Purpose

Drawing upon agency theory, this study analyses the influence of board characteristics on integrated reporting (IR) for the top 50 companies listed on the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX50). Focus is placed on IR at the aggregate level as well as its separate components, namely Future Opportunities and Risks (FOPRI), Governance and Strategy (GOVSTR), Performance (PERF), Overview and Business Model (OBM) and General Preparation and Presentation (GPP).

Design/methodology/approach

A checklist is devised based on the IIRC (International Integrated Reporting Council) framework to track companies' disclosures for the period from 1st July 2014 to 30th June 2017. Regression analysis is used to investigate the determinants (board size, board independence, activity of the board, gender diversity, firm size, profitability and growth opportunities) of IR and its separate components.

Findings

The findings indicate a significant and positive effect of board independence on the aggregate IR index, FOPRI and GPP. A negative and significant association is found between activity of the board and both the aggregate IR index and its separate components, including GOVSTR, PERF and GPP. Additionally, the aggregate IR index is significantly related to firm size, profitability and growth opportunities.

Research limitations/implications

The limited sample of 50 companies over three years is the main limitation of the study. The study suffers from an inherent limitation from the use of content analysis in assessing the level of IR. No checklist to measure the level of IR can be fully exhaustive. Furthermore, we focus on whether an item in the checklist is disclosed, using a dichotomous scale, thus ignoring the quality of information disclosed.

Practical implications

The study has several practical implications. From a managerial perspective, it shows that having more board meetings harms the level of IR. The results can guide regulators, such as the Australian Securities and Investment Commission (ASIC) and the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX), when drafting new regulations/guidelines/listing rules. If regulators aim for a higher level of integration in the reports, they know which “triggers to pull” to attain their target. Our results can guide regulators to choose the appropriate trigger among various alternatives. For instance, if a higher level of integrated reporting is desired, size instead of profitability should be chosen. Finally, ASX listed companies can use our checklist as a scorecard for their self-assessment.

Originality/value

This research is the first to investigate IR by devising a checklist based on IIRC (2013) along with an additional GPP component in the ASX context. Using separate models to examine each component of the aggregate IR index is also unique to this study. The study also brings to the fore the role of gender-diverse boards in promoting IR. It reiterates the debate about imposing a quota for better gender representation on boards.

中文翻译：

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综合报告和董事会特征：来自澳大利亚顶级上市公司的证据

目的

本研究借鉴代理理论，分析了董事会特征对澳大利亚证券交易所 (ASX50) 上市前 50 家公司综合报告 (IR) 的影响。重点放在综合层面的 IR 及其独立的组成部分，即未来机会和风险 (FOPRI)、治理和战略 (GOVSTR)、绩效 (PERF)、概述和商业模式 (OBM) 以及一般准备和演示 ( GPP）。

设计/方法/方法

清单是根据 IIRC（国际综合报告委员会）框架设计的，用于跟踪公司在 2014 年 7 月 1 日至 2017 年 6 月 30 日期间的披露。回归分析用于调查决定因素（董事会规模、董事会独立性、董事会的活动）董事会、性别多样性、公司规模、盈利能力和增长机会）的 IR 及其独立组成部分。

发现

调查结果表明，董事会独立性对综合 IR 指数、FOPRI 和 GPP 具有显着的积极影响。发现董事会的活动与综合 IR 指数及其单独的组成部分（包括 GOVSTR、PERF 和 GPP）之间存在显着的负相关。此外，综合 IR 指数与公司规模、盈利能力和增长机会显着相关。

研究限制/影响

三年内 50 家公司的有限样本是该研究的主要局限性。该研究因使用内容分析来评估 IR 水平而受到固有限制。没有任何衡量 IR 水平的清单可以完全详尽无遗。此外，我们使用二分法关注清单中的项目是否被披露，从而忽略了所披露信息的质量。

实际影响

这项研究有几个实际意义。从管理的角度来看，它表明召开更多的董事会会议会损害 IR 的水平。结果可以指导监管机构，例如澳大利亚证券和投资委员会 (ASIC) 和澳大利亚证券交易所 (ASX) 在起草新的法规/指南/上市规则时。如果监管机构的目标是在报告中实现更高水平的整合，他们就会知道实现目标的“触发因素”。我们的结果可以指导监管机构在各种替代方案中选择合适的触发因素。例如，如果需要更高级别的综合报告，则应选择规模而不是盈利能力。最后，ASX 上市公司可以使用我们的清单作为他们自我评估的记分卡。

原创性/价值

本研究首次通过设计基于 IIRC (2013) 的清单以及 ASX 背景下的额外 GPP 组件来调查 IR。使用单独的模型来检查综合 IR 指数的每个组成部分也是本研究的独特之处。该研究还突出了性别多元化委员会在促进 IR 方面的作用。它重申了关于在董事会中为更好的性别代表性强加配额的辩论。