Awareness of Integrated Reporting in Ghana: A Case Study at Asante Akim Central Municipality

International Journal of Research and Innovation in Social Science (IJRISS) | Volume V, Issue XII, December 2021 | ISSN 2454–6186

Awareness of Integrated Reporting in Ghana :A Case Study at Asante Akim Central Municipality

Job Boahen¹, Dr. Ephraim Awinbugri Armstrong^2
1PhD(c) Accounting, Valley View University, Ghana
²Lecturer (CODeL), University of Education, Winneba, Ghana

Abstract: The advocacy of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) focuses on the adoption of integrated reporting (I.R.) to mitigate the apparent lapses of corporate social responsibility (C.S.R.) reports. In Ghana, MMDAs serve as development agents, and comprehensive financial and integrated reporting is critical for stakeholders’ trust and investors’ willingness to engage in the Assembly.
The research used a quantitative research design, with 100 respondents out of a total population of 250 receiving questionnaires. Using the Statistical Product and Service Solutions, the researcher used descriptive statistics to analyse the data (SPSS, 22.0).
The findings show that even though there is 85% awareness of integrated reporting and its apparent benefits, the Assembly is yet to fully adopt I.R. in its reporting process. The study thus recommended full adoption of I.R. by the Assembly as a means of adherence to the assurance standards ISAE3000 and AA1000AS and enhanced public confidence in its reporting process, leading to attraction of investors therein.
The research concluded that there was a high level of awareness of integrated reporting at Asante Akim Central Municipality.

Key Words: Integrated reporting, Asante Akim Central Municipality, Ghana

I. INTRODUCTION

Most companies have been progressively disclosing information about their non-financial performance and engaging in integrated reporting (I.R.) in addition to standard financial reporting in recent years because investors and various stakeholders have demanded holistic reporting by them (Selimoglu & Yesilcelebi, 2021). Integrated reporting combines environmental accounting, social accounting, governance (E.S.G.) report and the standard financial report into one composite report for stakeholders to enhance their understanding of companies’ operations. Investors are the primary recipients of these reports, and there is preliminary evidence that they appreciate non-financial data (Aras, Kutlu Furtuna, & Hacioglu Kazak, 2021).

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