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ZimCode Secretariat
Chapter 5 of the ZimCode is on Information Management and Disclosure.

It highlights that the shareholders as well as other stakeholders have the right to be given timely and adequate information regarding the operations of the business. The best way to present relevant information to stakeholder is through integrated reports as supported by principle 316.

An integrated report is a concise communication about how an organisation’s strategy, governance, performance and prospects lead to the creation of value over the short, medium and long term.”

Integrated reporting is more than just reporting. The process starts with integrated thinking which then leads to integrated decision-making and actions that consider the creation of value over the short, medium and long term.

The thrust is on ensuring that departments, business areas and business units throughout the organisation have the same perception of value creation and prevention of value destruction.

It also means that they have to communicate continuously about their impacts on society at large, an impact they jointly need to manage. And as a final step, it means they have to report on it.

The aim of the integrated report is to clearly and concisely tell the story of the organisations. It should explain about the organisation, what it does, how it creates value, its strategy, opportunities and risks, its business model and governance, and the performance against its strategic objectives.

This should be done in a way that gives stakeholders a holistic view of the organisations and its future.

The ZimCode highlights that the board should formally adopt a suitable reporting framework for use by management in integrated and sustainability reporting.

The board has to ensure that the organisations has a formal process in place for publishing the integrated and sustainability report and should be responsible through its audit committee for reviewing the information to be published.

The ZimCode encourages organisations to be guided by the requirements of the Global Reporting Initiative’s International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) or any other reputable international reporting framework in coming up with integrated reports.

The (IIRC) in its International Integrated Reporting Framework applies principles and concepts that are focused on bringing greater cohesion and efficiency to the reporting process and adopting integrated thinking as a way of breaking down internal silos and reducing duplication.

The purpose of the Framework is to establish Guiding Principles and Content Elements that govern the overall content of an integrated report, and to explain the fundamental concepts that underpin them. It improves the quality of information available to providers of financial capital to enable a more efficient and productive allocation of capital.

Its focus on value creation, and the “capitals” used by the business to create value over time, contributes towards a more financially stable global economy.

In preparing an integrated report the following guiding principles that are highlighted in the ZimCode on principle 318(a-f), can be useful in understanding the scope of the report. Accordingly, an integrated report should focus on strategic information about the organisations, comment on financial and non-financial information and as much as possible adopt a futuristic orientation.

An integrated report should address the needs of stakeholders both within and outside the organisation, it should be concise and contain reliable and material corporate information and include sustainable development and environmental impact assessment and responses by the reporting entity.

To date there is a great number of companies that have implemented integrated reporting throughout their organisations.

The journey is not the same for everyone. Some talk about blood, sweat and tears, and some find it surprisingly smooth. Many have used the (IIRC), guidelines and some have been more successful than others. Many managers question how the integrated report fit with other reports? In order to answer this valid question, it is important to use the octopus analogy.

The head being the integrated report and each arm is a detailed report or detailed information set (e.g. annual financial statements, sustainability report, governance report etc.). Therefore, an integrated report can be seen as the main report from which all other detailed information flows.

For more information on the ZimCode contact: [email protected]