One Report: Integrated Reporting for a Sustainable Strategy

A great book that focuses on the essence of corporate reporting. In the current scenario were a lot of companies are showing weak financials and sometimes covering up a lot of facts. This book comes in as a welcome change and makes a strong case for corporate transparency. This book makes a strong argument for corporations to revamp their reporting for the sake of all the essential stakeholders associated with the firm. A must read !!!

With One Report, Eccles and Krzus have established a synoptic platform for transparency in corporate reporting. Through numerous case studies and intuitive analysis, Eccles shows a commanding knowledge of the future of integrated reporting for the global market. Of particular interest is the concept of using social media/Web 2.0 tools to customize corporate reporting and engagement with shareholders. One Report is a must read for executives and shareholders of any major corporation.

They employ most of us, they can easily annoy us and they have immense capacity to damage us and our world. They are unchecked. Companies, big and small, tell us very little about how they see their responsibilities to us both as shareholders or as citizens and what they are doing about them. But at least as shareholders we can see the static balance-sheet inspired reports and accounts and these give us some inkling as to how they will dispose of our funds and interests. On the greater matters of their physical and social impact there is usually virtual silence. But this could all change, and for the better. Bob Eccles's One Report is a comprehensive manifesto for change. If his proposals are adopted companies of all sizes will have to measure their impact just as carefully as their cash-flow. His call is for integrated reporting on a dynamic basis using the power of the Internet to coalesce financial and nonfinancial reporting and to do so with great thoroughness across carbon, and ecosystem dimensions. Some of the best companies already do this - Ricoh, Natura, Novo Nordisk and UTC. The transformation that Eccles calls for is fundamental - and it matters not just to eco-warriors but to all of us so that we know what is going on, on a systematic basis and can measure impacts almost as they happen and compel governments to listen and act. It is time for the regulators to wake up to the great lacunae that stretch like vast chasms over our corporate landscape and take action. Here is their bible.

After reading One Report by Harvard Business School professor Robert Eccles, I now see the future of corporate reporting. The idea behind One Report or Integrated Reporting makes commonsense. In this age of often nonsensical and diffuse communications, One Report goes along way in bringing us back to what should be the basics of reporting. The idea is simple. Eccles argues for companies to produce a single annual report that includes both financial and nonfinancial (e.g., on corporate social responsibility and sustainability metrics) performance information and making that information easily accessible to stakeholders. The idea of taking advantage of Web 2.0 tools to allow the reader to integrate the information in the way they want and when they want it fits squarely with the times. Professor Eccles's argument that integrated reporting provides a way for shareholders, customers, employees, communities as well as analysts to engage with companies more effectively is a winning argument in this new age of transparency and open engagement. The examples of forward-looking companies who integrate reporting are fascinating and make you leap for the keyboard to find the companies named and see how they are integrating all this information with the click of a mouse. For me, one of the best parts is reading why leaders choose to use this form of reporting and what they learned from the experience. The writing is clear, engaging, rich with detail and resources, and takes you through the history, momentum for this type of reporting, technological considerations and a call to action. While relatively few companies around the world today are practicing integrated reporting according to Eccles, interest is growing and he points out that a number of trends are accelerating its interest and adoption. These include the convergence in accounting standards, increasing adoption of CSR/sustainability reporting (often using guidelines developed by the Global Reporting Initiative), concerns about climate change, systemic risk in the financial system, globalization and the ability of all stakeholders to leverage the Internet to obtain and share information independent of what the company is providing. The compelling argument for me is that in today's world, if a company isn't actively pulling together a coherent and integrated presentation of its strategy and results in both financial and nonfinancial terms, the story about it will be shaped by others. As Eccles says, here is an opportunity for companies and their CEOs to improve their reputations for transparency, openness, leadership and engagement by seriously employing this type of unified reporting. A commitment to integrated reporting must come from the very top, such as the CEO or board. The idea doesn't have to originate there, but it will only work if the CEO and board visibly demonstrate in both words and deeds their commitment to integrated reporting. With that green light, a variety of groups wit

The highlights for me in this book are: 1. Eccles and Krzus have made this a truly international book. Brilliant to see examples of leading edge corporate reporting taken from around the world. Many of the organizations mentioned in the book will come as no surprise, but I was fascinated to read about solutions provided by a Brazilian company called Aracruz. Until I read this book, they were certainly not on my radar screen! 2. Great to see reference so many recent events (eg Copenhagen climate conference) 3. The graphic on second page of this book illustrating the increasing use of the term "global warming" says it all in many ways! I also liked the way the authors then repeated this graphic by searching on other key words found in corporate reporting (eg sustainability, corporate social responsibility etc 4. Was interested to understand more about Web 2.0 and where the world is currently at with Web 3.0 and Integrated Reporting. (I'm not sure that many indivudals appreciate the latent potential in this new technology) 5. Krzus and Eccles say that integrated reporting requires the strong commitment of the CEO - how right they are! They also go to say that social change happens "one individual at a time" and this struck a pleasant chord with me. 6. Few people will be aware of Prince Charles' strong support for this initiative - this will come as a surprise to many. 7. Finally, the book's acknowledgements ends up being a "who's who" listing of individuals in the world of both financial and non-financial reporting. The insight these individuals shared with the authors and their research assistants makes this a very useful and thought provoking book, particularly if you have to decide not only what, but also how much, to include in your next corporate report.