Thomas Berndt

The State of Sustainability Reporting (SR) in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Application of the Consolidated Narrative Interrogation (CONI) Method

The aim of this paper is to provide a critical appraisal of the current state of sustainability reporting (SR) from select territories within the Sub-Saharan region. With the exception of South Africa, SR in Sub-Saharan Africa is voluntary and only practiced by a handful of countries. The paper explores the diversity and depth of sustainability disclosures made by publicly listed firms in Mauritius, South Africa, and Kenya. These territories have been chosen, because they are the only countries in relatively close proximity to South Africa that practice sustainability reporting. This paper also seeks to explore if regulation in South Africa has possibly influenced SR practice in the other two countries. Therefore, we contribute to the ongoing discourse on the development of sustainability reporting within emerging markets. The approach used in this paper is the consolidated narrative interrogation (CONI) method based on Beck, Campbell & Shrives (2010). The CONI method is an extension of conventional content analysis that uses a matrix approach to capture both the extent and variability of disclosures made within sustainability reports. We use the GRI G4 guidelines as a paradigm to measure the level of disclosures made by firms. The study considers reports issued by public companies from environmentally sensitive industries from the three countries for the year ended 2014.

The Adoption of International Sustainability Reporting Guidelines within a Mandatory Framework: Lessons from South Africa

Purpose: The aim of this paper is to explore the factors influencing the voluntary adoption of international sustainability and integrated reporting guidelines in addition to the regulated King III reports among publicly listed companies on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines are used as a proxy for sustainability reporting and the International Integrated Reporting Council’s (IIRC) Integrated Reporting Framework is the international guidance considered for integrated reporting. Design/methodology/approach: Hypotheses were evaluated using logistic regression analysis. Two equations were developed to predict the likelihood of firms’ subscribing to either GRI or the Integrated Reporting () Framework respectively. In addition to the independent variables related to the hypotheses, several control variables were included in both models based on findings from prior literature. We consider annual, sustainability and integrated reports issued for the financial year ended 2014. Findings: The results show a statistically and significant positive association between the adoption of the GRI’s guidelines and the level of transparency of non-financial disclosures and environmental sensitiveness. The application of the Framework is also associated with the level of a firm’s transparency score and with its respective analyst following which acts as a measure for capital markets requiring a high information environment. Research limitations/implications: This study is largely confined to a specific context, i.e. corporations listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE). However, the paper provides a basis for examining other contexts with mandated sustainability or integrated reporting traditions such as Norway, Hong Kong, Denmark etc. which could be used in further studies for cross-country comparisons. Furthermore, the findings are relevant for firms operating in Europe given the new directive by the EU parliament necessitating the inclusion of sustainability information within annual reports from 2017. Originality/value: This study contributes to the sustainability and integrated reporting research by exploring the drivers of international reporting frameworks within a context where such practices are locally regulated. Furthermore, it provides a possible explanation for the heterogeneity of integrated reporting quality in South Africa as underscored by previous authors. The paper is also illustrative of the key differences between sustainability and integrated reporting which are ordinarily examined separately in extant research.

Betriebswirtschaftliche Grundlagen der Compliance

„Petrus will die Himmelspforte renovieren und holt dafur drei Angebote ein: Der Albaner verlangt 600 Euro (200 Euro fur die Farbe, 400 Euro fur die Arbeit). Der deutsche Handwerker will 1.000 Euro (300 Euro fur die Qualitatsfarbe, 300 Euro fur die Arbeit und 400 Euro fur Steuer und Versicherung). Der Grieche will 3.000 Euro! Er erklart dem geschockten Petrus: 1.000 Euro fur mich, 1.000 Euro fur Dich, 200 Euro fur die Farbe, 500 Euro, damit der Deutsche sein Angebot zuruckzieht, und 300 Euro fur den Albaner – irgendwer muss die Arbeit ja machen.“

Vorsichtsprinzip und Grundsatz der Bilanzwahrheit im Rahmen der Jahresabschlussrichtlinie

SummaryAccording to the Court of Justice of the European Communities provisions for potential warranty liabilities are required under the Fourth Council Directive (78/660/EEC). A global valuation of these liabilities must be made to represent a true and fair view of their amount. National legislation has to stipulate evaluation criteria for provisions in accordance with Article 2 (3) of the Directive in such a way that financial statements give a true and fair view of the company’s assets, liabilities, financial position and profit or loss. We discuss the implications of the Court’s judgement and point out the necessity for clear interpretation of terms used by the Court to avoid legal uncertainties (e.g. „overestimate of the assets“ or “the soundest and most appropriate” information). It is argued that there can be an antinomy following both, the true-and-fair-view-principle (Article 2 (3)) and the prudence-principle (Article 31 (1c)). One solution might be that — on basis of national legislation — the prudence-principle dominates the balance sheet and that international comparability of financial statements can be achieved by giving additional information in the notes.