A cautionary tale: Lessons from the strategic use of financial reporting

Lucas, G. J. M; Klangboonkrong, T.

Abstract

Sustainability and CSR reporting has been undergoing a rapid development due to the increasing relevance of sustainability and CSR considerations for investors and other stakeholders. As sustainability and CSR reporting develops a similar level of sophistication as financial reporting, we argue the former will become equally susceptible to the problems of the latter. Drawing on Performance Feedback Theory (PFT) and the performance management literature, we identify three problems that offer stakeholders a cautionary tale to keep in mind as they navigate the rapid proliferation of sustainability and CSR reporting. Each of these problems revolves around the fact that firms and decision makers will approach reporting strategically. Therefore, stakeholders should arm themselves with knowledge of such strategic behavior, pursue an ongoing conversation about what firms report, as well as re-evaluate as the firm’s circumstances change.

Citation

Lucas, G. J. M., & Klangboonkrong, T. (2023). A cautionary tale: Lessons from the strategic use of financial reporting. In Measuring sustainability and CSR: From reporting to decision-making (133-140). Cham, Switzerland: Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26959-2_13

• Acceptance Date: Nov 9, 2022
• Online Publication Date: Mar 31, 2023
• Publication Date: 2023
• Deposit Date: Apr 27, 2023
• Publicly Available Date: Apr 1, 2025
• Publisher: Springer Nature
• Pages: 133-140
• Series Title: Ethical Economy
• Series Number: 64
• Book Title: Measuring sustainability and CSR: From reporting to decision-making
• ISBN: 9783031269585
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-26959-2_13
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/19215674
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-031-26959-2_13