Banker S.A. September 2013 | Page 39

IT Integrated Reporting: developing a local standard While Integrated Reporting is a legal requirement for all JSE-listed companies in South Africa, today’s business environment demands more transparency and good governance from all companies. Integrated Reporting combines financial and non-financial information, such as environmental, social as well as corporate governance into one consolidated report. Professor Mervyn King, Chairman of the International Integrated Reporting Council: ‘This is a journey that we are all embarking on together.’ T his is driven largely by the King III report, a globally accepted business reporting framework which states that “governance, strategy and sustainability are inseparable”. The benefits to organisations that embark on Integrated Reporting initiatives are enormous, the reports provide overall clarity. This allows stakeholders to relate sustainability risks and choices of their certain business endeavours to the financial compromises an organisation has to make to uphold momentum in the marketplace. Intelligent decisions can then be made based on information that has been validated based on the expectations among stakeholders and the company as a whole. But therein lies the rub. Any financial executive tasked with Edition 7 Subbed Banker SA IT.indd 37 BANKER SA 37 2013/10/15 12:02 PM