Corporate Social Responsibility and Nonfinancial Disclosure: The Need for Reporting Guidelines to Be Based on Simplicity, Comparability and Accessibility, A Structured Abstract

Abstract

The increasing interest in the wider societal responsibilities of the business community has highlighted the call for the employment of transparent and accountable commercial practices (Initiative for Responsible Investment 2014). This pressure for transparency in business activities has resulted in a growth of information disclosure methods. The most recent addition in the approaches used to convey the responsibility message has centred on the disclosure of nonfinancial information, involving both mandatory and voluntary actions taken by companies (BIS 2013). This focus has now entered an increasingly monitored period, with laws, directives and regulations being introduced at an international level. According to research headed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP et al. 2010), this is aimed at strengthening compliance and comparability of corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related initiatives.