IIRC plans major revision to integrated reporting framework

The International Integrated Reporting Council is asking for feedback on its set of integrated reporting principles, the International <IR> Framework, encompassing financial and nonfinancial areas such as sustainability, strategy and governance.

The IIRC opened a call Thursday for market feedback on specific themes to help inform the nature and direction of the revisions. The revision is planned for this year to coincide with the IIRC’s 10th anniversary. The IIRC first published the framework in December 2013 and this will be the first revision. The IIRC wants to respond to changes in recent years, as demand grows for corporate reporting on issues such as the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals and climate change, along with stewardship and corporate governance, and inclusive capitalism. While integrated reporting hasn’t caught on as much in the U.S., some U.S.-based companies such as Clorox and Microsoft have issued integrated reports. In an integrated report, companies report on six aspects, or “capitals”: financial capital, manufacturing capital, human capital, social and relationship capital, intellectual capital and natural capital.

The focus of the revision is to emphasize how organizations can use the Framework more effectively. The IIRC has identified some of the main themes around which it hopes to elicit feedback, in three topic papers launched Thursday, covering business model considerations, responsibility for an integrated report, and charting a path forward. Each topic paper separately invites market feedback via an online survey, to cater to respondents’ areas of interest, knowledge and experience.

“Over the last seven years, the IIRC has learned a great deal from the application of the Framework by around 2,000 businesses in over 70 countries,” said IIRC chief technical officer Lisa French in a statement. “While the feedback is clear that the Framework is a robust tool that has stood the test of time, our Business Network participants and others in the corporate reporting system have been clear about where they believe minor modifications and clarifications will enhance the effectiveness of the Framework. Our three topic papers are central to how the Framework, and perhaps the IIRC’s broader agenda, should evolve. With this in mind, we are keen to hear from you now, so that the consultation draft we release in May 2020 reflects your experiences and meets your demands.”

Feedback can be submitted to www.integratedreporting.org/2020revision between Thursday, Feb. 20 and Friday, March 20, 2020. Input on the topic papers will inform the proposals in a consultation draft of the framework planned for May 2020. The timeline for the revision is as follows: