The Chartered Institute of Public Finance and Accountancy and the International Integrated Reporting Council said Wednesday they are creating a public sector pioneer network to promote the implementation of integrated reporting in the public sector.
The network will be overseen by a steering group of participants and external organizations. The network will help identify and address key sector specific aspects for integrated reporting, which the IIRC has branded as , and facilitate the application of to public sector organizations. The network is intended to be diverse and inclusive to ensure a full range of experience and practice from across the global public sector.
“This is a huge step forward for Integrated Reporting and a significant development for the public sector around the world,” CIPFA policy and technical director Ian Carruthers said in a statement. “With so much of global GDP spent by public bodies, applying Integrated Reporting principles will give a much more transparent view of how and where their resources are used. We hope that public sector organizations from across the world will take up the transformational challenge of Integrated Reporting and join this exciting new pioneer group.”
Integrated reporting aims to promote a more cohesive and efficient approach to corporate reporting that draws on different reporting strands and communicates the full range of factors that materially affect the ability of an organization to create value over time. The International Framework offers principles-based guidance that allows organizations to innovate and develop their reporting in the context of their own strategy, goals and objectives.
“This network is a key opportunity for public sector organizations to use to understand and clarify the connectivity of the information they already publish,” said IIRC technical director Lisa French. “The aim of many public sector bodies to present a more complete, coherent and concise picture will be aided by the International Framework. “The Framework was developed through the IIRC Pilot Program, and its principles are readily applied to the public sector. This sentiment is echoed by the public sector organizations already reaping the benefits of . This network of pioneers will shape the public sector perspective of as well as serve to encourage peers in the public sector to adopt it.”
Integrated reporting has attracted a variety of adherents, including at the World Bank. “Integrated reporting does more for an organization than just facilitate the creation of a holistic report of overall performance,” said Bertrand Badré, managing director and World Bank Group CFO. “It fosters and embeds integrated thinking—everyone has a common understanding and speaks the same language. At the World Bank Group, in addition to being a global development institution we are also a financial institution, and see the International Framework as a tremendous tool to help us align our performance with our strategic developmental objectives.”
Organizations interested in joining the Public Sector Pioneer Network can access a
