Adoption of Integrated Reporting in Emerging Economies: Evidence from Bahrain

Abstract

This study investigated the extent to which integrated reporting has been implemented and the factors that determine its adoption in Bahrain. The annual reports of companies listed on the Bahrain Bourse were examined for the period 2017–2019. Then, content analysis was conducted to assess the extent of integrated reporting in 16 listed companies through the integrated reporting index (IRI), which comprises 45 disclosure items divided across 6 categories. The results indicated that the companies sampled had moved toward integrated reporting between 2017 and 2019, despite it not yet being mandatory in Bahrain. The most frequent disclosures concerned principal activities and markets, reporting boundary, accounting standards, and the link between past and current performance. However, no disclosures were provided for social risks and opportunities, as well as stakeholders' involvement in forming and resource allocation for implementing strategy; moreover, corporate reports neglected any forward-looking outlook, while disregarding performance indicators. extended further regression analysis was performed to identify the determinants for adopting integrated reporting, specifically company-specific characteristics. The results revealed that IRI is significantly and positively related to company size.