Assessing the reporting of stakeholder reciprocity in the Australian banking industry

Abstract

Purpose – Companies are increasing the amount of their voluntary disclosures to inform stakeholders about organisational performance. Despite criticism that these are simply “public relations” exercises, there has been little formal evaluation of stakeholder reporting, especially in Australia. In addition, the important aspect of stakeholder reciprocity, where not only stakeholder satisfaction but also their contribution to the organisation is evaluated and reported, has not been examined. This study aims to examine both of these issues.Design/methodology/approach – The study was conducted using the non‐financial performance indicators of Australia's top five banks, as available in both annual reports and web sites, to examine the nature of stakeholder reporting and the extent to which stakeholder reciprocity is disclosed.Findings – The results of the study indicate that there is neither consistency in the reporting of key performance indicators, nor is there consistency in reporting across both stakehold...