Principles for Effective Business Reporting Processes is a new International Good Practice Guidance from the Professional Accountants in Business Committee of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).
It was written for all organisations, regardless of size or structure, private or public, to address the need for effective reporting processes to produce high-quality reports.
Professional accountants in business are often involved in the implementation – including design, planning, execution, audit, evaluation and improvement – of their organisations’ reporting processes. This guidance discusses the major issues that accountants need to address in this area.
At the heart of the new publication are 11 key principles for evaluating and improving business reporting processes.
- Senior management should assume leadership for high-quality reports through effective reporting processes. The governing body should demonstrate commitment to high-quality reports and provide strategic input into, and oversight over, the organisation’s reporting processes.
- The organisation should determine the various roles, responsibilities and consequential capabilities in the reporting process, appoint the appropriate personnel and co-ordinate collaboration among those involved in the reporting process.
- The organisation should develop and implement an effective planning and control cycle for its reporting processes in the context of, and in alignment with, its wider planning and control cycles.
- To ensure the provision of high-quality information, the organisation should regularly engage with its internal and external stakeholders and understand their information needs with regard to past, present and future activities and results of the organisation.
- Based on the outcomes of its stakeholder engagement, and taking cost-benefit considerations into account, the organisation should define the content to be included in its reports and also decide on the audience, layout and timing of its reports.
- The organisation should have a process in place to ensure that the most appropriate reporting frameworks and standards are selected and that the requirements of those frameworks and standards are aligned with stakeholder information needs.
- The organisation should determine what information needs to be captured, processed, analysed and reported and how to organise the information processes and related systems for effective reporting.
- The organisation should (a) identify, analyse and select appropriate communications tools and (b) decide how to optimise distribution of the organisation’s reporting information via the various communications channels.
- The organisation should ensure that reported information is sufficiently analysed and interpreted before it is provided to stakeholders.
- When obtaining internal or external assurance is not a matter of compliance, the organisation should consider voluntary internal or external assurance on its reports and reporting processes.
- The organisation should regularly evaluate its reporting processes and systems in order to identify and carry out further improvements required for maintaining reporting effectiveness.
Free and accessible
As well as providing the 11 principles, IFAC’s new guidance outlines the critical arrangements that need to be in place for effective business reporting.
The guidance also includes a limited list of relevant resources from IFAC, its member bodies and other relevant organisations. It can be downloaded free of charge from
Copyright © January 2013 by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). All rights reserved. Used with permission of IFAC.
