Call for participants: Disclosure of business models, strategy and the longer-term
News types: Generic Announcement, Statements
Published: 4 November 2019
The Financial Reporting Lab (the Lab) is inviting investors and companies to participate in a new project on the disclosure of business models, strategy and the longer-term.
The context for the project
Investors and other stakeholders are increasingly looking for information from companies about how they will evolve, adapt and respond over the longer-term to changes in the external business environment. Changes range from the large-scale disruption that might be caused by climate change to short and medium-term changes driven by political, technological or social factors. The Lab’s recent reports on climate-related disclosures, viability statements and risk reporting show that companies often struggle to communicate a clear longer-term narrative which reconciles the multiple time horizons companies use. To support companies in better meeting the needs of investors and stakeholders, the Lab is launching a series of projects focused around integrating longer-term time horizons into reporting. The Horizons project will cover critical interconnected reporting topics and build to form a body of practical guidance for companies.
The first reporting topic will be disclosures on business models, strategy and the longer-term. The project will consider what users want from business model and strategy disclosures and how companies might best communicate the longer-term.
The scope of the project will develop, considering the contribution from those that participate. However, it is likely to:
- explore how companies develop, monitor and communicate their business model and strategy;
- examine how companies include a longer-term focus in their reporting;
- consider how companies communicate uncertainty in their disclosures;
- analyse how investors use this information in their decision-making process and identify whether emerging reporting meets investor needs;
- discuss which areas of reporting are most challenging for companies;
- consider the extent to which UK companies can learn lessons from emerging international reporting practice; and
- highlight best practice in current company reporting.
Participation
The Lab invites investors and companies to nominate their interest in participating in this first topic of the Horizons project by emailing [email protected] .
The opportunities for participation will develop but typically consist of a combination of individual meetings of an hour and round table meetings of two hours. Participants will be kept updated on the progress of the project throughout and are encouraged to comment on drafts of the report. While early engagement in the project is encouraged, the Lab expects the peak period of participation for companies will be April to July 2020, with a final report likely to be published in autumn 2020.
If you would like to find out what it is like to participate in a Lab project, you can watch a short video at the following link.
Further information on the Lab, including its published reports