ACCOUNTING STANDARDS AS A SUPPORT FOR QUALITY DECISION MAKING

Decision making should be based on high quality information relevant for guiding companies towards achieving sustainable goals and objectives. Accounting and sustainability standards as well as chosen accounting instruments have significant impact on quality of information and possibilities of their comparison (benchmarking). This paper will present the research results of achieved level of sustainability accounting reporting system in Croatian hotel industry, especially in the field in which internal results can be used for external purposes. Outcomes of this research have great implications on the improvement of sustainability reporting system in Croatian hotel industry that is based on successful implementation of USALI and IFRS 8 standards and best EU practice. The research results indicate that Croatia has tradition of more than 20 years of segment reporting implementation, according to USALI standards, compatible with IFRS 8 (adopted from 1st January, 2009). Highest number of Croatian hotel companies report information only on two segments (room, food & beverage)significantly lower than 10th edition framework of USALI standards offer. Sustainable development information is presented only in few companies in Croatia, in order to satisfy formality, other than present useful information, made in accordance with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The improvement in sustainability reporting system will enhance information transparency between companies and external users, and contribute to raising awareness of sustainability issues crucial for the development of the hotel itself and entire destination. For the purpose of enhancing quality sustainable reporting system for managers and external users (especially for nonfinancial information of sustainability), criteria of financial information presented according to standards USALI & IFRS 8 were applied. Contribution of this paper is in assessing the model of internal sustainability reporting, based on the hotel management information requirements and at the same time harmonized with the legal requirements and internationally accepted standards, with the possibility of international comparison

Information Systems for Sustainable Organizations

Nowadays sustainability is a broad and complex concept, which should be applied to any significant economic activity. Sustainable development involves environmental, economic and social aspects of long-term local and global processes implying an overall progress. Various contradicting requests arise which organizations should resolve in their projects and the proper information support becomes a key factor for this. In the context of the above, the goal of this paper is to examine how information systems within the organization contribute for sustainable development by providing appropriate information services. The monitoring and reporting of the organisational impact on sustainability is constantly required both by members and business partners. Thus, sustainability can be viewed as a new dimension of information system assessment

Corporate sustainability reporting: scrutinising the requirements of comparability, transparency and reflection of sustainability performance

Companies of different size and sector regularly publish sustainability reports in order to record and disseminate their activities aimed at contributing to sustainable development and to refl ect their corporate social responsibility. From the various existing suggestions for such reports, the principles and guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative are most widely used – at least among large companies. The very detailed guidelines and indicator system aim at supporting companies to provide relevant, balanced, comparable, accurate, timely, clear and reliable information on corporate activities and performance, while focusing on sustainability-context and stakeholder inclusiveness in their “non-financial” reporting. However, based on research into the content and quality of non-financial reporting, it is difficult to clearly conclude just how comparable and transparent the reports are, as well as to decide whether they truly refl ect the sustainability performance of the reporting companies. The paper provides a literature review and a qualitative analysis on the reporting practice of 37 large companies

An assessment of the environmental sustainability guidelines and requirements set by international stock exchanges

A dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Science, University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science. Johannesburg, 5 June 2017.Environmental reporting is largely voluntary for companies, unlike financial reporting which has well set standards for measurement, reporting, auditing and governing laws based on IFRS and GAAP. A driver such as a stock exchange is able to act as a “regulating body” that requires a minimum reporting standard for companies listed on the stock exchange. Stock exchanges have an ethical responsibility to encourage companies listed with them to be environmental stewards to provide investors with responsible investment opportunities. This study provides an understanding of the quality of environmental guidelines presented by international stock exchanges compared to key global environmental concerns. The aim of this dissertation was to assess and compare sustainability guidelines provided by selected stock exchanges, with specific focus on key global environmental concerns. The objectives were (1) to assess the existing environmental reporting requirements of 19 stock exchanges across all continents, (2) to determine how the JSE environmental reporting guidelines compared to those of other stock exchanges, (3) to compare 20 JSE listed companies’ environmental reports based on the presence and quality of data, (4) to compare what companies reported to what the JSE required and (5) to identify possible differences in reporting between the impact levels and industries of companies. A Sustainability Balanced Scorecard (SBSC) was developed by identifying seven key global environmental concerns (resources; biodiversity; water; energy; emissions, pollution and waste; products and services; and supply chain management) that were common themes from the MEA (2005) and UNEP Ecosystem Management policy (2010). A five tier scoring system specific to assessing reporting guidelines and another five tier scoring system specific to assessing company environmental reports were used. Nineteen stock exchange guidelines were assessed to represent both developing and developed countries and all regions (Africa, America, Australasia and Europe). Overall, the stock exchange guidelines addressed the key global environmental concerns rather poorly. There were no differences in the quality of guidelines for stock exchanges that recommended guidelines in developing or developed countries. There were no differences found in the guidelines of stock exchanges operating in different regions. There were differences in the focus on key global environmental concerns by the guidelines. The environmental information reported by twenty companies spanning three impact levels and seven industries was also assessed. The companies in the high and medium impact levels iv reported similarly and better than the companies in the low impact levels. There were differences found in the way companies reported according to the different industries as well as differences in the way companies addressed the key global environmental concerns. Even though the JSE’s developed guidelines did not account for resources and biodiversity, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) reporting guidelines that the JSE recommended to their listed companies covered these categories. Companies reported voluntarily on the categories because they may understand the importance of managing resources and biodiversity for the sustainability of their business. Stock exchanges are faced with a variety of companies at different impact levels representing different industries, making it difficult to provide a minimum set of environmental reporting guidelines. Stock exchanges should require companies to report on all key global environmental concerns identified in this study, but should not dictate how the companies report on them. Global environmental reporting standards may be better suited with a global sustainability body like the Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) that is able to provide global standards for all companies. Companies need to change the way that they do business, the benefits of reporting on environmental performance outweigh the risks of not reporting and managing these impacts. Sustainability reporting and best practise today may be the compliance of the future. Stakeholders are increasingly expecting companies to contribute more to environmental sustainability. Companies are essential in building a resilient planet that will be able to feed a growing population that will increase from seven to nine billion people by 2050. Key words: Environmental Sustainability; Johannesburg Stock Exchange; Millennium Ecosystem Assessment; Sustainability Balanced Score Card Approach; United Nations Environment Programme Ecosystem Management PolicyGR201

Implementation of environmental strategies in companies’ management and control system

Sustainability reporting has grown in importance and transparency over the years. The reporting has in many countries gone from being voluntarily to become mandatory. This is the case within the EU, which adopted the non-financial reporting directive (2014/95/EU) in 2014. Sweden applied the directive in 2017 in the Annual Account Act. At the same time as the requirements have increased research has showed there is a gap between the content of the disclosed reports and companies’ actual sustainability activities. To create a reliable and transparent external sustainability report there is a need to take internal activities into account and collect data for reporting from internal management and control systems. Previous research has also recognised that sustainability needs to be a part of the corporate strategy in order to ensure that sustainability becomes a part of the business operations. In order to contribute to a deeper understanding of any deficiencies between the information provided in sustainability reports and the internal activities the aim of this study is to investigate and explain the implementation of environmental strategies in company’s management and controls system. Swedish companies operating in industries with a high environmental impact, the forest-, paper-, mining-, and steel industry, are selected as research objects in this study. A deductive method in combination with a hermeneutic method is applied. Management control systems, corporate sustainability strategy, legal requirements, the Global Reporting Initiative and accounting postulates form the theoretical framework. The empirical result shows there is a gap between the communicated environmental strategies and the implementation in the company management control system in each of the three industries. The result of the study raises questions regarding what the goal is for the communicated environmental strategies and to what extent the strategies are implemented. Another conclusion is that the companies in the three industries do not comply with the GRI framework, when reporting a limited number of environmental performance indicators. In addition, despite of a mandatory regulation for disclosing of non-financial information and the use of a common framework there is no common reporting standard for companies in the studied industries. External stakeholders need to have access to relevant non-financial information to assess companies’ impact on the environment. Current legislation and standard frameworks provide a high level of flexibility regarding what to report. In order to achieve a common standard this study shows a need to add a conceptual sustainable framework for accounting and reporting, enforcement mechanisms and regulated common standards to achieve a more transparent and reliable reporting practice

Paradigm Shift in Corporate Reporting

In this paper, we present the evolution of integrated reporting and organizations playing an active role in this process. As a result of the changes, corporate reports including only historical financial information have become insufficient. It has started to be important for the firms to be sensitive towards environment, social capital and governance. For these reasons, authorities started to search for new reporting types. Their aim was to form a report giving detailed (prospective and retrospective) information about the total performance of the firm. Sustainability reports, the starting point of integrated reporting, were established and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards were formed to increase the popularization. Integrated reports aim to supply full disclosure about the firms’ strategies, goals and performances. They also respond to the demands and needs of key stakeholders. In order to actualize the financial stability and sustainability, they are necessary. Integrated reports also put related groups into play. So, decision makers become a participant instead of watching the system from outside. In addition, integrated thinking philosophy provides systematic disclosure of value creation, namely how organizations made resource allocations in the past and how they will create value in the future according to their business models

Automated sustainability assessment system for small and medium enterprises reporting

Sustainability assessment is a mainstream business activity that demonstrates the link between the organization's strategy for and commitment to a sustainable global economy, and the prevention of economic crises. Small- and medium-sized businesses/enterprises (SMBs/SMEs) have significant effects on the European economy. However, because of a lot of restriction factors, like business risk, the high expenses of data collection and management, and the lack of resources, sustainability reporting is considered a superfluous and burdensome activity for them. The aim of this research is to propose an automated, comprehensive and simplified system for the sustainability assessment of SMEs. This system is achieved by implementing three main phases. The first phase includes key performance indicators design, which starts with the identification of various key performance indicators for comprehensive sustainability assessment, and ends with proposing an optimal set of KPIs (Key Performance Indicators) that can encompass long-term issues and be applicable to SMEs in the EU. The second phase involves a new comprehensive method of sustainability assessment for all KPIs designed in the first phase. Therefore, a multi-criteria model, which involves four main pillars of sustainability assessment (economic, environmental, social and governance), is proposed. It gives different enterprises the ability to verify and compare their efficiency and sustainability with other companies within the same sector in an almost automated manner. In the final phase, a simple and an automated information system (WEBRIS), which provides a suitable environment for SME sustainability reporting, is developed. Finally, this system is verified in a case study of the Czech breweries sector.O

Sustainable development goals in the hospitality industry: a dream or reality?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to explore how effectively leading sustainable hotels have integrated Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) into their reporting. The main aim is to pinpoint areas for improvement concerning SDG reporting which can help the hospitality industry to achieve a transformation in a more SDG-aligned global tourism system. Design/methodology/approach – For this study, a content analysis technique was used to extract the information regarding strategic consistency of SDG reporting. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied to the analysis of this information. This paper seeks to assess the extent to which the materiality analysis, corporate targets and performance indicators defined by the world’s top sustainable hotels in their sustainability reports are consistent with those SDGs linked to the business. To that end, the authors have selected the most sustainable hotels according to the SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment in 2020. Findings – The results of this study show that the most sustainable hotel companies did not take a strategic consistency approach when reporting the SDGs. These findings identify four areas for improvement concerning reporting, which may promote the adoption of a strategic and consistent approach in SDG reporting. Practical implications – This study includes a set of recommendations to provide the market with complete, coherent and comparable information on their contribution to the SDGs and, therefore, foster collective learning to bring about sustainable tourism transformation. Originality/value – This paper represents a contribution to the discussion on the strategic or symbolic implementation of SDGs at a corporate level. In addition, this paper reflects a deeper understanding of how hotel companies could improve their reporting and management system to contribute to SDGs