SAP, long an international leader in enterprise financial systems, is also a leader in corporate reporting. This is illustrated in its release of an integrated report for 2017, which can be found at its integrated reporting website.
That website reflects the company's reporting on Financial, Social and Environmental highlights. A separate PDF file is also downloadable from the website that provides more detail on the integrated reporting.
The financial reports are of course prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles (IFRS). The environmental and social reports are in accordance with the GRI standards. The social reporting website dwells heavily on employee engagement and therefore has a heavy HR emphasis, but the PDF provides a lot more information on a variety of social indicators.
The key to good integrated reporting is to truly integrate the financial, social, and environmental reports and show their inter-relationships and interdependencies. The SAP integrated report addresses this issue head on with a section in the website and in the PDF on "Connectivity of Financial and Non-financial Indicators." While far from the only section that truly integrates, this document serves as something of a focal point for that integration.
On the website, "SAP has used techniques such as linear regression analysis to document the financial impact of four non-financial indicators. We assess each indicator to see what a change of 1pp (or 1% for carbon emissions) would mean for our operating profit." The results for 2017 are set out in a table. The PDF expands on these matters.
The PDF offers up a Combined (integrated) Management Report, and other integrative information. There is also an external audit report on the financial statements as well as on certain of the non- financial indicators. The report also provides negative assurance in accordance with international assurance standards on the other non-financial indicators.
Overall the report is a good example of integrated reporting and while improvements could be made, it does provide a good example for others to follow.
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