Informing or obfuscating stakeholders: Integrated reporting and the information environment
研究了综合报告的语言特征，发现自愿采用时报告更长、更复杂且套话更多，可能混淆而非告知利益相关者；而在南非监管环境下，报告更简洁。
Abstract The global development of integrated reporting (IR) is underpinned by the recognition of increased complexity of businesses and stakeholder demands for information relating to financial performance, management, corporate governance, and sustainability being provided in a single, coherent document which facilitates stakeholder decision making. This paper examines the lexical properties of IR following the introduction of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) Framework. Using an international sample, we find that when adopted voluntarily, IR are lengthier, use more complex language, and contain more boilerplate statements. Our findings suggest that without regulation, firms may continue to produce long and difficult to understand reports in fear of being perceived as omitting “bad news.” This fear might be justified as we find loss of analyst following and greater analyst uncertainty when voluntarily adopted IR is concise. In the regulated setting of South Africa, however, we find IR has become more concise, and firms that produce longer and more complex documents suffer from a deterioration of their information environment. Our findings suggest that regulators and practitioners need to be cognizant of the potential for an increased volume in reporting to obfuscate the message rather than inform stakeholders.