How integrated reporting can give you the whole story

By combining financial and non-financial reporting, UK business leaders can make faster, higher-value performance decisions with confidence.

In brief

• EY research suggests 71% of UK business decisions are made without complete data.
• Non-financial reporting is becoming increasingly important, to build a broader view of organisational performance, risk, resilience and value.
• As CFOs evolve into strategic data leaders, they should harness integrated reporting to drive improved decision-making and governance.

Organisations increasingly recognise that value is not measured by financial figures alone. Future success also depends upon excelling in areas like customer satisfaction, employee engagement, operational efficiency, environmental footprint and innovation. But, as our latest research indicates, obtaining reliable data on non-financial reporting factors remains a huge challenge. Our survey of 250 senior UK business leaders suggests that 71% of decisions are made without ‘complete and reliable’ information.

In this article, we investigate ‘high-value decisions’ (with a budget of more than £50,000 and a measurable impact) and the quality of information available to decision makers. We also discuss how organisations can improve the quality of non-financial data and integrate it with traditional financial reporting, to give a more complete story of corporate performance and a better understanding of the levers available to improve business performance.

Decisions in the dark – uncovering the data gap

Faced with economic and geopolitical uncertainty, business leaders are under pressure to act quickly and decisively. According to our research, 75% of senior UK executives say the value of their decisions has increased in the past year, whilst 66% report that they are having to make decisions faster. As a result, 59% see decisions on growth, investment and transformation as riskier than ever.

At the same time, survey respondents are struggling to capture a full view of how their organisation is performing, with nearly half (48%) feeling obligated to rely on gut instinct. Bridging this data gap has become a major priority for senior leaders, to give them reliable insights and avoid having to make ‘decisions in the dark’.

Non-financial reporting is the missing link

Whilst financial data remains essential, it no longer tells the whole story. More than three-quarters (76%) of UK business leaders say accessing the right data insights for strategic decisions is a major challenge. The missing link? Non-financial reporting.

Non-financial reporting covers a range of information, including customer satisfaction, employee engagement, supplier relationships, operational efficiency, innovation, energy usage and carbon footprint. When combined with financial information, this provides a holistic view of business performance, helping leaders deliver more value to customers, employees, shareholders and society.

Of the UK business leaders surveyed, 73% say non-financial information can be as important as financial information in predicting long-term value. Yet many rely primarily on financial indicators, leaving an incomplete view of their organisation, market and wider operating environment.

Our survey respondents are eager to access better quality non-financial data: seven out of 10 leaders say it helps win new business, 57% believe it can improve their ability to raise capital and 50% feel it can help lower the cost of capital.

As a further indication of the importance of non-financial reporting, leaders note that demand for such information is rising from banks (67%) and regulators and customers (54%). When asked which types of decisions benefit from non-financial data, executive leaders say it is most effective for strategic direction (79%), operational choices (76%) and mergers and acquisitions (70%).

The whole story – why integrated reporting matters

As the pace and complexity of decision-making increases, so too does the need for a more complete view of business performance. Sixty-six percent of business leaders state that financial reporting alone fails to reflect the full performance and value of their organisation. Seven out of ten respondents feel that, by integrating financial and non-financial information, they can better understand how their organisation is performing and how they can make better strategic and operational decisions.

CFO as a strategic data leader

The Chief Financial Officer (CFO) should be at the heart of integrated reporting, evolving from financial steward to strategic data leader. They need to be responsible for both financial and non-financial reporting and to capitalise on decision-ready data, unlocking new business opportunities and value. The finance function should gain greater capability to improve data collection, curation and dissemination, giving key decision makers accurate, timely and comprehensive information to help build value and mitigate risk.

Such a change involves redefining responsibilities across the finance and sustainability functions, to ensure non-financial data is accurately captured, validated and integrated, becoming a trusted asset. Additionally, as the custodian of data and insights, the CFO should clarify what information is needed and why and shift focus to data with the greatest impact on performance.

Bringing financial and non-financial information together isn’t a one-off exercise, it’s an ongoing journey. Based on our experience, there are three steps to help turn reporting into a driver of insight, trust and value. Each step focusses on the critical questions leaders should ask and the risks and opportunities that arise from getting them right or wrong.

1. Define: Have you defined the purpose of your reporting and the value it should create?
   
   What outcomes do you want reporting to deliver for investors, customers, regulators and your people? Defining your reporting ambition means identifying your material issues, understanding stakeholder expectations and aligning them with your disclosure strategy.
   
   A key action is assessing the regulatory landscape. UK organisations face a fast-evolving mix of mandatory and voluntary frameworks, from the EU’s CSRD to the ISSB standards, which form the foundation of the forthcoming UK Sustainability Disclosure Standards (UK SDS). Businesses should also consider voluntary frameworks, such as the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), Transition Plan Taskforce (TPT) guidance and Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), which are rapidly underpinning investor expectations.
   
   Failing to define purpose and regulatory scope early can result in fragmented data collection, duplicated effort and higher assurance costs. In contrast, businesses that establish a clear strategy upfront gain control of their reporting narrative, improve stakeholder confidence and build readiness as regulation continues to evolve.
   
   
2. Design and implement: How will you execute your reporting strategy and embed it into the business?
   
   Once purpose and ambition are defined, design the approach that will make them real. This includes establishing a reporting operating model, defining roles and responsibilities and building the data processes, controls and digital infrastructure to ensure reliability and consistency.
   
   Do your systems connect financial and non-financial data? Are governance and assurance frameworks in place to ensure credibility? Too often, sustainability data remains siloed, creating inefficiencies and increasing audit risk. Without reliable data, businesses risk reporting inaccuracies, reputational damage and missed opportunities to improve performance.
   
   Leading organisations are integrating sustainability metrics into enterprise systems, creating cross-functional data ownership and automating processes to improve accuracy and efficiency. These steps not only strengthen assurance readiness, but also enable faster, more confident decision-making across the business.
   
   
3. Report: Is your reporting building trust internally and externally? Is it enhancing value?
   
   Reporting should not be an end point. The final step is to ensure disclosures build trust, drive improvement and enhance value creation. This involves evaluating whether reports clearly communicate performance, purpose and progress and whether insights are actively used to shape future strategy.
   
   Organisations that treat reporting purely as compliance risk disengagement and miss opportunities. In contrast, those that use integrated reporting as a strategic communication tool demonstrate authenticity and accountability, helping to attract investment and talent, and strengthen stakeholder relationships. Mature businesses treat reporting as a continuous feedback loop, using insights to inform strategy, guide transformation and demonstrate measurable value over time.