See video on what is possible, from May’13 + Linked-In discussion. The IIRC launched its much heralded IR Framework <IRF> last night with a grand event at London’s Mansion House, introduced by Prince Charles and the Lord Mayor, and attended by the great and good from the corporate reporting world. Unfortunately, no significant movement has happened since the Consultation draft I commented on back in May.

The aim is worthwhile and clear enough “An integrated report is a concise communication about how an organization’s strategy, governance, performance and prospects, in the context of its external environment, lead to the creation of value in the short, medium and long term.” To fulfill this we need:

1. to specify and quantify the main elements of a business aside from its finances (initially – customers, staff, products and capacity)
2. to offer a formal and rigorous functional model that captures how the business actually works and delivers performance.

As yet, no such model exists, nor does <IRF> or any other source offer any adequate definition of the elements required to produce such a model, so efforts at Integrated Reporting will remain qualitative, judgmental and overly complex (you could hear the groans from the corporate members last night at yet-more reporting demands). The frustrating thing, as the video on what is possible shows, is that a solution exists and is not even especially difficult.