Investigating the extent of sustainability reporting in the banking industry

Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which banks in South Africa report on remuneration and incentives according to the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines. This was based on the GRI-G4 guidelines. The study was done by examining the annual integrated reports of 2014 of eight commercial banks listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Opportunities exist to improve the quality of Sustainability Reporting as certain standards are not complied to. Other related issues that were highlighted and put into perspective include Integrated Reporting, the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), and the banking sector and remuneration. Content analysis was used as the research method in this empirical study. The results are revealed on a disclosure index compiled from the GRI-G4 standards. The paper concludes with recommendations based on the content from the GRI-G4 guidelines and aspects that needs further attention due to disclosures not having been adequately presented.