Integrated Reporting: The Changing Nature of Accounting Profession

Abstract

Integrated Reporting (IR) is a new concept which has been receiving considerable attention from the global community since the formation of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) in 2010. Mauritius is a fast developing country where IR has gained growing traction over the last three years. It is important to understand the potential for IR in this island where sustainable development must be central to economic thinking as the island state has to preserve its resources in the long run. The purpose of this paper to find out the organizational benefits and implementation challenges of preparing an Integrated Report in Mauritius. It is also extended to identify the knowledge and skills employers perceive relevant for future accounting graduates. A survey is carried out to extract responses from report preparers and other stakeholders (investors, analyst and auditors) from a wide range of industries in Mauritius, to explore their opinions regarding IR. Findings signify that IR is being adopted by a majority of companies in Mauritius, although it is a relatively new concept. A majority thinks IR is improving the current corporate reporting. However, the fear of divulging market and/ or price sensitive information is the main challenge facing the practices of IR in Mauritius. The findings may be useful to better understand the likely development of IR in developing markets, as most of the previous studies on IR focused on developed countries and South Africa.