This study contributes towards the ever-growing research field of sustainability reporting
within the broader context of integrated reporting. Sustainability reporting is the
integration of the environmental, social and economic aspects of an organisation in the
communication with stakeholders. South Africa’s Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE)
has taken a leading role in the drive for integrated reporting. The aim of the study was to
determine the quality of sustainability reporting for the JSE listed firms post the
introduction of listing requirements for integrated reporting. Reports of good quality
enable stakeholders to make sound decisions from the reported information. The study
was limited to sustainability reporting for JSE listed firms. The theoretical lens for the
study is the stakeholder theory developed by Freeman (1984).
The study analyses perceptions of sustainability practitioners on quality of sustainability
reporting for JSE listed firms for the period of 2009 to 2017. In this study, the focus was
to gain rich insights from sustainability practitioners involved in the sustainability
reporting value chain of JSE listed firms. This included report preparers, report assurance
providers, report users and other report critical reviewers. The recordings of the semistructured
interviews undertaken in this study were transcribed verbatim and analysed
using a descriptive analysis technique called Tesch’s coding. The researcher reviewed
the information, probed and summarised the main themes that emerged from the
qualitative research.
The study shows that there are no explicit mandatory requirements for integrated
reporting and sustainability reporting for JSE listed firms, contrary to the perception of
some scholars and practitioners. The publication of integrated and sustainability reports
is, however, now business best practice for firms on the JSE. Admittedly, this is partly
because of King Codes recommendations of South Africa that promotes integrated
reporting. Sustainability reporting has been improving over a nine-year period, but this
cannot be solely attributed to the listing requirements. Basic interventions such as listing
requirements for integrated reporting on the JSE and the shareholder compacts on South
Africa’s State-owned companies, although not explicitly mandatory, have contributed in
promoting integrated and sustainability reporting in South Africa.
There are many drivers of sustainability reporting for JSE listed firms. These can be
categorised as internal and external drivers. The internal drivers can also be regarded as critical success factors for sustainability reporting quality for JSE listed firms. The study
revealed the dominance of the two drivers of sustainability reporting, namely stakeholder
demands and the role of leadership in shaping sustainability reporting in the South
African context. The combination of the two drivers on sustainability reporting for JSE
listed firms confirms the assumptions of the stakeholder theory.
In the process of determining the trends in reporting and the actual drivers for improved
quality in reporting, the cross-cutting theme that emerged was that different organisations
are in different stages of their reporting journey. There are early adopters and late
adopters. Organisations that choose to be involved in integrated reporting and
sustainability reporting experience a real journey of reporting, hence various
organisations are at different stages depending when and how they commenced their
reporting journey. The researcher coined that process “sustainability reporting life
stages”.
The study further found that there are many determinants for quality of sustainability
reporting for JSE listed firms. The sustainability practitioners perceive quality from the
view of the Global Reporting Initiative and Integrated Reporting Council frameworks,
thus confirming the entrenchment of the two frameworks in the South African context.
The best option assurance mechanism in the form of the Combined Assurance Model
was observable in the better reporting sectors on the JSE and State-owned companies.
The critical paths for sustainability reporting have been provided, indicating the need for
sustainability leadership and stakeholder inclusiveness. / Business Management / D.B.L.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:unisa/oai:uir.unisa.ac.za:10500/26043 |
| Date | 03 1900 |
| Creators | Ngorima, Gabriel Tafirenyika |
| Contributors | Msweli, Pumela |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | 1 online resource (xv, 172 leaves) : color illustrations, application/pdf |
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