Integrated capitals reporting and companies' sustainable value: evidence from the Asian continent

Abstract

Purpose

This paper examines the going concern of integrated reporting <IR> as the pessimistic about its sustainable value relevance is gaining momentous. The study employs a quantitative approach to data analysis and mainly sourced secondary data from integrated reports of 83 sampled companies.

Design/methodology/approach

Utilising data from the companies' integrated reports from 2015 to 2018, the study analyses the impact of <IR> capitals disclosure on corporate sustainable value. <IR> was proxied by its six capital elements, which include financial, manufactured, human, intellectual, natural and social, and relationship capitals, while sustainable value was surrogated by the cost of financing and revenue growth rate. The study develops a checklist and utilises content analysis to score the quality of disclosure by sample companies during the period.

Findings

The longitudinal panel data analysis results reveal that on overall disclosure, <IR> capital has a significant positive effect on the revenue growth but fails to document such on the cost of financing. Meanwhile, on the individual level, human capital and natural capital disclosure have an indirect effect on the cost of financing, while all the six subclassifications affect the revenue growth of the sampled companies.

Research limitations/implications

The study sampled only 83 companies across the region due to the limited availability of data. Therefore, the generalisation of findings might be hindered, and further examination might be considered as more data become available.

Practical implications

The study would support the regulators in developing countries to monitor <IR> practices for their domestic companies. It would assist the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) to review the industry's current <IR> practices and give the reason for better <IR> implementation in the future, from both minority and majority economies.

Originality/value

The study is among the pioneer studies that would consider <IR> research across the Asian continent. The study contributes to the recent discussion about sustainable value relevance of <IR>. Also, it would provide some level of incentive to those charged with governance concerning the voluntary compliance with the <IR> framework.

Citation

Anifowose, M., Abang, S. and Zakari, M.A. (2020), "Integrated capitals reporting and companies' sustainable value: evidence from the Asian continent", Asian Review of Accounting, Vol. 28 No. 4, pp. 567-589. https://doi.org/10.1108/ARA-10-2019-0184