An evaluation of the reporting on ethics and integrity of selected listed motor vehicle companies
Abstract
Transparency in reporting has become very important and various stakeholders expect companies to disclose sensitive information, such as ethical aspects, integrity and anti-corruption information. Any indication of corruption can be detrimental when trying to attract foreign investors to invest in a country. These disclosure practices could place remarkable pressure on a company that needs to portray a positive image to their stakeholders. The main objective of this research was to evaluate the reporting on ethics, integrity and anti-corruption of companies in the motor vehicle manufacturing sector. Content analysis was used as the research method. A checklist was compiled based on the different frameworks and country requirements. The results of the evaluation indicate that companies understand the importance of the governance aspects such as ethics and integrity and some also provide training on the relevant codes and policies. However the disclosure on corruption-related incidents within the companies is poor and not sufficient information is evident from the reports.References
Anderson, G.E. & Varney, R.M. 2015. Sustainability Reporting: Demonstrating commitment and adding value. NACD Directorship, 41(1):58.
Appel, J. & Plant, K. 2015. A framework for internal auditors to assess ethics in a national public sector department. Southern African journal of accountability and auditing research, 17(2):57-69.
Bartels, W., Fogelberg, T., Hoballah, A. & Van Der Lught, C. 2016. Carrots & Sticks. Global trends in sustainability reporting regulation and policy. https://home.kpmg.com/xx/en/home/insights/2016/05/carrots-and-sticks-global-trends-in-sustainability-reporting-regulation-and-policy.html [Accessed on 02 August 2016].
Bouten, L. & Hoozée, S. 2015. Challenges in Sustainability and Integrated Reporting. Issues in Accounting Education Teaching Notes, 30(4):83-93.
Czimbal, B. & Brooks, M. 2006. Ethics & Integrity. http://www.abundancecompany.com/ethics_integrity.htm [Accessed om 24 July 2016].
English, D.M. & Schooley, D.K. 2014. The Evolution of Sustainablty Reporting. The CPA Journal, 84(3):26-35.
Eyewitness News. 2016a. Reports: VW chairman, CEO knew of illicit software early. http://ewn.co.za/2016/03/07/VW-chairman-CEO-knew-of-illicit-software-early [Accessed on 24 August 2016].
Eyewitness News. 2016b. VW crisis won't cause lasting damage to Germany economy. http://ewn.co.za/2015/10/13/Volkswagen-crisis-wont-cause-lasting-damage-to-German-economy [Accessed on 24 August 2016].
Fogelberg, T., Bartels, W., Lemmet , S., Malan, D. & Van Der Lught, C. 2013. Carrots & Sticks. Sustainability reporting policies worldwide - today's best practice, tomorrow's trends. http://www.usb.ac.za/governance/Pages/carrots-and-sticks-sustainability-reporting-policies-worldwide.aspx [Accessed on 02 August 2016].
Godha, A. & Jain, P. 2015. Sustainability Reporting Trend in Indian Companies as per GRI Framework: A Comparative Study. South Asian Journal of Business and Management Cases, 4(1):62-73.
Greenhouse Gas Protocol. 2016. About the GHG Protocol. http://www.ghgprotocol.org/about-ghgp [Accessed on 16 August 2016].
Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). 2015a. G4 An introduction to G4. The next generation of sustainability reporting. https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/g4/Pages/Introduction-to-G4-brochure.aspx [Accessed on 09 September 2016].
GRI. 2015b. G4 Sustainability reporting guidelines. Implementation manual. https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/g4/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed on 05 February 2016].
Global Reporting Initiative. 2015c. G4 Sustainability reporting guidelines. Reporting principles and standard disclosures. https://www.globalreporting.org/standards/g4/Pages/default.aspx [Accessed on 03 February 2016].
GRI and ISO 26000. 2010. How to use the GRI guidelines in conjunction with ISO 26000. https://www.globalreporting.org/Pages/resource-library.aspx?resSearchMode=resSearchModeText&resSearchText=GRI+and+ISO+26000%3a+How+to+use+the+GRI [Accessed on 29 August 2016].
His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. 2015. Accounting for sustainability. http://www.accountingforsustainability.org/about-us [Accessed on 26 October 2015].
Hughen, L., Lulseged, A. & Upton, D.R. 2014. Improving stakeholder value through sustainability and integrated reporting. The CPA Journal, 84(3):57-81.
Integrated reporting. 2013. The international IR framework. www.theiirc.org [Accessed on 02 August 2016].
Investopedia. 2016. Whistleblower. http://www.investopedia.com/terms/w/whistleblower.asp [Accessed on 12 September 2016].
ISO 26000 Social Responsibility. 2010. ISO 26000 project overview. www.iso.org/iso/en/iso_26000_project_overview.pdf [Accessed on 29 August 2016].
Junior, R.M., Best, P.J. & Cotter, J. 2014. Sustainability reporting and assurance: a historical analysis on a world-wide phenomenon. Journal of Business Ethics, 120(1):1-11.
Kehbila, A.G., Ertel, J. & Brent, A.C. 2010. Corporate sustainability, ecological modernization and the policy process in the South African automotive industry. Business Strategy and the Environment, 19(7):453-465.
Lynch, M.F., Lynch, N. & Casten, D. 2014. The expanding use of sustainability reporting. The CPA Journal, 84(3):19-24.
Mintz, S.M. 2011. Triple bottom line reporting for CPAs. The CPA Journal, 81(12):26-33.
Mironiuc, M., Chersan, I.-C. & Robu, I.-B. 2013. Ethics in Providing Non-Audit Services to Ensure Transparency in Financial Reporting. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 81:474-478.
Owen, G. 2013. Integrated reporting: A review of developments and their implications for the accounting curriculum. Accounting Education, 22(4):340-356.
Paharia, P. & Singh, A. 2016. Ethical Leadership: A Key to Integrate Corporate Social Responsibility and Human
Resource Practices for Business Sustainability.
Pandit, G.M. & Rubenfield, A.J. 2016. The Current State of Sustainability Reporting by Smaller S&P 500 Companies What Do Businesses Choose to Disclose? The CPA Journal, 86(6):52-57.
Romero, S., Jeffers, A.E. & DeGaetano, L.A. 2014. An overview of sustainability reporting practices. The CPA Journal, 84(3):68-71.
Roth, H.P. 2014. Is Integrated Reporting in the Future? The CPA Journal, 84(3):62.
Russo-Spena, T., Tregua, M. & De Chiara, A. 2016. Trends and Drivers in CSR Disclosure: A Focus on Reporting Practices in the Automotive Industry. Journal of Business Ethics: 1-16.
Schooley, D.K. & English, D.M. 2015. SASB: A pathway to sustainability reporting in the United States. The CPA Journal, 84(4):22-27.
Shane. 2007. The difference between ethics and integrity. http://www.zoomstart.com/ethics-and-integrity/ [Accessed on 24 July 2016].
Siew, R.Y. 2015. A review of corporate sustainability reporting tools (SRTs). Journal of environmental management, 164:180-195.
Sukitsch, M., Engert, S. & Baumgartner, R.J. 2015. The Implementation of Corporate Sustainability in the European Automotive Industry: An Analysis of Sustainability Reports. Sustainability, 7(9):11504-11531.
Tinjala, D.-M., Pantea, L.M. & Alexandru, B. 2015. Business Ethics and Integrity a Case Study on 300 US Listed Companies. Studia Universitatis „Vasile Goldis†Arad–Economics Series, 25(2):63-80.
Transparency International. 2016. What is corruption? http://www.transparency.org/what-is-corruption/ [Accessed on 24 July 2016].
Tschopp, D. & Huefner, R.J. 2015. Comparing the Evolution of CSR Reporting to that of Financial Reporting. Journal of Business Ethics, 127(3):565-577.
United Nations Global Compact. 2014. Corporate sustainability in the world economy. https://www.unglobalcompact.org/library/240 [Accessed on 29 August 2016].
Walcher, A., Stempkowski, R. & Apfalter, M. 2013. Prevent Corruption–Measures to increase integrity in organizations. Life-cycle and sustainability of civil infrastructure systems: 468.
This journal is an open access journal, and the authors and journal should be properly acknowledged, when works are cited.
Authors may use the publisher's version for teaching purposes, in books, theses, dissertations, conferences and conference papers.
A copy of the authors’ publisher's version may also be hosted on the following websites:
- Non-commercial personal homepage or blog.
- Institutional webpage.
- Authors Institutional Repository.
The following notice should accompany such a posting on the website: “This is an electronic version of an article published in the African Journal of Business Ethics, Volume XXX, number XXX, pages XXX–XXX”, DOI. Authors should also supply a hyperlink to the original paper or indicate where the original paper (http://ajobe.journals.ac.za/pub) may be found.
The following Creative Commons license applies:
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
