Інститут корпоративної звітності: особливості ґенези та проблеми розвитку

Reporting is the main source of information for internal and external stakeholders. It is emphasized that the main purpose of financial statements is to provide financial information about the reporting entity that is useful to all investors and creditors in making decisions about the resources of such an entity. However, the emergence of new accounting objects and social and environmental problems of humanity create an information crisis that public financial reporting cannot solve. The contemporary information crisis is not the first in the history of corporate reporting, but it has given rise to problems that cannot be solved by traditional accounting tools – double entry bookkeeping. The reasons for recognizing the imperfection of corporate reporting by the international regulator are identified, which are the insufficient level of satisfaction of all information requests of various stakeholders. It is substantiated that in the context of market globalization, a significant gap has emerged between the market value of companies and their book value, which is presented in consolidated financial statements and general purpose financial statements. In addition, new challenges related to the implementation of sustainable development policies have begun to emerge. These trends are accompanied by the emergence of new stakeholders, in particular, non-profit organizations and civil society, which have begun to formulate their own requests to international and national regulators and companies regarding the environmental impact of their activities. All of this is leading to a crisis in traditional public financial reporting, as there is a need for additional financial and non-financial information that cannot be fully provided by public financial reporting institutions. The purpose of the article is to investigate the development of the institution of corporate reporting in an evolutionary context on the example of European countries (for example Great Britain, France, Germany). Using the historical method, the author has carried out a periodization of the development of corporate reporting as a social institution. Moreover, the paper deals with the features of each corporate reporting development stage. This makes it possible to better understand the nature of the emergence of corporate reporting when studying its essence. The paper type – research paper.