Thesis
Value-added and sustainability reporting : leveraging on conventional accounting practices for accountability and information decision usefulness – a case study of South Africa
- Creator
- Rights statement
- Awarding institution
- University of Strathclyde
- Date of award
- 2024
- Thesis identifier
- T16983
- Person Identifier (Local)
- 201859320
- Qualification Level
- Qualification Name
- Department, School or Faculty
- Abstract
- Following the emerging and increasing interest in value-added and sustainability reporting, countries like South Africa have enhanced their corporate sustainability disclosures (CSDs) through the use of acceptable value-added statements (VAS) and related metrics in their annual reports. Listed companies on the JSE Ltd have either produced a VAS, Sustainable Development Report (SDRs) or related CSDs by leveraging on existing reporting frameworks to meet the information user needs of the wider stakeholders. This thesis used a mixed method approach to examine the reasonable acceptability of the VAS as an ideal value added report by corporate organisations to meet the information user needs of the wider stakeholder groups. Additionally, this thesis sought to understand the detailed Sustainability and Value – Added Reporting (VAR) practices of corporate organisations by using the South African context as a case study. The quantitative approach revealed that there is a growing trend in the amount and volume of value-added and sustainability reports produced by listed firms in South Africa. It further revealed the increasing appetite by corporate entities to include infographics and supporting narratives to explain the sustainability and value added practices of the companies with the aim of gaining and maintaining legitimacy in their business environments. The qualitative findings suggest that value-added and sustainability reporting converge with and diverge from each other which requires a clearer delineation of these practices. Furthermore, the qualitative findings suggest that harmonizing the various sustainability reporting standards into common canons could take a while due to the consistently changing dynamics of sustainable development programmes. However, there is the need to effectively assure (audit) these value-added and sustainability programmes of corporate entities and possibly align them to generally acceptable reporting frameworks such as the UN System of National Accounting in order to unearth more items of values. In doing so, corporate value-added practices and sustainability programmes will go a long way to help the wider stakeholders make informed and useful decisions. The research concluded that in order for corporate entities in emerging economies like South Africa to gain the legitimacy to operate within their socially contracted regimes, it will be prudent to leverage on the robust and generally acceptable corporate reporting practices of conventional accounting. However, the findings suggest the need for a multidisciplinary approach to reporting corporate sustainability and value-added functions of the company.
- Advisor / supervisor
- Paudyal, Krishna
- Coulson, Andrea
- Acheson, Graeme
- Resource Type
- DOI
- Date Created
- 2023
关系
项目
| 缩略图 | 标题 | 上传日期 | 公开度 | 行动 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
PDF of thesis T16983 | 2024-06-18 | 公开 | 下载 |