By Business & Finance 
Non-financial reporting from Ireland’s largest companies lacks consistency, making it almost impossible for stakeholders to compare one company’s performance easily and accurately with another’s, according to the KPMG.
The KPMG Survey of Corporate Responsibility Reporting reflects on the current state of non-financial reporting worldwide and identifies key trends and insights on the reporting activities of 4,500 businesses.
Research is carried out by professionals in KPMG member firms and is based on publicly available information published by companies in their corporate responsibility reports, annual financial reports and websites.
Colm O’Se, partner, KPMG, said: “The findings of the report show a clear opportunity for companies to step up their commitment to providing good quality information and reporting on non-financial matters such as carbon performance. Global reporting guidelines should help to address the issue but we all have a role to play, including Government, stakeholders and investors.
KPMG’s study follows a recent proposal to the G20 by the Financial Stability Board for a task force to develop consistent climate-related disclosures for companies to help lenders, insurers, investors and other stakeholders to understand material risks. The Climate Standards Disclosure Board (CDSB) has also introduced a voluntary framework aimed at helping companies include investor-relevant climate information in mainstream financial reporting.
The KPMG report shows that the rate of CR reporting is now higher in Asia Pacific than it is in Europe or the Americas. The highest rates of CR reporting are now found in emerging economies such as India, Indonesia, Malaysia and South Africa.
The research also shows that it is now standard business practice to include corporate responsibility information in the annual financial report.
