. They provide all stakeholder groups with benefits in terms of making university activities visible. This study is the first and only study in the literature that examines the IRs published by higher education institutions all over the world. The results reveal the development and paradigm shift regarding integrated thinking in higher education institutions. The study also reveals the clear role of IR in the process of rhetoric, practice, and value creation.
Purpose
This study aims to measure the relationship between corporate governance and non-financial reporting (NFR) in higher education institutions (HEIs). Board effectiveness, student engagement, audit quality, Vice-Chancellor (VC) pay and VC gender are targeted for analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
This study is based on content analysis. The authors used the EU NFR Directive (2014/95/EU) to measure NFR. This includes environmental, corporate social responsibility, human rights, corporate board effectiveness and corruption and bribery. Cross-sectional data was collected from 89 HEIs worldwide across 15 different countries over three years. Content analysis, the weighted scoring method and panel data analysis are used to obtain the results.
Findings
Through a neo-institutional theoretical lens, this study provides a broader understanding of NFR content disclosure practices within HEIs. The findings reveal that the audit quality, VC pay and VC gender are significantly and positively associated with NFR content disclosure. However, board effectiveness has a significant negative impact on NFR content disclosure. More interestingly, the findings reveal that student engagement has an insignificant association with NFR content disclosure and there significant difference on the level of NFR content disclosure across universities situated in the different geographical region such as the USA, Australia, the UK and EU, Asia and Canada. The findings have important implications for regulators and policymakers. The evidence appears to be robust when controlling for possible endogeneities.
Originality/value
The study contributes to the literature on corporate non-financial disclosure as it provides new insights of corporate governance mechanisms and NFR disclosure within HEIs.
Purpose
The paper examines integrated reporting (IR) practices of two Japanese universities and three South African universities by evaluating and comparing their 2019 integrated reports.
Design/methodology/approach
A multiple case study research method is used in this study.
Findings
The paper reveals that IR is in its infancy at the sample universities. Some universities have initiated disclosing information to their stakeholders on how they create value. However, the universities lack a comprehensive approach to integrating financial and non-financial information, thereby affecting the IR disclosure quality. The findings indicate that informal coercive pressure of South African universities is a primary driving factor that enables the universities to achieve a higher IR disclosure quality than their Japanese counterparts.
Research limitations/implications
This paper argues that institutional theory is relevant for explaining the differences in IR practices of the universities in the two different jurisdictional settings.
Practical implications
The research will be of interest to university administrators, policymakers, regulators and other stakeholder groups of universities. The assessment of integrated reports serves as a first step to help the universities improve IR practices as well as to facilitate the diffusion of IR in higher education institutions (HEIs) globally. There is also a need for universities to pay more attention to the storytelling of their value creation in future IR disclosures.
Originality/value
It is the first to assess the IR quality of the Japanese sample universities as well as the first to conduct a comparative analysis for IR practices of universities in two different jurisdictional settings that have adopted IR. The findings of this study add to the current scholarly debate on universities' ability to tell their stories on their value creation to stakeholders via integrated reports.
The paper offers a theoretical critique of the concept of “digital trust” in a posthuman organization (vis-à-vis
transhuman organization) and tries to fathom the scopes of the same. The argument portrays “digital trust”
as an oxymoron that intends a collapse-commune between the two antipodal—the digital, which is
technology-driven, and trust, which is driven through human instincts. Hence, “digital trust” is integral to the
posthuman condition of an organization. Beyond the post-dualistic frame of reality, organizations that straddle
the synthetic and the human and go to create a technobiological zone of liminality can be dubbed as
posthuman organizations. Moving beyond the anthropocentric paradigm, such organizations create its
anthropomorphic conditions of the management system, production process, and production agents. The
paper intends to theoretically probe how a digital-physical organizational ecosystem of hybrid character
accommodates trust, which is otherwise primarily a psychological outcome of human interaction (hence
anthropocentric), through the digital lenses. The posthuman condition of an organization (as theorized by
Matthew E. Gladden) devalorizes the human-centric “trust” and provides a space for the articulation of the
hybrid “digital trust”. The paper further raises concerns about the capitalistic appropriation of digital trust within
a posthuman workplace and how the same may be salvaged through Foucauldian ethics of curiosity for the
other
Conference Proceedings of 4th international Service Management Congress, November 10-12.2020, Ostfalia University Campus Suderburg,
Purpose – This paper examines trends in the content of reporting within 135 UK Higher Education Institutions (HEIs). It explores the extent to which Integrated Reporting (IR) content elements, reflecting integrated thinking, are disclosed voluntarily and whether HEI specific features influence the resulting disclosures.
Design/methodology/approach – Existing IR guidelines given by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and the adoption of content analysis have provided the opportunity to examine the trend and extent of IR content elements associated in HEI corporate reports. The evidence was obtained from 405 UK HEI annual reports covering the period 2014-2016.
Findings-The results indicate a significant increase in the number of IR content elements embedded in HEI annual reports. The HEI specific characteristics examined, such as a) the establishment of HEI (before or after 1992), b) adoption of IR framework and c) size of HEI, are all significantly and positively associated with IR content elements disclosure. This paper argues that institutional theory, isomorphism and isopraxism are relevant for explaining the changes in the contents of HEI annual reports. The findings also suggest that universities are beginning to adopt an integrated thinking approach to the reporting of their activities.
Limitations-The study is based on IR content elements only and could be extended to include the fundamental concepts and basic principles of the IR framework. There are other factors that have a potentially crucial influence on HEI core activities (such as teaching and learning research and internationalisation) which have been omitted from this study.
Practical implications- The findings will allow policymakers to evaluate the extent to which integrated thinking is taking place and influencing the UK HEI sector in the selection and presentation of information. A further implication of the findings is that an appropriate a sector-wide enforcement and compliance body, for instance, the British Universities Finance Directors Group (BUFDG), may consider developing voluntary IR guidance in a clear, consistent, concise and comparable format. Also, it may pursue regulatory support for this guidance. In doing so, it may monitor the compliance and disclosure levels of appropriate IR requirements. Within such a framework, IR could be used to assist HEIs to make more sustainable choices and allow stakeholders to better understand aspects of HEI performance.
Social implications- The research has implications for society within and beyond the unique UK HEI sector. Universities are places of advanced thinking and can lead the way for other sectors by demonstrating the potential of integrated thinking to create a cohesive wide-ranging discourse and create engagement among stakeholder groups. Specifically, IR builds on the strong points of accounting, for instance, robust quantitative evidence collecting, relevance, reliability, materiality, comparability and assurability, to explain the sustainability discourse into a ‘‘language’’ logical to HEIs organisational decision-makers. Consequently, IR may generate better visibility and knowledge of the financial values of exploiting capitals (financial, intellectual, human, manufactured, social, and natural) and offer a multifaceted approach to reassess HEIs organisational performance in various sectors that support the growth of integrated thinking.
Originality/ value- This is the first known study to explore HEI characteristics and link them with the level of voluntary IR content elements disclosed in UK HEIs.
Keywords- Integrated Reporting, Higher Education Institutions, Content analysis, Institutional theory
Paper type- Research paper
Purpose
This paper aims to examine trends in the content of reporting within 135 UK higher education institutions (HEIs). It explores the extent to which integrated reporting (IR) content elements, reflecting integrated thinking, are disclosed voluntarily and whether HEI-specific features influence the resulting disclosures.
Design/methodology/approach
Existing IR guidelines given by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and the adoption of content analysis have provided the opportunity to examine the trend and extent of IR content elements associated in HEI corporate reports. The evidence was obtained from 405 UK HEI annual reports covering the period 2014-2016.
Findings
The results indicate a significant increase in the number of IR content elements embedded in HEI annual reports. The HEI-specific characteristics examined, such as the establishment of HEI (before or after 1992), adoption of IR framework and size of HEI, are all significantly and positively associated with IR content elements disclosure. This paper argues that institutional theory, isomorphism and isopraxism are relevant for explaining the changes in the contents of HEI annual reports. The findings also suggest that universities are beginning to adopt an integrated thinking approach to the reporting of their activities.
Research limitations/implications
The study is based on IR content elements only and could be extended to include the fundamental concepts and basic principles of the IR framework. There are other factors that have a potentially crucial influence on HEI core activities (such as teaching and learning research and internationalisation) which have been omitted from this study.
Practical implications
The findings will allow policymakers to evaluate the extent to which integrated thinking is taking place and influencing the UK HEI sector in the selection and presentation of information. A further implication of the findings is that an appropriate a sector-wide enforcement and compliance body, for instance, the British Universities Finance Directors Group (BUFDG), may consider developing voluntary IR guidance in a clear, consistent, concise and comparable format. Also, it may pursue regulatory support for this guidance. In doing so, it may monitor the compliance and disclosure levels of appropriate IR requirements. Within such a framework, IR could be used to assist HEIs to make more sustainable choices and allow stakeholders to better understand aspects of HEI performance.
Social implications
The research has implications for society within and beyond the unique UK HEI sector. Universities are places of advanced thinking and can lead the way for other sectors by demonstrating the potential of integrated thinking to create a cohesive wide-ranging discourse and create engagement among stakeholder groups. Specifically, IR builds on the strong points of accounting, for instance, robust quantitative evidence collecting, relevance, reliability, materiality, comparability and assurability, to explain the sustainability discourse into a “language” logical to HEIs organisational decision makers. Consequently, IR may generate better visibility and knowledge of the financial values of exploiting capitals (financial, intellectual, human, manufactured, social and natural) and offer a multifaceted approach to reassess HEIs organizational performance in various sectors that support the growth of integrated thinking.
Originality/value
This is the first known study to explore HEI characteristics and link them with the level of voluntary IR content elements disclosed in UK HEIs.
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to examine and explain the complex interrelationships which influence the ability of firms to create value for their providers of finance and other stakeholders (loosely referred to in practice as “integrated thinking”). In doing so it examines the interrelationships between: environmental, social and governance (ESG) risk; delivering on corporate strategy; non-financial corporate reporting; and, board oversight.
Design/methodology/approach
Interviews were conducted with board chairs and non-executive directors of large listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (where Boards are required to have a social and ethics sub-committee and approve integrated reports which have been mandatory since 2010) and the Australian Stock Exchange (where Board directors’ liability legislation results in Boards being reluctant to adopt integrated reporting which is voluntary).
Findings
The research finds that contemporary reporting processes, and in particular those set out in the King III Code and the International Integrated Reporting Framework, influence cognitive frames enhancing board oversight and assisting organisations in managing complexity. This results in increased awareness of the impact of ESG issues together with a broader view of value creation despite investor disinterest.
Research limitations/implications
A number of avenues of research are suggested to further examine the interrelationships identified.
Practical implications
The research assists the development of practice and policy by articulating and enhancing the understanding of linkages, which loosely fall under the vague practitioner term “integrated thinking”.
Social implications
The conceptualisation can inform national and global discussions on the appropriateness of corporate reporting and governance models to achieve sustainable development and contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.
Originality/value
The paper conceptualises emerging and complex interrelationships. The cross-country comparison allows an assessment of the extent to which different national social contexts with differing governance and reporting frameworks lead to different perspectives on, and approaches to, value creation.
Purpose
This paper seeks to discuss the role of business academics and business schools in the development of leaders able to respond to climate change and sustainability challenges.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper captures contributions made during a panel discussion at the First Academic Symposium on Leadership for Climate Change and Sustainability held at La Trobe University, Melbourne in February 2011. The Symposium preceded the 10th General Assembly of the Globally Responsible Leadership Initiative (GRLI) held in Melbourne and the authors are from GRLI partner organisations.
Findings
There is a pressing need for business schools to focus on the development of personal and leadership skills, to draw staff from outside the traditional business disciplines and to reflect the gender and race diversity of the population in which they are located. The change required in business education to develop leaders who can respond to climate change and sustainability challenges is as significant as the changes needed to the way businesses operate.
Practical implications
The paper identifies changes required in business leadership and outlines key elements of change needed in business education. It assists business school leaders in articulating the business case for business schools to address these issues and navigate potential barriers.
Originality/value
The paper brings together the views of five professors from a different disciplinary background (accounting, critical management, organisational behaviour, organisational design and sociology) with leadership positions in business schools and universities.