Abstract
This chapter analyzes national differences among “non-financial disclosure” reports in a cross-country comparison after the introduction of Directive 2014/95/EU. The aim of the analysis is to understand what the main differences are and on what they depend. The analysis focuses on the main definitions of “large organization” and of “public interest,” on the company scope and on the report framework and features, i.e., the information that the report must necessarily contain and how it should be presented. The methodology adopted involves the analysis of the document “Member State Implementation of Directive 2014/95/EU,” published by the CSR Europe and GRI in 2017 and a literature review of the period 2018–2020 analyzing the actual application of the Directive in the national context and/or making comparisons between different European nations. This study is relevant as it highlights the importance of knowing CSR activities especially for large or listed companies, but it underlines some critical issues, including the inability to create a correlation between the non-financial information communicated and its impact, risks, and plans.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Notes
References
Ahern, D. (2016). Turning up the heat? EU sustainability goals and the role of reporting under the non-financial reporting directive. ECFR—European Company & Financial Law Review, 4, 599–630.
Aureli, S., Magnaghi, E., & Salvatori, F. (2018). The transposition of the non-financial reporting directive in the UK, France and Italy. SYMPHONYA Emerging Issues in Management, n., 1, 2018.
Avetisyan, E., Bartosch, J. R., Jackson, G., Steen Knudsen, J. (2017). Regulating self-regulation? The politics and effects of mandatory CSR Disclosure in comparison. Working paper on https://www.researchgate.net/publication/314155539_Regulating_Self-Regulation_The_Politics_and_Effects_of_Mandatory_CSR_Disclosure_in_Comparison
Biondi, L., Dumay, J., & Monciardini, D. (2020). Using the international integrated reporting framework to comply with EU directive 2014/95/EU: Can we afford another reporting façade? Meditari Accountancy Research, 28(5), 889–914.
Camilleri, M. A. (2015). Ebvuribnebtak, social and governance disclosures in Europe. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy Journal, 6(2), 224–242.
Caputo, F., Leopizzi, R., Pizzi, S., & Milone, V. (2020). The non-financial reporting harmonization in Europe: Evolutionary pathways related to the transposition of the directive 95/2014/EU within the Italian context. Sustainability, 12, 1–13.
Cleary Gottlieb. (2017, January 20). Disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by large European companies and group. ALERT MEMORANDUM. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP. https://www.clearygottlieb.com/-/media/organize-archive/cgsh/files/publication-pdfs/alert-memos/2017/alert-memo-201713.pdf
CNDCEC—Consiglio Nazionale dei dottri commercialisti e degli esperti contabili [Italian National Council of Chartered Accountants and Accounting Experts]. (2017). Disclosure di informazioni non finanziarie. Tendenza internazionali e nazionali sulle attività di rendicontazione e di asseverazione[Disclosure of non-financial information. International and national trends on reporting and sworn translations]. www.commercialisti.it
CSR Europe. (2020, June 30). Our network’s feedback on the EU non-financial reporting directive. https://www.csreurope.org/newsbundle-articles/Our%20Network%E2%80%99%20Feedback%20on%20the%20EU%20Non-financial%20Reporting%20Directive
CSR Europe and GRI. (2017). Member State Implementation of Directive 2014/95/EU. A comprehensive overview of how Member States are implementing the EU Directive on Non-financial and Diversity Information. GRI & CSR Europe.
European Commission. (2011). Single market act: Twelve levers to boost growth and strengthen confidence. European Union.
Flostrand, P., & Strom, N. (2006). The valuation relevance of non-financial information. Management Research News, 29(9), 580–597.
GRI. (2018, February 7). Innovative implementation of EU directive on non-financial reporting. https://www.3blmedia.com/News/Innovative-Implementation-EU-Directive-Non-Financial-Reporting
Korca, B., & Costa, E. W. (2020). Directive 2014/95/EU: Building a research agenda. Journal of Applied Accounting Research. https://doi.org/10.1108/JAAR-05-2020-0085
Krasodomska, J., Michalak, J., & Seietla, K. (2019). Directive 2014/95/EU. Accountants’ understanding and attitude towards mandatory non-financial disclosures in corporate reporting. Meditari Accountancy Research, 28(5), 751–779.
Matuszak, L., & Rozanska, E. (2017). CSR disclosure in polish listed companies in the light of directive 2014/95/EU requirements: Empirical evidence. Sustainability, 9(12).
Mion, G., & Loza Adaui, C. R. (2019). Mandatory nonfinancial disclosure and its consequences on the sustainability reporting quality of Italian and German companies. Sustainability, 11, 1–28.
Monciardini, D. (2017). The rationales of lawyers, accountants and financial analysts in shaping the EU agenda on CSR. In S. O. Idowu & S. Vertigans (Eds.), Stages of corporate social responsibility. From ideas to impacts (pp. 3–23). Springer International Publishing, Germany.
Monciardini, D., Mähönen, J. T., & Tsagas, G. (2020). Rethinking non-financial reporting: A blueprint for structural regulatory changes. Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, 10(2), 1–43.
Szabó, D. G., & Sørenzen, K. E. (2015). New EU directive on the EDisclosure of non-financial Inforamtion (CSR). European Company and Financial Law Review, 3.
The Alliance for Corporate Transparency. (2020). Research Report 2019. http:// www.allianceforcorporatetransparency.org/
Tsagas, G., & Villiers, C. (2020). Why “less is more” in non-financial reporting initiatives: Concrete steps towards supporting sustainability. Accounting, Economics, and Law: A Convivium, 10(2).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2022 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Magli, F., Martinelli, M. (2022). National Differences in Non-financial Disclosure: A Cross-Country Analysis. In: Cinquini, L., De Luca, F. (eds) Non-financial Disclosure and Integrated Reporting. SIDREA Series in Accounting and Business Administration. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90355-8_21
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-90355-8_21
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-90354-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-90355-8
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)