Academy of Strategic Management Journal (Print ISSN: 1544-1458; Online ISSN: 1939-6104)

Research Article: 2022 Vol: 21 Issue: 4

Analytical Reading of Integrated Reporting as One of the Manifestations of Information Overload

Manal Hussein Lafta, AL-IRAQIA University

Ruaa Mustafa Kamil, AL-IRAQIA University

Keywords

Accounting Information Systems, Information Overload, Integrated Reporting

Citation Information

Lafta, M.H., & Kamil, R.M. (2022). Analytical reading of integrated reporting as one of the manifestations of information overload. Academy Strategic Management Journal, 21(S6), 1-23.

Abstract

The research is concerned with a very important phenomenon, which is the phenomenon of information overload as one of the concepts that must be taken into account when dealing with information. It is produced and presented to users, within the framework of the integrated reporting system and the accompanying integrated reports based on financial, environmental, social and governance information. This study requires presenting the intellectual structure of integrated reporting and determining the extent of its convergence in vision with the phenomenon of information overload. It was restricted to three dimensions to embody the intellectual structure of integrated reporting, represented by the following: • Intellectual foundations for integrated reporting • Integrated reporting goals • Integrated reporting requirements This intellectual structure includes many aspects or areas of information overload that contributes to creating the causes that lead to the emergence of the phenomenon of information overload and providing an appropriate environment for it. Also, because of the integrated reporting, it is embodied in a few axes represented by the financial, environmental, social and governance axis and these axes together will lead to providing information to the investor (and to users in general) that exceeds his ability to absorb due to its complexity, abundance and large size. This gives way to the emergence of indicators that confirm the presence of information overload, especially regarding the time factor required for the processing and assimilation of information by the user. In addition to what is related to the characteristics of information such as the level of ambiguity, uncertainty or complexity, aspects related to the user’s person regarding this information and its abundance, confusion and other areas are raised by the research.

Introduction

Integrated reporting seeks to provide integrated reports that reflect a comprehensive picture of the organization by providing more information to management and stakeholders to enhance the decision-making process. Integrated reporting is based on an intellectual structure that includes the compilation of financial, environmental, social and governance information in an integrated report. At this point, the nature of integrated reporting information should be considered from a different viewpoint, which is the issue of information overload in light of this large amount of information that integrated reporting seeks to provide. From this point of view, the research problem is embodied in that the intellectual system of integrated reporting, represented by the composition of integrated reports and composed of financial, environmental, social and governance reports, constitutes the fertile ground for the emergence of the phenomenon of information overload. The research sought to prove that the integrated reporting, represented by its intellectual structure, constitutes one of the manifestations of information overload.

To achieve the goal of the research, the researchers followed the following mechanism:

- Establishing a scientific methodology for research.

- Presenting the literature of integrated reporting and the literature of information overload, then conducting an analysis of the extent of convergence in the vision that each of the two concepts holds.

Determining the nature of the relationship between integrated reporting and the phenomenon of information overload by conducting a field study based on the preparation of a questionnaire and its statistical analysis.

- Draw a set of conclusions and recommendations from the reality of the indicators produced by the field study.....

The First Axis: Research Methodology

First: The Research Problem

There is no doubt that integrated reporting achieves a number of benefits in terms of the quality of information available to investors, as one of the categories of users, and in order to achieve these benefits, the integrated reporting had to be based on an intellectual structure that requires the compilation of financial, environmental, social and governance information in an integrated report. This structure in itself creates the appropriate environment for the emergence of the phenomenon of information overload, which involves providing information to users beyond their ability to comprehend because of its large size and in various directions....

Thus, the research problem is embodied in that the intellectual system of integrated reporting, represented by the composition of integrated reports and composed of financial, environmental, social and governance reports, constitutes the fertile ground for the emergence of the phenomenon of information overload.

Second: The Purpose of the Research

The research aims to

1. Shedding light on a very important phenomenon, which is the phenomenon of information overload as one of the concepts that require attention when dealing with information, producing it and presenting it to users, within the framework of the integrated reporting system and the accompanying integrated reports based on financial, environmental, social and governance information.

2. Determining the nature of the relationship between integrated reporting and the phenomenon of information overload.

Third: The Importance of Research

The importance of the research stems from the nature of integrated reporting, which seeks to provide integrated reports that reflect a comprehensive picture of the organization by providing more appropriate and understandable information for management and stakeholders to enhance the decision-making process. At the same time, increasing the importance of thinking about the nature of integrated reporting information from another point of view, it is the issue of information overload according to this large amount of information that integrated reporting seeks to provide.

Fourth: The Research Hypothesis

The research is based on a main hypothesis that:

There is a statistically significant relationship to "integrated reporting as one of the manifestations of information overload"

The following sub-hypotheses emerge from this hypothesis:

1. There is a statistically significant relationship to the intellectual foundations of integrated reporting as one of the manifestations of information overload.

2. There is a statistically significant relationship to the objectives of integrated reporting as one of the manifestations of information overload.

3. There is a statistically significant relationship to the requirements of integrated reporting as one of the manifestations of information overload.

The Second Axis: Integrated Reporting - A Conceptual Introduction

First: The Intellectual Foundations of Integrated Reporting

The 2007-2009 global financial crisis was the catalyst for the creation of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), founded in 2010, which aims to develop Integrated Reporting (IR) as a means to enhance financial stability and rebuild confidence in financial markets, and thus its ability to serve the economy (Bhasin, 2017).

IIRC highlights issues such as business strategy, governance, performance, expectations and recognition of divergent social and political understandings of sustainability and its implications on assessing issues of ?value? and ?materiality?. Among the forty (IIRC) members, the heads of the IASB, IFAC, FASB, the International Organization of the Securities and Exchange Commission (IOSCO), the chief executives of the "Big Four", the chairmen of Britain's main professional accounting bodies, and the chief financial officers of several major international companies including Nestl

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Received: 07-Jan-2022, Manuscript No. ASMJ-21-8391; Editor assigned: 09-Jan-2022, PreQC No. ASMJ-21-8391(PQ); Reviewed: 17-Jan-2022, QC No. ASMJ-21-8391; Revised: 31-Jan 2022, Manuscript No. ASMJ-21-8391(R); Published: 07-Feb-2022

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