More than three quarters (81%) of FTSE 100 companies now produce a standalone CSR report, according to statistics from CorporateRegister.com, a database of CSR reports run by Next Step Consulting, it was announced on September 9. Towards Transparency: Progress on Global Sustainability Reporting 2004, written by the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants and CorporateRegister.com notes that only 2,000 companies around the world actively report on corporate social responsibility. It also finds significant differences in the quantity and calibre of reports produced within and between the studied regions, which include Europe, the Americas, Africa, Asia and Australasia. The report calls for wider adoption of existing guidelines, such as the Global Reporting Initiative to allow for more meaningful future comparisons.Contact Sundip Sohal, Next Step Consulting 020 8930 9222 (http://www.nextstep.co.uk)
East-side story
The seventh semi-annual Survey of Investor Relations Online published on September 28 by the Partners for Financial Stability Program indicates that the largest listed companies in Central and Eastern Europe have improved their online disclosure on a range of CSR issues. Of the companies surveyed:
l almost all (99%) disclose governance information in their annual report
l over half (51%) mention employee development or benefits policy in their annual report
l over a third (35%) note compliance with environmental standards in their annual report.
Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania were included in the survey for the first time.Contact Geoffrey Mazullo, PFS, 00 36 1 269 7888 (http://www.ewmi.hu)
OFR update
The consultation on the draft Operating Financial Review ended in August. The government is considering responses and speculation is mounting that it will delay the introduction of regulations to parliament in the autumn. The original plan was for the Accounting Standards Board to publish the proposed standard in the second half of the year, to be implemented in 2005.Contact DTI 020 7215 5977 (http://www.dti.gov.uk)
COMMENT:
Are the wheels coming off the OFR bandwagon?
Are the wheels coming off the OFR bandwagon? Consultancies, conference organisers and assorted PR outfits have hailed the arrival of “mandatory social reporting” to offer seminars, services and much more. Unfortunately the government’s stated intention to require large companies to provide a balanced and forward-looking Operating and Financial Review has been spun out of all proportion to what is actually being proposed: directors only required to think about a broader set of issues and to have a process for deciding what to report to shareholders. The Accounting Standards Board has said it can’t complete the detailed guidance in time. As we go to press Briefing awaits the formal announcement that implementation will be delayed at least a year, for reports produced after January 2006 at the earliest. Plans for an OFR are a step forward, but only a small one.
COMMENTS