Disclosures in BR Report of Listed Indian Companies

Abstract

This paper examines the nature, level and extent of the disclosures in Business Responsibility Report by top 50 NSE listed Indian companies as per mandatory guidelines under SEBI's (LODR) regulations. The paper relies on secondary data collected from annual report of the selected companies available on their websites for the FY 2016-17. Based upon the sample data and its extensive content analysis, result reveals that there is significant difference in disclosures of BR report adopted by selected Indian companies. Precisely, outcomes of this study would be added to the existing knowledge on ESG mandatory and voluntarily disclosure especially in BR reporting disclosure as per SEBI's (LODR) regulations. Further analysis yields the 2X2 BR Report matrix categorized across four quadrants-pace setters, smart utilizers, starting out and low efficiency. The disclosure scoring model is used to collect ESG information in BR Reports, comprehensively suggesting the strong and weak areas of the listed entities. Moreover, the findings of this study should strongly motivate Indian policy makers to review BR Reporting guidelines under SEBI (LODR) Regulations. It is acknowledged that legislation and regulations can significantly influence trends and patterns of disclosure in BR Reports. © 2018 SCMS Group of Educational Institutions. All rights reserved.