Study | Integrated Reporting and Integrated Thinking in Privately Owned Companies

Crowe Spain researched the potential impacts and consequences of Integrated Reporting in privately-owned companies. The research consists of a series of in-depth interviews aiming to understand why and how companies engage or are likely to engage in integrated reporting and other forms of corporate reporting.

Conversations with participating organisations were structured around four key aspects. The primary goal was to understand how companies create a shared purpose, communicate value creation, and present the challenges in their internal conversations. These questions enable the researchers to understand and outline how critical principles of Integrated Reporting (strategy, performance, and future outlook) are represented in corporate rhetoric.

Within the conclusions of the study, there is specific advice for reporters regarding the need for a balanced reporting in terms of positive and negative disclosures, lessons learned from
non-implementers, and a practical framework composed of four dimensions to approach the process of integrated reporting in privately-owned organisations.

Although the fieldwork was conducted entirely in Spain, the methodology and outcomes could serve as a basis for further developments in the field of corporate reporting and the motivations and expected impact of engaging with integrated reporting and other forms of extended reporting at the corporate level.