This research note aims to enrich our understanding regarding the market valuation implications of financial reporting under an Integrated Reporting (IR) approach. In order to do so, we focus on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) and we examine whether the value relevance of summary accounting information (i.e., book value of equity and earnings) of firms listed on the JSE has enhanced after the mandatory adoption of an IR approach under the King III Report. Our study can be seen as a response to the recent calls for a closer investigation of the usefulness of the new reporting trend for investors. More specifically, our study can be seen as a response to the stance taken by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) Framework that the adoption of an IR approach improves the usefulness of financial reporting for investors. For our empirical tests we utilize a sample of 954 firm-year observations and employ a linear price-level model which associates a firm's market value of equity with its book value of equity and earnings. In line with the IIRC Framework's expectations, we find strong evidence of a sharp increase of the earnings' valuation coefficient. However, contrary to the Framework's stance, our results indicate a decline in the value relevance of net assets. Such a decline may be imputed to risks and/or unbooked liabilities that are revealed or measured more reliably after the introduction of an IR approach on the JSE. It should be noted, however, that despite its cause, the decline in the value relevance of net assets can be seen as a further argument in favor of the IIRC stance to assign equal importance to a wide range of "capitals," such as human, social and natural capital. We believe that our findings are of particular interest to a wide range of regulators, standards setters, practitioners, and academics but first and foremost to the JSE and IIRC.

Purpose -The purpose of this article is to provide an account of the quantity, location and intentions behind companies' biodiversity disclosure. Design/methodology/approach -This study applies a mixed methods approach to the examination of the quantity and location of biodiversity disclosure. The research focuses on a study of corporate websites and corporate reports over a five-year period. Interviews with company representatives were also conducted regarding company intentions behind biodiversity disclosure. Findings -The findings of this study show that few of the companies studied have a record of providing continuous biodiversity information. Those companies that provide the most biodiversity information are in the lower-risk sector. The interview respondents identify social environmental reporting frameworks as catalysts for biodiversity disclosure. A reason for this low level of biodiversity disclosure may be the infrequency of interaction with pressure groups. However, the respondents also state, as increasingly their companies have paid more attention to sustainability reporting in recent years, more detailed biodiversity disclosure has resulted.Research limitations/implications -The research in this study, which is explorative and descriptive, is limited to a study of the quantity and location of biodiversity disclosure by 29 companies listed on the OMXS30 and the preparers' reasons for such disclosure. Originality/value -This is an original study that attempts to go beyond mere reporting of biodiversity disclosure by examining the motivations for such disclosure using interviews with company representatives.

The accounting treatment of purchased goodwill under IFRS has been severely criticized due to the extensive use of fair value accounting. The purpose of this study is to enrich the ongoing debate upon this issue by drawing attention to the market valuation implications of goodwill in a country outside the Anglo-Saxon accounting paradigm, where the application of fair value accounting has been seen as more problematic. The results indicate that, in the case of purchased goodwill, fair value accounting generates relevant accounting numbers but only in companies that comply highly with IFRS disclosure requirements.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to give an indication of the quantity of intellectual capital information in Japanese initial public offering (IPO) prospectuses from all stock exchange listings on the Japan Stock Exchange from 2003.Design/methodology/approachThe paper applied a disclosure index consisting of 78 items to quantify the amount of information regarding intellectual capital included in the IPO prospectuses of Japanese companies. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to test, controlling for technological type of the company (high‐tech/low‐tech), and whether the extent of managerial ownership prior to the IPO, company age and company size influenced disclosure.FindingsFrom the analyses conclusions are derived for four hypotheses. The hypotheses “industry differences” (H1), “managerial ownership” (H2) and “company size” (H3) were found not to be significant factors explaining voluntary disclosure of information. The fourth factor, “company age” (H4), did, however, have a significant influence on the extent of disclosure for Japanese companies. Further testing of the Japanese companies regarding age showed a continuing trend.Originality/valueAlthough Japan has been strongly associated with the concept of the knowledge society, Japanese studies regarding intellectual capital have been very scarce. No studies, to the best of one's knowledge, have examined the specific disclosure of intellectual capital information included in Japanese IPO prospectuses.

Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to describe and interpret the CEO letter in the annual reports of three multinational Swedish companies. This study focuses on the CEOs' comments on accounting principles and rules, on company decisions and actions, and on external events. Examination of CEO letters reveals how CEOs make themselves accountable to readers and establish their own and their companies' legitimacy. Design/methodology/approach -A strategic design was used to select the three companies;.the three criteria used in making the selection were company nationality, age, and stock market listing. A fourth criterion was that the company had been a nominee in the Stockholm Stock Exchange "Best Annual Report" contest. Based on a social constructivist approach, with inspiration from the field of discourse psychology, a discursive action model (DAM) is applied in this research. Findings -The analysis shows that the CEO letters at two of the three companies do not emphasize numbers and text. In the third company's CEO letters, the numbers are an important component and are balanced with text. It was found that one explanation of the CEO letter format is the CEO's wish to persuade readers of the company's legitimacy, excellence, and future survival. The CEO letter is intended to strengthen readers' confidence in the company. Originality/value -This paper provides insight into how CEOs use CEO letters in annual reports to craft a corporate image for readers.

This paper presents the case for the sustainability reporting field as a contested arena and examines the behavior and the influence of the various actors, such as the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), and the European Commission, including the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) and the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Foundation in influencing the shape of the regulation in the arena. Drawing on the arena concept and documentary analysis, this study explores the dynamic in which each actor is attempting to change the rules within the arena and how this contributes to the harmonization and future direction of sustainability reporting. The findings of this study show that the actions and behavior of the various actors are premeditated and strategically calculated to maintain their influence, relevance, and defend their technical authority in the arena. The findings also suggest that sustainability reporting regulation is still far away from harmonization due to the perceived hegemony in the arena, and diversity in the overarching objective of the various actors and the inability of each actor to renounce its particular perspective and orientation. Insights are provided for policy makers on the urgent need to decide and reclassify the specific rules required in upholding the sustainability reporting arena.

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This article studies the effects of disclosure practices of Japanese IPO prospectuses on long-term stock performance and bid-ask spread, as a proxy for cost of capital, after a company is admitted to the stock exchange. A disclosure index methodology is applied to 120 IPO prospectuses from 2003. Intellectual capital information leads to significantly better long-term performance against a reference portfolio, and is thus important to the capital market. Further, superior disclosure of IC reduces bid-ask spread in the long-term, indicating that such disclosures are important in an IPO setting. Analysts and investors can attain higher long-term returns by understanding IC.