Corporate reporting involves the disclosure of financial and non-financial information about a company to various stakeholders. It includes integrated reporting, financial reporting, corporate governance reporting, executive remuneration reporting, corporate social responsibility reporting, and narrative reporting. In India, the legal framework for corporate reporting includes requirements from the Companies Act and SEBI. Listed companies must comply with disclosure norms on financial statements, board composition, shareholder relations, and other matters. The objectives of corporate reporting are to provide useful information to investors and other users to make informed decisions.
2. WHAT IS CORPORATE REPORTING ?
The exact definition of corporate reporting differs depending on who you speak to.
the term ‘corporate reporting’ to refer to the presentation and disclosure aspects ―
as distinct from accounting/measurement ― of the following areas of reporting:
•Integrated reporting: is about connecting information about an organisation’s
current decisions with its future prospects; connecting information about strategy,
risk, remuneration and performance; and recognising that the economy,
environment and society are inseparable and therefore information provided to
understand an organisation’s performance in each of these areas needs to be viewed
as part of a whole. Integrated reporting helps boards of directors to see the issues
they face more clearly, and enables them to explain their business rationale to
stakeholders with greater clarity and authority.
• Financial Reporting: At the core of the corporate reporting model is the financial
reporting model, consisting of financial statements and accompanying notes that
comply with generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP).
• Corporate Governance: The processes by which companies are directed and
controlled. Levels of disclosure differ worldwide but might include information on
board composition and development, accountability and audit and relations with
shareholders.
3. WHAT IS CORPORATE REPORTING?
CONTD…
•Executive Remuneration: How executives are rewarded, both in the short and
longer-term, for delivering their company’s strategic objectives.
• Corporate Responsibility: Corporate responsibility includes the
communication about how companies understand and manage their impact on
people, clients, suppliers, society, and the environment in order to deliver increased
value to all their stakeholders.
• Narrative Reporting: Narrative reporting is shorthand for the critical contextual
and non-financial information that is reported alongside financial information to
provide a broader, more meaningful understanding of a company's business, its
market position, strategy, performance and future prospects. It includes quantified
metrics for these areas.
Corporate financial reporting is a series of activities that allow companies to
record operating data and report accurate accounting statements at the end of each
month , quarter and year.
4. FINANCIAL REPORTING STEPS
1. PERCEPTION OF SIGNIFICANT ACTIVITY: of the accounting entity or in
the environment in which the entity performs.
2. SYMBOLISING THE PERCEIVED ACTIVITIES: in such fashion that a
database of the activities is available that can be analyzed to grasp an
understanding of the interrelationship of the mass of perceived activities.
Conventionally, this symbolization has taken form of recording in accounts ,
journals, and ledgers using well established bookkeeping and measurement
procedures.
3. ANALYSIS OF THE MODEL OF ACTIVITIES: in order to summarize the
interrelationships among activities and to provide a status picture or map of the
entity. Traditionally, this analysis process has been viewed as one of developing
accounting reports to provide insights into the nature or entity activities.
4. COMMUNICATION OF ANALYSIS: to users of the accounting products, to
guide decisions makers in directing future of the entity or in changing their
relationship with the entity.
5. FINANCIAL STATEMENT OF
COMPANY
As per section 2(40) of the companies Act, 2013, the financial statements of
the company includes:
a balance sheet at the end of financial year,
a profit and loss account, or in case of NPO an income and expenditure
account for the financial year
cash flow statements for the financial year
a statement of change in equity, if applicable,
any explanatory note annexed to, or forming part of,
any document referred to in sub clause(1) to sub clause(4)
6. USERS OF FINANCIAL STATEMENTS
Different classes of users use financial information for different purpose.
According to the framework for the preparation and presentation of financial
statements issued by the ICAI in 2000 (ICAI CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK) the
users of financial statements include :
Present and potential investors ,
Employees,
Lenders,
Suppliers,
Other trade creditors,
Customers,
Government and their agencies
Public
7. OBJECTIVES OF CORPORATE
FINANCIAL REPORTING
In USA, the FASB has identified the following major objectives of financial
reporting:
1. financial reporting should provide information that is useful to present the
potential investors and creditors and other users in making rational investment ,
credit and similar decision.
2. financial reporting should provide information to investors, creditors and other
to assess the amount, timing and uncertainty of prospective net cash inflows
related enterprise
3. financial reporting should provide information about economic resources of an
enterprise, the claims to those resources (obligations of the enterprise to transfer
resources to other entities and owner’s equity), and the effect of transactions,
events and circumstances that change resource and claims to those resource.
4. financial reporting should provide information about an enterprise’s financial
performance during a period
8. OBJECTIVES OF CORPORATE
FINANCIAL REPORTING
5. the primary focus of financial reporting is information about an enterprise
performance provided by measure of earnings and its components
6. Financial reporting should provide information about how an enterprise obtains
and spends cash, about its borrowings and repayment of borrowing, about its
capital transactions , including cash dividends and other disbursements of
enterprise’s resources to owners and about other factors that may affect an
enterprise liquidity or solvency
7. financial reporting should provide information about how management of an
enterprise has discharged its stewardship responsibility to owners (stockholders)
for the use of enterprise resource entrusted to it
8. Financial reporting should provide information that it useful to managers and
directors in making decisions in the interest of owners.
9. Apart from investment decisions making another objective of financial reporting
is to provide information on management accountability
9. LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF CORPORATE
REPORTING IN INDIA
The companies act and the SEBI requirements together provide the legal framework
of corporate reporting in India:
(A)ROLE OF SEBI: the securities and exchange board of India is the regulatory
authority in India established under section 3 of SEBI act, 1992 provide for
establishment of SEBI with statutory powers for:
protecting the interest of investors in securities
promoting the development of the securities market and
Regulating the securities market.
(B) POWERS OF SEBI:
Regulating the business in stock exchanges and other securities markets
Registering and regulating the working of stock brokers , sub brokers etc
Promoting and regulating self regulatory organization’s
Prohibiting fraudulent and unfair trade practices
Calling for information, undertaking inspection, conducting inquires
and audits of the stock exchanges, intermediaries, self regulatory
organization’s, mutual funds and other persons associated with the
securities market
10. LEGAL FRAMEWORK OF CORPORATE
REPORTING IN INDIA
SEBI has imposed a number of disclosure and other requirements, some
important one are:
(C) DISCLOSURE REQUIREMENTS:
Dispatch of a copy of the complete and full annual report to the
shareholders (clause 32)
Disclosure of cash flow statements (clause 32)
Disclosure of material developments and price sensitive
information (clause 36)
Compliance with takeover code (clause 40 B)
Disclosure on interim unaudited financial result (clause 41)
disclosure regarding listing fee payment status and the name and
address of each stock exchange where the company securities are
listed(clause 48 B)
Corporate governance report (clause 49)
Compliance with accounting standards issued by ICAI (Clause 50)
11. COMPANIES ACT, 2013
The companies act , 2013 lays down the detailed provisions regarding the maintenance
of books of accounts and the preparation and presentation of annual accounts.
A. STATUTORY RECOGNITION :
BOOKS OF ACCOUNTS: the companies act requires every company to
maintain at its registered office proper books of accounts with respect to
the following:
• Al l receipts and disbursement of money and the matter in
respect of which the receipts and disbursements take place,
• All sale and purchases of goods of the company
• The assets and liabilities of the company
STATUTUORY RECOGNITION OF ACCOUNTING STANDARDS:
• The financial statements of the company should comply with the
accounting standards section 211
• Where profit and loss and the balance sheet of the company do
not comply with the accounting standards such companies
should disclose in its profit and loss account and balance sheet,
the following namely,
1. the deviation from accounting standards
2. the reason for such deviation
3. the financial effect if any, arising due to such deviation
12. COMPANIES ACT, 2013 CONTD..
CONCEPT OF TRUE AND FAIR: the financial statements shall give a
true and fair view of the state of affairs of the company or companies,
comply with the accounting standards notified under section 133 of the
companies act, 2013 and shall be in the form or forms as may be prescribed
for different class or classes of companies in schedule III
DISCLOUSURE REQUIREMENTS: the act requires that at every annual
general meeting , the board of directors of the company should place before
the company-
• A balance sheet as at the end of the financial year and
• A profit and loss account for the financial year section 210(1) of the
Companies Act, 1956
• Cash Flow Statement AS 3
DISCLOSURE BY LISTED COMPANIES:
• Balance sheet , profit and loss account and directors report (clause
32)
• Cash Flow Statement
• Related party disclosure
• Holding companies and subsidiary companies in respect of loans,
advances and investment
• Corporate Governance
13. COMPANIES ACT, 2013 CONTD..
CORPORATE GOVERNANCE: in India the first attempt was made by the
confederation of indian industries (CII) to codify corporate governance. But the
genies of the provision on corporate governance contained in clause 49 of the listing
agreement in the report of Kumar managalam Birla committee. The clause
addresses different aspects of corporate governance. The disclosure requirements
contained under this clause are as under:
• MANAGEMENT DISCUSSION AND ANALYSIS REPORT: is a very
important document through which management of company can express
its view and opinions on various aspects of a company like: performance,
success, or failure, future plans, of the company , forward looking
information etc.
• MANAGEMENT REPORT ON CORPORATE GOVERANCE: the listed
companies are required to give a detailed compliance report on corporate
governance in the separate section on “corporate governance” in their
annual reports. The report must specifically highlight non-compliance of
any mandatory requirements with reasons thereof and also the extent to
which the non mandatory requirements have been adopted.
• AUDITORS REPORT: the company should obtain a certificate from the
auditor of the company.
14. PUBLISHED FINANCIAL STATEMENTSAnnual report is major vehicle through which Indian companies are publishing their
financial statements .
ELEMENTSOF ANNUAL REPORT
Notice of annual general meeting
Chairman's report
Summary of financial result
The financial highlights for a number of years
Directors report
Management discussion and analysis
Corporate governance report
Auditor’s report on financial statements
Balance sheet
Profit and loss account
Business responsibility report
Schedule and notes accounts
Cash flow statements
environment report
C & AG’s comment on accounts
Audited consolidated financial statements
Information on human resource
Value added statements
corporate social report