Accounting profession upgrades to integrated reporting

There is now a shift in the accounting profession to financial accounting, where the impact of the reporting is felt in organisations and stakeholders are adequately carried along.
 
Financial experts said the profession has upgraded to integrated reporting, which looks into how organisations create value over short to medium term to influence strategies.

He said: “This would bring about to what extent we do financial reporting, and to whose interest. What we are looking at today is how then do we now ensure that all stakeholders are carried along in that reporting, and ensure that everybody, including the impact on the organisation as it affects the society is also captured in that reporting vis-a-vis environment footprint, and social footprint.

Also, to show the value that the organisation has created, as opposed to profit the organisation has made from the system.
 
“That is where the concept of the two bottom-line comes from. How do we make a profit using people from the planet? Again, the impact of the planet is very important. Using people to make a profit, you should treat people as an end in themselves, not as a means to an end. All of these are coming into the consciousness of financial reporters today more than ever before.”

He cited the lack of synergy that exists between the finance department and the human resources department, but with the impact of the reporting to be felt in organisations and stakeholders adequately carried along. He added that HR people will get to know about finance while finance people will get to know about more about HR, rather than having that cold war that makes one become suspicious of what the other person is doing, rather than get more involved.
 
For the HR person to appreciate where the finance person is coming from, he added that they need to understand what finance is all about, “Finance and HR are both supporting the business capability and development.”