Investors around the world are demanding stricter corporate governance and compliance requirements for publicly held companies. Not only are reporting requirements increasing to meet this demand, but accounting standards are changing as well. Investors are looking for transparency beyond the basic economics to better understand how businesses operate and perform. Due to the increased level of stakeholder interest in corporate governance as well as the emergence of pension and mutual funds that focus on socially responsible companies, a number of new indices are emerging to rate the corporate governance and performance of public companies and their longer-term viability or sustainability.
This white paper looks at key tactics such as global accounting and reporting standards, additional disclosures around areas such as environmental or social responsibility and the adoption of XBRL for electronic publishing of financial results.