PwC | Global

Implementing integrated reporting: PwC's practical guide to a new business language

A fundamental change in reporting requires much more than a focus on the end report. It requires a deeper understanding of all the building blocks of the business' value creation process.

Paul Fitzsimon, PwC Head of Reporting and Chief Accountant.

Who is this practical guide for?

This guidance is for anyone looking to implement a more holistic business management system or integrated reporting. Management teams setting out on the journey will find practical advice and steps to follow. Those already on the journey can use it to assess their current approach and support future enhancement. You can step in at any time, whether you are starting your first integrated report or want to improve your current reporting process.

The guide will also provide the 'how to' for companies seeing a move by their regulators towards more holistic reporting, e.g. in the form of the EU directive on non-financial disclosure, the Strategic Report (UK) as well as the International Integrated Reporting Framework issued by the IIRC.

What do we mean by integrated reporting?

Integrated reporting is the means by which the broader value drivers of a business are managed internally and then communicated to investors and other stakeholders. It involves a widening of focus from traditional models, which look mainly at financial and manufactured resources. It also involves a more connected approach, i.e. understanding how the other resources a business uses (for example, human, social and relationship, and natural) interact and impact on the financials and each other. It requires a forward-looking stance where all these interrelated factors are considered at a strategic level. So by 'integrated reporting' we mean both the internal business management (which is sometimes referred to as integrated thinking) and the external periodic report.