Guiding principles
Seven guiding principles inform the preparation, presentation and content of an integrated report:
Strategic focus and future orientation
Connectivity of information
Stakeholder relationships
Materiality
Conciseness
Reliability and completeness
Consistency and comparability
Key to the principles of the (IR) framework is providing insight into the organisation strategy, its ability to create value and its use of the capitals, as described above. An integrated report should also provide a holistic view of the connectivity, interrelatedness and dependencies of the capitals and stakeholder relationships. Disclosures should present information about all matters that are material to the organisation’s ability to create value over time, in conformity with the principles of conciseness, reliability and completeness, and consistency and comparability.
Content elements
The (IR) framework also identifies eight content elements that are not mutually exclusive, but fundamentally linked to each other. These content elements are posed as questions to be answered concerning an integrated report.
Organisational overview and external environment What does the organisation do and what are the circumstances under which it operates?
Governance How does the organisation’s governance structure support its ability to create value in the short, medium and long term?
Business model What is the organisation’s business model?
Risks and opportunities What are the specific risks and opportunities that affect the organisation’s ability to create value over the short, medium and long term, and how is the organisation dealing with them?
Strategy and resource allocation Where does the organisation want to go and how does it intend to get there
Performance To what extent has the organisation achieved its strategic objectives for the period and what are its outcomes in terms of effects on the capitals?
Outlook What challenges and uncertainties is the organisation likely to encounter in pursuing its strategy, and what are the potential implications for its business model and future performance?
Basis of preparation and presentation How does the organisation determine what matters to include in the integrated report and how are such matters quantified or evaluated?