Corporate Governance in the COVID-19-Era Through the Prism of NonFinancial Reporting

Abstract

Non-financial reporting is undoubtedly an essential institutional measure aimed at socially responsible corporate governance and thus at the sustainable development of corporations and society in general. Large corporations were required to disclose information on non-financial performance in their 2017 financial report for the first time. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused socio-economic damage, exposed workers' vulnerability, and highlighted the fragility of supply chains. In this paper, the authors have analysed the practice of selected Slovenian corporations in non-financial reporting by observing the companies' disclosed non-financial data during the 2020 epidemic. The aim of this study is to consider how well corporations have adapted to the challenges of the COVID-19 epidemic. The results of the case study will show how the selected Slovenian corporations are striving to consider the interests of workers in their governance in times of emergencies such as the COVID-19 epidemic. Moreover, in light of the new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), these results will provide a good starting point for future research into whether the selected Slovenian corporations are on the right path towards sustainable corporate governance and/or what they need to change in this area to achieve their goals.