Reporting by the Companies: Development and Challenges

Abstract

Although there have been significant efforts towards the creation of an overarching global style for company reporting, currently there is no accepted style. Most of the countries do not have laws related to companies’ general reporting. As such, company directors tend to follow their own formats for preparing non-financial reports and disseminate only the information necessary to promote companies’ images. This trend undermines the capacity of reporting as a mechanism to promote accountability practice of the companies. By providing an assessment of the development and challenges of company reporting, this chapter suggests that companies must provide clear information regarding the economic benefit they created and the social cost attached to the creation of the economic benefits in their non-financial reports.