Luhova Olha, Candidate of Economic Sciences, Senior lecturer of the Department of Accounting and Taxation, Mykolayiv National Agrarian University, Mykolayiv, Ukraine

ORCID ID: 0000-0003-4432-0295
e-mail: lugova@mnau.edu.ua

Specific Features of Auditing Small Businesses
in the Conditions of Spreading the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction. The development of corporate reporting in modern conditions is determined by increased attention to the problems of sustainable development and the assessment of business value, its investment attractiveness, and competitiveness. Development of an integrated reporting concept that accumulates current trends in the external environment and the needs of business partners by disclosing information about the value creation of the company, reflecting the interdependence between the results of the organization’s activities and their various consequences, focused on the future, structured in accordance with the strategic objectives of the company and its business model.

Purpose. This is an explanatory study that was conducted using recent scientific literature and data from official websites. The findings are useful as reading material for students, academicians, and researchers for better understanding the theoretical background of integrated reporting based on the experience of its implementation in the leading countries around the world.

Results. The number of organizations using integrated reports to communicate their value creation story now is more than 2,500 businesses in over 70 countries implementing integrated reporting. Integrated reporting is the way to achieve a more coherent corporate reporting system, fulfilling a need for a single report that provides a fuller picture of organizations’ ability to create value. International Integrated Reporting Council highlights the countries leading the way for the adoption of integrated reporting Brazil, the United Kingdom, South Africa, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand. R. Eccles, M. Krzus and C. Solano analysed integrated reporting in ten countries and found that countries could be grouped into three categories of quality of disclosure: High (Germany, the Netherlands, and South Africa), Medium (France, Italy, South Korea, and the United Kingdom), and Low (Brazil, Japan, and the United States). South Africa was the first to introduce integrated reporting as an obligation for companies listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. According to the Excellence in Integrated Reporting survey of top 100 South African companies 22 Companies ranked as “Excellent”, 29 Companies ranked as “Good” and 49 as “Progress to be made” in 2020. An integrated report benefits all stakeholders interested in a company’s ability to create value. Some internal and external benefits of preparing integrated reports cited by experienced South African reporters are generalized.

Conclusions. The concept of reporting has changed dramatically in recent decades: from traditional financial reporting to the integration of financial and non-financial information in an integrated report. The best way to speed its adoption is for the corporate and investment communities to mobilize in order to drive adoption and improve the quality of integrated reporting for the benefit of themselves and society at large.

Keywords: integrated reporting, integrated reports, International Integrated Reporting Council, International Integrated Reporting Framework, stakeholders.

References:

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