Narration in Reporting – How to Verify It?
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.33119/SIP.2018.160.6Keywords:
non-financial data verification, audit, inspection, CSR, non-financial reportingAbstract
The study presents the conclusions from the analysis of significance and conditions of verification of non-financial information of business entities in the area of activities in favour of sustainable development. It attempts to answer a research question: what does the verification of non-financial data mean, what are the major directions of development of verification of non-financial information observed in the practice of business entities in the world 21st century, what is the present state of legal regulations in the context of verification of these data and what problems result from their application in practice. The article serves the purpose of indication of key factors and further prospects of nonfinancial information auditing. The aim of the study determined the selection of research methods based on critical, comparative and descriptive analysis. The accounting literature analysis is the basic research method applied in the article; but also, the analysis of legal acts as well as practical studies and reports. The formulation of conclusions is based on deductive and inductive concluding with the use of methods of analysis and synthesis. The study analyses the significance of independent verification of non-financial data with regard to the achievements of business entities acting in favour of sustainable development. It presents changes in this kind of audit observed in practice. Next, it describes basic legal regulations on the verification of non-financial data and the controversies connected with their practical application. The diversity of standards and their excessive level of generalisation give rise to considerable problems related to the research methodology as well as the responsibility of auditors. In this context, it seems important to make them uniform and to introduce explicit verification guidelines. The article is practical and theoretical in character. The conclusions from the analyses of trends in the changes in the practice of non-financial information verification and the scientific solutions in this area developed so-far indicate the need for standardisation of non-financial data control. The research is preliminary, requiring in-depth empirical research.
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