Integrated Reporting (IR) supporters have called for more dialogue between company boards and their investors as a way to produce higher quality disclosures and a more informed capital market.

The comments, which were made at a recent roundtable hosted by the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and corporate communications agency Black Sun, reflected recently published research showing businesses, particularly those in the IIRC's Pilot Programme, are actively seeking input to help raise the quality of board discussions and decision-making.

Hermes Equity Ownership Services director Tom Rotherham said investors and businesses need to be "on the same page" in order to achieve a commitment to long-termism and that integrated reporting could help provide a better basis for discussion than current corporate reports.

According to Rotherham, implicit in what is needed is recognition by companies and investors that financial performance is a necessary but insufficient component of long-term success: the focus of a company should be to create value. 

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