Country statistics South Africa ¦ Looked at purely from an integrated reporting perspective, South African reports could credibly claim to be leading the way. Although many good examples of integrated reporting can be seen for individual companies in other nations, South Africa as a country stood on its own in our sample group as the most advanced in terms of integrated reporting. The majority of the reports reviewed have made some progress on the integrated reporting journey. This lead is likely driven by the legislative requirements of the King Report on Governance 2009 (King III) which from March 2010 requires listed companies to issue an integrated report. This report is defined as: ‘a holistic and integrated representation of the company’s performance in terms of both its finance and sustainability’. South Africa’s main exports are gold, diamonds, metals and minerals and this representation is reflected in our sample group, with most companies operating in the basic materials sector. The increasing regulation in the industry around issues such as local economic development, environmental management and climate change strategies has also been a driver of integrating sustainability into corporate strategies. Overall, these companies represent the strongest group at attempting to integrate financial and non-financial information throughout the report. Most of the reports clearly identify relevant issues and the potential impact on the business, although there are only a few that explicitly disclose the materiality process. The strength of this integration also acts as a weakness. Annual Reports need to communicate as well as comply and the ‘one report’ approach to meet all audience needs means that South African reports, Key statistics 100% state a clear overall vision of the company 62% make a commitment to wider stakeholders 63% link non-financial issues to overall group strategy, objectives or vision 63% mention business model, 40% of those refer to non-financial elements 75% identify non-financial risk factors, 62% disclose impacts and mitigation activities 62% have a board level sustainability committee 87% provide non-financial performance data on average, are the longest at 336pp. They also have the longest average narrative at 185pp, sometimes making them quite overwhelming to read. This is often not helped by the approach to the creative, which is usually quite conservative, focused on demonstrating the quality of the assets or the business and not particularly inspirational or engaging. Key highlights • Most reports outline a clear vision along with a commitment to deliver value to their wider stakeholders. • Majority of reports present very good market reviews and opportunities, using supporting external data which helps to put the strategy into context as well as enabling the company to provide clear objectives and targets for the future. • Most companies report strategically on the business with many setting strategic agendas which are a mix of financial and non-financial elements and define how sustainability is core to delivering growth drivers. • In some cases sustainability is built into the investment case for business. A few companies use the explanation of their business models to do this. • Many report on their engagement with stakeholders, identifying key material issues and relationships. • Risks and opportunities seem to be more integrated into reporting overall rather than a standalone section – a few are outlining strategic risks directly related to stakeholder interests. • All reports contain very detailed operating reviews. Average report length Average length of narrative Average length of financials Number of ‘integrated’ reports 336 pages 185 pages 151 pages 6 out of 8 reports 8 Towards Global Sustainability A country by country review of the international integrated reporting landscape