ABSTRACT
DOCUMENT DOWNLOADBusiness Groups are one of the widest spread organizational forms in the present productive context. The particular relevance of this phenomenon led Italian Legislator to intervene in the communication procedures relevant to the activities of “direction and coordination” from which depend a number of business units, controlled by other companies, notwithstanding their independence from a legal point of view.
This implies a careful consideration on the social environmental reporting processes employed by business groups. In fact, especially in recent years, many business groups decided to draft their social environmental reports with reference to the whole economic compound. Nevertheless, there are not any standards aimed at identifying the qualifying features of a group’s social environmental reporting; moreover the operating practices are often inhomogeneous.
Besides, the complexity of a group structure, its varied forms and the different ways in which it can be managed and controlled imply a number of adjustments, as well as updates and editing, to the current suggested procedure for social environmental report of single businesses. All these measures are necessary in order to obtain a group’s social environmental report disclosing useful information to the reference stakeholders.
Given these premises, the Research Group aimed at deepening the formal and practical aspects characterizing a group’s social environmental report. Such document, in fact, shows various features that, at the same time, should distinguish it from a single company’s social environmental report. It is, however, necessary to point out that the suggested considerations are based on the social report defined by the G.B.S. “Social Reporting Standard”.
In other words, the Research Group tried, through its operative proposal, adhering as much as possible to the principles, goals, structure and contents of a Social Report, such as identified by the base standard released in 1998. Meanwhile, the considerations contained in the research paper arise from a close attention to the protection of institutional interests associated with group-structured businesses.
The Research Group also trusted that the credibility of a group’s social environmental report builds on similar procedures of data gathering, classifying and disclosing implemented by all the businesses belonging to the group and for all the reported aspects.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
1. The Document Objectives
2. The Document Structure and Methodological Approach
Chapter I THE METHODOLOGICAL NOTE
1.1. Premise
1.2. The Contributions on Associations, Study Groups, National or International Agencies
1.3. The Operative Proposal
1.3.1. The Main Features of “Methodological Note”
1.3.2. The Information on “Methodological Note”
Chapter II THE REFERENCE AREA
2.1. Premise
2.2. The General Principles for Drafting the Social Environmental Report Issued by the Study Group for Social Report
2.3. The Group Structure in National and International Accounting Principles
2.4. The Contents of Other Standards Guidelines for Social Environmental Reporting
2.5. The Operative Proposal
2.6. The Information Disarticulation Based on the Activity Sector
Chapter III THE BUSINESS IDENTITY
3.1. Premise
3.2. The Contributions on Associations, Study Groups, National or International Agencies
3.2.1. The Study Group for Social Report
3.2.2. Some Other Reporting Standards
3.3. The Operative Proposal
3.3.1. The Group Reference Setting and Context
3.3.2. The Institutional Structure of the Group
3.3.3. Principles and Values of the Group
Chapter IV ADDED VALUE REPORTING
4.1. Premise
4.2. The Contributions on Associations, Study Groups, National or International Agencies
4.2.1. The Study Group for Social Report
4.2.2. Some Other Reporting Standards
4.3. The Potentialities and Limits of Added Value Reporting
4.3.1. The Structural Issues
4.3.2. The Interpreting Issues
4.4. The Operative Proposal
4.4.1. Methodological Introduction
4.4.2. The Operations Within a Group
4.4.3. The Distinction Between Term and Non-Term Wealth
4.4.4. The Different kind of Stakeholders
Chapter V THE SOCIAL ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING
5.1. Premise
5.1.1. Different Conceptual Schemes – Stakeholder Theory and Triple Bottom Line Approach
5.2. The Contributions on Associations, Study Groups, National or International Agencies
5.2.1. The Study Group for Social Report
5.2.2. Some Other Reporting Standards
5.3. The Operative Proposal for the Drafting of the Social Environmental Report– process, contents and considerations on business groups reality
5.3.1. The Building Process of Social Environmental Report
5.3.2. The Minimum Contents of Social Environmental Report
5.3.3. The Characteristics of Business Groups
Chapter VI THE STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT
6.1. Premise
6.2. The Contributions on Associations, Study Groups, National or International Agencies
6.2.1. The Study Group for Social Report
6.2.2. The Italian Banks Association (ABI)
6.2.3. The Global Reporting Initiative Set-up
6.2.4. The Principles Established by AccountAbility
6.3. The Stakeholders Engagement – process and tools. Considerations on the stakeholder engagement by Business Groups
Chapter VII THE IMPROVEMENT PROPOSAL
7.1. Premise
7.2. The Contributions on Associations, Study Groups, National or International Agencies
7.2.1. The Study Group for Social Report
7.2.2. The Global Reporting Initiative
7.3. The Operative Proposal.
