Exploring the Influence of Integrated Reporting on Financial Performance: Findings from India's FMCG Sector

In recent times, Integrated Reporting (IR) as a practice has been gaining prominence globally.The drawbacks of the conventional financial reporting mechanism which involves providing only the financial information to the stakeholders has been overcome with the emergence of integrated reporting mechanism.By integrating both financial and nonfinancial data into a unified report, integrated reporting has become a crucial tool for promoting greater transparency in corporate practices.It is a reporting mechanism which provides a holistic view of an organization thereby proving to be beneficial to various stakeholders.One of the objectives of this research is to explore the adoption of IR disclosure practices of the 15 selected FMCG companies.Apart from this, it also examines the influence of integrated reporting on the financial performance indicators with respect to selected FMGG companies.The financial performance of the companies, measured by indicators like profit margin, return on equity (ROE), and return on assets (ROA), is assessed for the financial year 2023 -24.The study also attempts at identifying the possible challenges such as lack of prescribed framework, regulatory complexities, no standard format etc. faced by FMCG companies in adoption of integrated reporting in FMCG industry.The data for the purpose of research has been collected from secondary sources such as integrated reports and annual reports of the 15 selected companies, sustainability reports, industry publications etc.The data collected is analysed using Descriptive statistics and Correlation analysis using Jamovi.The results indicate that there is a positive and significant influence of integrated reporting (independent variable) on net profit margin and return on assets (ROA) (dependent variables) but no influence of integrated reporting on return on equity (ROE).The results also provide valuable insights which can thereby assist policy makers and regulators to promote effective IR adoption and address the various challenges faced by the FMCG companies with respect to its adoption.