The aim of the diploma thesis is to design a comparison process for reporting tools with accent on managerial decision-making needs, and to demonstrate its use in practice by comparing two selected reporting tools. Theoretical foundation, on which the thesis is built, is created first. The main accent is put on introducing performance measurement and management and the role, which is played by reporting in relation to it. Reporting itself is subsequently addressed in more detail separately. The theoretical part of the thesis focuses on analysis and synthesis of findings stemming from review of literature, theses dealing with related topics, and scientific articles published electronically. The practical part of the thesis deals with the introduction and utilization of the designed comparison process for reporting tools with respect to the tools' suitability for supporting decision-making. The process was used to compare Tableau Desktop and Eclipse BIRT. Outputs in the form of graphs and dashboards from Tableau Desktop, which - given the chosen criteria and their weights - achieved higher score in comparison to Eclipse BIRT, were used to demonstrate their possible use in the context of decision-making. In the practical part of the thesis comparison is used based on the designed process, defined method of calculating criteria weights and evaluation system. Criteria weights are calculated using Fuller's pairwise comparison method. Generic information shown is based on the analysis and synthesis of related publicly accessible business, economic, marketing and product information. The thesis puts reporting into the context of decision-making process, more specifically into the context of its role within performance measurement and management. The conclusion that can be drawn is that even though there are numerous processes, approaches, methods, disciplines etc. dealing with performance measurement and management, it is reporting that provides the means enabling smoother decision-making. Thanks to reporting it is possible to access large volumes of data and information stored in the source systems, transform them and present them to users in a way which will support their decision-making needs. The contribution of the thesis lies in the creation of a flexible process for reporting tools comparison. The introduced process can be used by any organization dealing with the matter of choosing the most suitable reporting tool from more alternatives. The introduced process enables organizations to use a clearly defined sequence of steps, while at the same time allowing them to choose appropriate parameters best fitting their needs. Thus, the introduced process reflects the fact that priorities and needs of organizations may differ and therefore it is not possible to introduce a set of rigid criteria suiting the needs of all in general.

This Master´s Thesis is focused on reporting of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR reporting). The purpose of this thesis is to create CSR report for company Siemens Czech Republic for the year 2014. Theoretical part is dedicated to introduce the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility and Stakeholder concept. The next part is focused on relation between CSR concept and CSR reporting, its benefits and trends. The last theoretical part introduces applicable standards regarding CSR reporting, the attention is put on company GRI and its reporting framework. Practical part deals with Siemens Czech Republic, there is described process of reporting with disclosed CSR report for this chosen company. The version G3.0 of GRI standard was used for create this report.

Sammanfattning Syfte: Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka om det skett en förändring i mängden redovisning av socialt och miljömässigt ansvarstagande, dvs. hållbarhetsredovisning, i årsredovisningar hos svenska börsnoterade bolag samt undersöka faktorer som kan förklara hållbarhetsredovisning. Metod: Studien har utgått från den positivistiska forskningsfilosofin och använder en deduktiv ansats. För att besvara studiens syfte har en kvantitativ metod använts genom en innehållsanalys samt hypotesprövningar. Populationen består av 142 företag 2012 samt 160 företag 2015 samtliga noterade på Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. Totalt undersöktes 302 årsredovisningar. De data som samlats in är sekundärdata och består av information från årsredovisningar, databaser samt böcker som sedan ställts mot tidigare forskning och teorier. Resultat och slutsats: Studiens resultat visar att det har skett en förändring av socialt och miljömässigt ansvarstagande i företags årsredovisningar. Vårt resultat visar att en positiv förändring av hållbarhetsredovisningen går att utläsa. Dock är denna liten. Studiens statistiska tester visar att det finns ett positivt signifikant samband mellan mängden hållbarhetsredovisning och företags storlek, lönsamhet samt år. Dessutom visar studien att företags bransch har en inverkan på redovisningen men enbart några är signifikanta. Ägarstruktur och kvinnor i styrelsen visar inget signifikant resultat med redovisningen. Uppsatsens bidrag: Studiens praktiska bidrag har kartlagt om det skett en förändring av hållbarhetsrapportering i årsredovisningen hos svenska börsnoterade bolag. Studien påvisar att en positiv förändring har skett mellan 2012 och 2015. Detta kan vara av intresse för de företag som hållbarhetsredovisar. Det teoretiska bidrag denna studie har är att den bidrar med vidare forskning kring variabler som påverkar mängden hållbarhetsredovisning, där lönsamhet och företagsstorlek har en inverkan på hållbarhetsredovisningen. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: Förslag till vidare forskning är att ha ett större spann mellan åren för att tydligare kunna utläsa en förändring. Ytterligare ett förslag är att undersöka rapporteringen på företags separata hållbarhetsrapporter. Till sist ges förslaget om att göra en liknande studie när den nya lagen gällande hållbarhetsredovisning trätt i kraft och blir synlig inom rapporter. / Abstract Aim: The purpose of this study is to examine whether there has been a change in the reporting of social and environmental disclosures, i.e. sustainability reporting, in annual reports of listed swedish corporations and to examine factors that can explain the sustainability report. Method: The study is based on positivist research philosophy and uses a deductive approach. In order to achieve the aim of the study a quantitative method has been used through a content analysis and hypothesis tests. The population consist of 142 companies 2012 and 160 companies 2015, all listed on Nasdaq OMX Stockholm. In total 302 annual reports were examined. The data that has been used are secondary data and the information from annual reports, databases as well as books was then set against previous research and theories. Results and conclusion: The result of the study shows that it has been a change in the reporting of social and environmental reporting in annual reports. Our results indicate that a positive change of sustainability reporting can be seen. However the difference is relatively small. The study’s statistical tests indicate that there is a positive significant correlation between sustainability reporting and company size, profitability and time. In addition the study shows that business sector has an impact on the sustainability reporting but only a few are significant. Ownership structure and women in the board shows no significant results with the sustainability report. Contributions of the thesis: This study's practical contribution is to chart if there has been a change over time of this reporting in the annual reports of swedish listed corporations. The study shows that there has been a change between 2012 and 2015. This result can be of interest for corporations that uses sustaniability reporting. The theoretical contribution of this study is that it contributes with further research on variables that affect the production of sustainability reporting. Where profitability and company size have an impact on this accounting method. Suggestions for further research: Suggestions for future research is to have a wider range between the years in order to be able to read a more accurate difference. Another suggestion is to investigate the reporting on companies separate sustainability reports. A further proposal is to do a similar study when the new law enters into force regarding sustainability reporting and becomes visible within the reports.

Im Zuge der zunehmenden Digitalisierung von Unternehmens- und Finanzdaten war es ein Industriekonsortium, das auf Basis der eXtensible Markup Language (XML) die Sprache eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) entwickelte und damit die Finanzberichterstattung in ein neues Zeitalter versetzte. Internetbasiert, plattform-unabhängig, vergleichbar, transparent und in Echtzeit sollen Geschäftsdaten mittels der XBRL übertragen werden und zur Verfügung stehen. Die kumulative Dissertation untersucht dazu den Spannungsbogen zwischen Flexibilität und Automatisierbarkeit im Rahmen der XBRL-basierten Finanzberichterstattung. Neben der wissenschaftstheoretischen Auseinandersetzung mit Standards gibt die Dissertation einen systematischen Überblick von wissenschaftlichen Publikation zur XBRL-Forschung. Im Detail erbringt die Arbeit einen umfassenden und systematischen empirischen Nachweis zur Verwendung von erweiterten Berichtskonzepten sowie den empirischen Nachweis der Ausprägungen von einzelnen Konflikttypen in XBRL-basierten Finanzberichten und erweitert somit die bestehende wissenschaftliche Literatur um die gewonnenen Ergebnisse und Erkenntnisse. Die darauf aufbauende Methode steigert die Vergleichbarkeit der Finanzberichte und verwendet Techniken, welche Konflikte erkennen und diese nach Konflikttypen unterscheiden. Gleichzeitig werden die Möglichkeiten und Grenzen der Arbeit verdeutlicht und zukünftige Forschungsthemen aufgeführt.

The fashion industry is the third largest manufacturing industry in the world. Companies’ sustainability reports contain the organization's social, economic and environmental work. Comparability is a necessary principle for stakeholders to make investment decisions between companies based on their sustainability reports. Voluntary sustainability reporting has recently become more common. Furthermore, states årsredovisningslagen (ÅRL) in Sweden that certain companies are obliged to prepare sustainability reports. In the US, on the other hand, there are no requirements for companies to report about sustainability. The comparability between companies' sustainability reports is improved by following Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards. The purpose of the study is to make a comparison between Swedish and American companies' sustainability reports and within each country in the fashion industry. The aim is to see how well companies’ sustainability reports in the US and Sweden follow the principle of comparability in terms of indicators in GRI's standards. To investigate this, a quantitative and qualitative method have been used. Theories used in the investigation to study comparability in American and Swedish clothing companies are the institutional theory and the legitimacy theory. The study shows that comparability is generally deficient between the US and Sweden and within each country. Worst comparability was found between Sweden and the US but within each country, Sweden had the best comparability

Title: International standards in sustainability reports: The differences in applicationbetween the EU and the USA. Level: Bachelor Authors: Anna Wallberg & Sofia Lundgren Supervisor: Jan SvanbergDate: 2024 – January Background: Non-financial accounting and reporting is relevant in today's societybecause society has become more aware and involved in sustainability issues. Researchers and decision-makers have difficulty agreeing on what is essential in nonfinancial reporting, thus different methods have arisen from different directives, whichresult in complicated consequences. Purpose: To analyze information within non-financial reporting in the US, and examinedifferences in the use of methods. The study is based on GRI standards against SASB'sguidelines. Method: The study uses a quantitative method and a deductive approach to examinenon-financial information from the US. Results & Conclusion: Policies and objectives are equally essential between GRI andSASB, however, a difference can be detected in the substantial effects that are reported. The study found a clear contrast in the materiality of the non-financial reports, and theydepend on the direction the standardization organizations choose to focus on. Contribution: The study has contributed to the research area by showing that there arelarge differences in information, regarding the substantial effects in environmentalreporting regarding the non-financial reports. Continued research: One recommendation is to carry out an in-depth study, whichexamines the underlying factors why companies choose not to report all substantialeffects in their non-financial reports. Keywords: Corporate social responsibility (CSR), ESG, SASB, Global reportinginitiative (GRI), Sustainability reporting / Titel: Internationella standarder inom hållbarhetsrapporter: Skillnaderna inomtillämpningen GRI och SASB:s ramverk i USA Nivå: Examensarbete på grundnivå (kandidatexamen) i ämnet företagsekonomi Författare: Anna Wallberg och Sofia Lundgren Handledare: Jan Svanberg Datum: 2024 - Januari Bakgrund: Icke-finansiell redovisning och rapportering är aktuellt i dagens samhälle pågrund av att samhället har blivit mer medvetet och involverad i hållbarhetsfrågor. Forskare samt beslutsfattare har svårt att enas om vad som är väsentligt inom ickefinansiell rapportering, därmed har olika metoder uppstått från skilda direktiv, somresulterar i komplicerade konsekvenser. Syfte: Att analysera upplysningar inom icke-finansiell rapportering i USA, samtundersöka skillnader inom användandet av metoder. Studien utgår från GRI-standarderkontra SASB:s riktlinjer. Metod: Studien använder sig av en kvantitativ metod samt en deduktiv ansats för attundersöka icke-finansiell information från USA. Resultat och slutsats: Policys och mål är likvärdigt väsentlig mellan GRI och SASB,dock kan skillnader upptäckas i de substantiella effekterna som påverkar och rapporteras. Studien upptäckte en tydlig kontrast när det gäller väsentligheten i de ickefinansiella rapporterna, och dessa beror på den inriktningstandardiseringsorganisationerna väljer att fokusera på. Examensarbetets bidrag: Studien har bidragit till forskningsområdet genom att visa attdet finns stora skillnader inom upplysningar, när det gäller de substantiella effekterna imiljörapportering beträffande de icke-finansiella rapporterna. Förslag till fortsatt forskning: En rekommendation är att uträtta en fördjupande studie,som undersöker de bakomliggande faktorerna till varför företag väljer att inte rapporteraalla substantiella effekter i sina icke-finansiella rapporter. Nyckelord: CSR, ESG, SASB, GRI, hållbarhetsrapportering

The new sustainability directive Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive [CSRD] isdescribed as the biggest thing that has happened since International Financial ReportingStandards [IFRS] was implemented in the reporting world. A watered-down Non-FinancialReporting Directive [NFRD] will be given new strength through CSRD, which entails higherand stricter requirements for reporting companies to report sustainability information to, amongother things, improve comparability and credibility, and as a step on the way to equatingsustainability reporting with financial reporting. A common way of explaining CSRD at theagency is "GRI on steroids" as a synonym for the higher and more comprehensive requirementsof the directive.This study has been carried out as a case study and aims to create an understanding of auditfirms' perceptions regarding the new sustainability directive CSRD and how they prepare forimplementation. But also, how audit firms are involved in the interpretation and design of thedirective. More precisely, the study has been carried out as a case study of the audit firm KPMG.The purpose of the study has been achieved by first carrying out text analysis which consistedof, among other things, EU documents regarding CSRD, web pages and newspaper interviews.In addition to text analysis, an observation was also carried out which consisted of a webinarfrom European Accounting Association [EAA]. Finally, six interviews were conducted withsustainability experts from KPMG who have extensive knowledge in sustainable business andwho work proactively in the field. Institutional theory has been combined with the threedifferent methods to be able to produce analyses regarding agencies' perceptions about thedirective.In conclusion, the study demonstrates the impact of institutional pressures where there arepressures from different market players pulling in different directions. The institutionalpressures, which are exerted by for example the reporting companies, their stakeholders, andaudit firms, reflect the different players’ interests. Because of these pressures, KPMG needs toadapt its operations to the new directive in order to remain competitive on the market. KPMGis also involved in shaping what the final draft of the directive and the new standards will be,as they are part of the Förenade Auktoriserade Revisorerna [FAR] and the European FinancialReporting Advisory Group [EFRAG] that work to develop and interpret the directive. Becauseof this and the size of the firm, KPMG is able to exert pressure on the standard setters to shapethe final draft of the CSRD in accordance with KPMG’s interests.

The European Union entered into force the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which represents a comprehensive framework to enhance transparency and accountability in corporate sustainability reporting. The study focuses on the organisational change processes and attitudes activated in the companies by the implementation of mandatory sustainability reporting under the CSRD. The study aims to provide insights into the practical adoption of the CSRD from an organisational change perspective. While prior studies have concentrated on more isolated aspects of CSRD implementation, this paper offers a holistic outlook on the entirety of the change processes involved. To achieve the goal, nine semi-structured interviews were conducted with sustainability professionals representing various organisations that are obligated to report under the CSRD in 2025 and 2026. This study develops an analytical framework combining Corporate Social Responsibility theory and Organisational Change frameworks. The results indicate that the CSRD serves as a catalyst for organisational change in all companies, regardless of their prior reporting practices. In managing this change, companies have to integrate sustainability and market concerns into their strategies.

The traditional focus of financial reporting has been on meeting the needs of investors and creditors. However, meeting the needs of other users of financial reports, particularly the employees, cannot be ignored. Employee reporting has therefore evolved as a form of reporting which meets the needs of employees for information about the enterprise for which they work. In South Africa, this is a particularly pertinent topic as a result of recent developments which highlight the need to provide other users with information and emphasize the rights of employees. Furthermore, companies in South Africa are producing employee reports although there is no guidance by any regulatory bodies as to the form and contents of such reports. This study examines the desirability of employee reporting in South Africa with emphasis on the theoretical background to the subject, and the attitudes of employers and public accountants towards the desirability of employee reporting, its form and contents, and public accountant involvement with published employee reports. After analysis, it was concluded: (1) There is a need for employee reporting. (2) Although the average response provided support for a separate employee report issued annually as the most desirable form of employee reporting, employers preferred regular meetings as the form of employee reporting. (3) Public accountant involvement with published employee reports is undesirable. (4) More research is needed. These conclusions support the following recommendations. (1) SAICA should show support for the disclosures required by The King report on corporate governance. (2) SAICA should re-instate the Employee Report Award. (3) The communication role of employee reporting should be emphasized. (4) There should be no regulatory interference with the form of employee reporting at the moment. / Financial Accounting / D. Comm. (Accounting)

The traditional focus of financial reporting has been on meeting the needs of investors and creditors. However, meeting the needs of other users of financial reports, particularly the employees, cannot be ignored. Employee reporting has therefore evolved as a form of reporting which meets the needs of employees for information about the enterprise for which they work. In South Africa, this is a particularly pertinent topic as a result of recent developments which highlight the need to provide other users with information and emphasize the rights of employees. Furthermore, companies in South Africa are producing employee reports although there is no guidance by any regulatory bodies as to the form and contents of such reports. This study examines the desirability of employee reporting in South Africa with emphasis on the theoretical background to the subject, and the attitudes of employers and public accountants towards the desirability of employee reporting, its form and contents, and public accountant involvement with published employee reports. After analysis, it was concluded: (1) There is a need for employee reporting. (2) Although the average response provided support for a separate employee report issued annually as the most desirable form of employee reporting, employers preferred regular meetings as the form of employee reporting. (3) Public accountant involvement with published employee reports is undesirable. (4) More research is needed. These conclusions support the following recommendations. (1) SAICA should show support for the disclosures required by The King report on corporate governance. (2) SAICA should re-instate the Employee Report Award. (3) The communication role of employee reporting should be emphasized. (4) There should be no regulatory interference with the form of employee reporting at the moment. / Financial Accounting / D. Comm. (Accounting)