Challenge of Sustainable Reporting: Case Study of Major Companies in the Czech Republic

The paper deals with changing corporate reporting with regards to the sustainability. Sustainability reporting is a recent phenomenon in the field of reporting, offering a number of challenge, such as increased transparency and credibility in the eyes of stakeholders, impact on business performance, etc. On the other hand, it also brings a number of problematic areas, which it would be worthwhile to clarify in the future, so that the benefits of these activities can be fully exploited. The paper discusses the approach of the most important companies in the Czech Republic included in the CZECH TOP 100 ranking to sustainability reporting. Companies are far from using full sustainability reporting, as shown the quantitative analysis of 2016 data. Although the analysis was carried out on a sample of the major companies in the Czech Republic, only 64% of these companies reported on sustainable activities, most often in their annual report. The relationship between the sustainability reporting rate and the size of the business turnover was proved. The importance of the turnover indicator is also evident from the conclusions of the cluster analysis. Very significant difference in approach and level of sustainable reporting between the highest turnover companies and the rest of the most important Czech companies was detected. The analysis also showed that the content, structure and scope of sustainability reports are very individual.