UNIVERSITY OF CAPE COAST

DEPARTMENT OF ACCOUNTING
ACC 402: ADVANCED FINANCIAL REPORTING II
ASSIGNMENT

GROUP 2

NAMES REG.
NUMBERS
OWUSU –AFRIYIE EDMOND SB/ACC/18/0204
AIKINS KOFI JOSEPH SB/ACC/18/0301
AMISSAH RAPHAEL AMPONG SB/ACC/18/0175
OSEI OWUSU WENDY SB/ACC/18/0235
NATHANIEL ANAMAN ADAWU SB/ACC/18/0265
TUFFOUR SAMUEL SB/ACC/18/0277
DENNIS NANA AKUFFO SEKYI SB/ACC/18/0276
KWAME OSEI BAFU SB/ACC/18/0297
MAUREEN AMARKAI AMARBOYE SB/ACC/18/0273
SIMON BOTCHWAY SB/ACC/18/0209
 Non-Financial Reporting
A type of transparency reporting in which businesses formally disclose information unrelated to
their finances, such as human rights information. It enables organizations to better measure,
understand, and communicate their repercussions on human rights as well as set objectives and
control change. One of the four steps in human rights due diligence is reporting on human rights.
Non-financial data includes things like organizational culture and the company's ecological
consequences. More examples of Non-Financial Reporting include Environmental Reporting, Social
Reporting, Integrated Reporting and Ethical Principles in Corporate Reporting.

a. Environmental Reporting:
The preparation, presentation, and communication of information relating to an organization's
interactions with the natural environment is referred to as environmental reporting. Such reporting can
apply to any organization, but it is most commonly associated with corporations.

Environmental reporting is most commonly associated with self-reporting by organizations

although reporting about other organizations by government agencies and other independent bodies
and pressure groups remains an important pressure for environmental accountability (Gray, 2005).
The purpose of environmental reporting is to provide a significant tool for environmental
communication and to fulfill organizations' accountability in regards to the environmental burden.
Therefore, there are certain common items or contents that should be included in environmental
reporting which include:
 Impact Assessment.
 Occupational Health.
 Raw Materials.
 Greenhouse Gas Emissions.
 Material Flow Management.
 Performance Measurement.
 Environmental Impact.
Importance of Environmental Reporting includes:
1. Savings and increased production: To uncover savings, areas of the firm such as raw material
consumption, waste creation, and energy use may all be extensively examined.
2. Increased sales: Environmental performance reporting can have a beneficial influence on sales.
Customers and potential customers may see proof of how the company reduces its environmental
effect.
3. Supplier standing: Key environmental performance indicators (KEPIs) reporting can make the
company more appealing to others in the supplier chain.
4. More investment opportunities: With environmental concerns high on consumers' and
organizations' agendas, investors are increasingly considering the environmental performance of
enterprises when making investment decisions.

b. Social Reporting:
A social report or a social responsibility report provides an overview of the status of a business
organization in relation to areas and issues in the realms of corporate responsibility (environmental-
social-economic), based on a predefined set of metrics. (BDO, 2022). This is intended to facilitate the
review of the company's productivity in relation to a given period, prior years, and to compare its
responsible behavior to that of comparable companies.
Social reporting tries to quantify the negative and positive consequences of an enterprise's
operations on the company and/or individuals impacted by the business in monetary or non-monetary
units; it quantifies social costs and benefits. Social responsibility information regarding commercial
organizations is primarily beneficial to internal and external users, as well as in influencing a
company's share price.
Importance of Social Reporting includes:
1. Top management, particularly the CEO, requires social performance data to respond to negative
headlines, answer shareholder queries, and guarantee that corporate regulations are implemented.
Corporate directors, particularly in light of their expanding legal responsibilities, must be aware of the
company's social programs and the results obtained.

2. Present and future investors, huge institutions, and people all require social accounting and
reporting. Some research in this field have found that social transparency has an influence on
investing decisions. When making investment selections, ethical investors consider not only economic
success but also social responsibility performance of commercial businesses.

3. The disclosure of social information assists investors in analyzing the negative consequences of
social awareness expenditures on earnings per share, as well as any compensating positive benefits
that lower risk or generate interest in a certain investment.

c. Integrated reporting
According to the International Integrated Reporting Council, an integrated report is a concise
communication about how an organization’s strategy, governance, performance and prospects, in the
context of its external environment, lead to the creation of value in the short, medium and long term.
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) has mandated integrated reporting through its listing
requirements. This is the first national attempt to enforce integrated reporting across all listed
companies.
International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC)
The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) is an influential global coalition of regulators,
investors, companies, standard setters, the accounting profession and NGOs who share the view that
communication about value creation should be the next step in the evolution of corporate reporting.
The aims of the IIRC are as follows:

 to improve the quality of information available to providers of financial capital;

 to promote a more cohesive and efficient approach to corporate reporting;
 to enhance accountability and stewardship; and
 to support integrated thinking, decision-making and actions that focus on the creation of value over
the short, medium and long term.

Using the framework

An integrated report should be a designated, identifiable communication.
Any communication claiming to be an integrated report and referencing the FRAMEWORK should
apply all the requirements identified in bold unless:

 the unavailability of reliable information or specific legal prohibitions results in an inability to

disclose material information; or
 disclosure of material information would cause significant competitive harm.

In the case of the unavailability of reliable information or specific legal prohibitions, an integrated
report should:

 indicate the nature of the information that has been omitted;

 explain the reason why it has been omitted; and
 in the case of the unavailability of data, identify the steps being taken to obtain the information and
the expected time frame for doing so.

An integrated report should include a statement from those charged with governance that includes:

 an acknowledgement of their responsibility to ensure the integrity of the integrated report;

 an acknowledgement that they have applied their collective mind to the preparation and
presentation of the integrated report;
 their opinion or conclusion about whether the integrated report is presented in accordance with this
Framework;
An integrated report that does not include such a statement, should explain:
  the role those charged with governance played in its preparation and presentation;
 the steps being taken to include such a statement in future reports; and
 the time frame for doing so, which should be no later than the organization's third integrated report
that references this Framework.

Content elements of an Integrated Reporting

An integrated report should answer the following questions:

 What does the organization do and what are the circumstances under which it operates
 How does the organization's governance structure support its ability to create value in the short,
medium and long term?
 What is the organization's business model?
 What are the specific risks and opportunities that affect the organization's ability to create value
over the short, medium and long term, and how is the organization dealing with them?
 Where does the organization want to go and how does it intend to get there?
 To what extent has the organization achieved its strategic objective: for the period and what are its
outcomes in terms of effects on the capitals?
 What challenges and uncertainties are the organization likely to encounter in pursuing its strategy,
and what are the potential implications for its business model and future performance?
 How does the organization determine what matters to include in the integrated report and how are
such matters quantified or evaluated?

d. Ethical Principles in Corporate Reporting:

Accounting and financial professionals must follow ethical principles that govern how they do
business, who they serve, and how they apply their expertise. Professional accounting and finance
organizations, as well as the International Accounting Standards Board, play a significant role in
determining ethical standards. Some of the ethical principles include:

 Competence: Accountants and financial professionals must not only have acquired education and
practice that equips them for their professions, but they must continually maintain that education by
learning new knowledge that might influence their practices in order to be competent. They must,
among other things, keep up with IFRS.

 Objectivity: Accountants, according to the Association of Accountants and Financial Professionals

in Business and the American Institute of CPAs, must be neutral and avoid conflicts of interest. They
must not, for example, conduct accounting services for businesses in which they have a financial
stake. Even if they are capable of acting objectively, working for a firm owned by a family, for example,
would not appear impartial and may put doubt on the finance professional's intentions.
 Confidentiality: Financial experts have access to a considerable number of personal information
while working with a client's financial information. This contains not just financial information, but also
personnel names and contact information, as well as the names and locations of businesses with
whom the company conducts business. Financial experts are required by ethical standards to keep
that information secret until directed to do so by a court of law.

 Professional Competence and Due Care: A professional accountant has a continuing duty to
maintain professional knowledge and skill at the level required to ensure that a client or employer
receives competent professional services based on current developments in practice, legislation and
techniques. A professional accountant should act diligently and in accordance with applicable
technical and professional standards when providing professional services (IESBA, 2005).

 Integrity: In all professional and corporate dealings, a professional accountant should be direct and
honest.

 Professional Behavior: A professional accountant should follow all applicable rules and regulations
and avoid any actions that bring the profession into disrepute.

References
BDO. (2022). Social Reporting. Retrieved from BDOIsreael:
https://www.bdo.co.il/en-gb/services/corporate-governance-regulations/corporate-responsibility-
environment-and-sustainability/social-reporting#:~:text=A%20social%20report%20or%20a,a
%20predefined%20set%20of%20metrics.

Gray, R. (2005). Kaikeigaku Jiten (Dictionary of Accounting).

IESBA. (2005, June). Ethics Board. Retrieved from Revised Code of Ethics - Completed:
https://www.ethicsboard.org/projects/revised-code-ethics-completed