An evaluation of the reporting on ethics and integrity of selected listed motor vehicle companies

Abstract

Preserving the earth for future generations is a growing concern and society has moved their focus from short-term profits to long-term sustainability. Conventional financial reporting is no longer satisfying the need for information on good corporate business operations. Investors and stakeholders require more information on non-financial activities. Due to recent scandals, society also requires more information on anti-corruption actions. Sustainability reporting, often also referred to as governance reporting, focuses on economic, environmental and social aspects. Although not mandatory in all countries, the notion is on the increase. Various global institutions released reporting guidelines that companies can use to report on the triple bottom line aspects. Reporting according to the guidelines is recommended to ensure that stakeholders obtain the information required to make investment decisions. There is also a growing need for transparent unbiased company information, indicating areas of irregularities and indicating that there is an active fight against corruption. This content analysis evaluates companies’ sustainability reporting on sensitive aspects such as ethics, integrity and anti-corruption. A checklist was compiled and information obtained from company sustainability reports were used to complete the checklist. The researcher evaluated whether companies report on ethics, integrity and anti-corruption in a transparent manner as required by greater society. The results of the evaluation indicate that companies understand the importance of the governance aspects such as ethics integrity and anti-corruption. Most of the companies also provide training on the relevant codes, policies and procedures to ensure that the employees are familiar with the rules and can actively take part in the aim to operate in a socially responsible manner. The disclosure on corruption-related incidents within the companies is poor and not enough information is evident from the reports.