Relevant information from the perspective of sustainable forest management – auditing socio-environmental information and data

Purpose: The study aims to: (1) deepen the theory of defining new concepts such as relevant information and information needs, and (2) examine the essence of financial and non-financial information and its usefulness to forest stakeholders. The research problem was formulated as follows: “Since forest management entities generate and disclose financial and non-financial information, which of these sources of information will be considered most useful (relevant) by information users?” In the context of environmental and social challenges, accounting 5.0 must generate, report, and disclose information according to stakeholders’ expectations. Methodology/approach: The following methods were used: literature analysis and critique, document examination, logical analysis and construction, the Delphi method, and snowballing. The Pearson chi-square independence test and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used. Findings: The most important characteristics of information are reliability and timeliness. The most useful information for stakeholders includes forest maps and conservation information, a “forest dictionary”, and rules for timber sales. Information about campaigns, charitable actions, forest hazards, and forest access restrictions is useful. Research limitations: A limitation of the research is the national sample size of the survey, with a higher percentage of internal forest stakeholders than external stake-holders. Practical implications: The practical implications of the article are based on the collected research material, which can contribute to the development of a standard questionnaire for investigating the information needs of stakeholders in the future. Originality/value: The study is the first empirical research of its kind in Poland and involves the participation of foreign experts. Contributions to social science theory include: (1) an original definition of “relevant information”; (2) a definition of “information needs”; (3) comparative frameworks for the impact areas of the sustainable development concept in correlation with information, relevant information, and stake-holders; (4) a conceptual table of differences between types of information from a sustainability perspective.