Paradigm Shift from Financial Reporting to Integrated Reporting: A Strategic Analysis

Abstract

Corporations take a while to adjust to the evolving needs of information reporting procedures. According to the corporate reporting idea, businesses need to enhance their reporting procedures to satisfy the audiences for their corporate reports, which has become increasingly demanding. Non-financial reporting is necessary to address the problems of a globalized world and encourage using knowledge-driven and information-intensive business processes. Global accounting organizations and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) introduced integrated reporting.

Nonetheless, integrated reports' history dates back to when big businesses first started disclosing sustainability and corporate social responsibility data. Early Sustainability and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) reports laid the groundwork for modern integrated reports, which integrate financial and non-financial information to offer stakeholders a comprehensive view of a company's performance and impactpublished separately from the financial annual report. This abstract explores the evolution of reporting frameworks and the strategic implications of adopting integrated reporting for organizations. Integrated reporting integrates economic, environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information into a cohesive narrative, providing stakeholders with a comprehensive perspective on how an organization creates value, performance, and prospects. A review of the literature is used to analyze how integrated reporting has changed over time, starting with early worldwide non-financial activities and ending with the current single integrated annual report. This paper investigates the motivations driving the embrace of integrated reporting. It examines how integrated reporting aligns with the broader trends of sustainability and responsible business practices, thereby contributing to long-term value creation and resilience.