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What does materiality mean to integrated reporting preparers? An empirical exploration

Author

Listed:
  • Alessandro Lai
  • Gaia Melloni
  • Riccardo Stacchezzini

Abstract

Purpose - This paper aims to understand how the principle of materiality gets implemented in integrated reporting (IR) contexts. Design/methodology/approach - Drawing on an interpretation of materiality as a social construction, this research explores the meaning that practitioners attach to the principle during their implementation of it. Following an existing framework for exploring materiality in corporate reporting, this study investigates the meaning by focusing on who participates in determining IR materiality and to whom the IR is addressed. This analysis benefits from in-depth interviews with persons involved in the preparation of IR for a firm that pioneered this form of reporting. Findings - In IR preparers’ view, the meaning of materiality corresponds with the company strategy: The IR describes strategic priorities and related actions and results. Capital providers are the primary intended addressees of the material information. Although several actors engage in IR preparation, the materiality determination process is governed by a specific “IR hub” in strict collaboration with and dependence on the chief financial officer. Research limitations/implications - In an IR context, materiality is intimately connected to the function that preparers assign to the report. Originality/value - This novel research opens the “black box” of the process by which materiality gets defined and then practically implemented in an IR context.

Suggested Citation

  • Alessandro Lai & Gaia Melloni & Riccardo Stacchezzini, 2017. "What does materiality mean to integrated reporting preparers? An empirical exploration," Meditari Accountancy Research, Emerald Group Publishing Limited, vol. 25(4), pages 533-552, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:eme:medarp:medar-02-2017-0113
    DOI: 10.1108/MEDAR-02-2017-0113
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Thomas, Antonio & Scandurra, Giuseppe, 2023. "The transition toward sustainability of airport operators. Evidence from Italy," Journal of Air Transport Management, Elsevier, vol. 112(C).
    2. Laura Broccardo & Sara Giovanna Mauro, 2024. "The path towards sustainability: The role of internal stakeholders and management accounting in a dialogic perspective," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 31(3), pages 2496-2513, May.
    3. Roberto Aprile & David Alexander & Federica Doni, 2023. "Enhancing the materiality principle in integrated reporting by adopting the General Systems Theory," Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 30(5), pages 2219-2233, September.
    4. Nuradhi Kalpani Jayasiri & Sriyalatha Kumarasinghe & Rakesh Pandey, 2023. "12 years of integrated reporting: A review of research," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(2), pages 2187-2243, June.
    5. Stefan Bezuidenhout & Charl de Villiers & Ruth Dimes, 2023. "How management control systems can enable, constrain, and embed integrated reporting," Accounting and Finance, Accounting and Finance Association of Australia and New Zealand, vol. 63(4), pages 4251-4273, December.
    6. Dimes, Ruth & de Villiers, Charl, 2024. "Hallmarks of Integrated Thinking," The British Accounting Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(1).

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