The Business Council of Australia has responded to the International Integrated Reporting Council’s Consultation Draft of the International Integrated Reporting Framework discussion paper.

The key concerns the consultation draft on integrated reporting raises for the BCA include:

• the likely increase in the reporting burden on business
• the potential for increased costs to collate additional data and associated increased assurance expenses
• the limited, or poorly defined, benefits to businesses of integrated reporting
• understanding the size of the audience that integrated reporting is anticipated to appeal to
• the lack of appropriate safe harbour arrangements in Australia and the risks for director liabilities with respect to future-oriented disclosures
• the introduction of an additional layer of reporting above what businesses are already required to produce adding to already cluttered reporting requirements
• setting an appropriate size threshold so that small businesses are not unnecessarily caught up in reporting that is costly and meaningless in the context of their operations.

Submission to the International Integrated Reporting Council regarding the Consultation Draft of the International Integrated Reporting Framework