CSR REPORTING BY THE TOP10 ESTONIAN COMPANIES RATED BY PROFIT GROWTH

Abstract

Nowadays more and more companies all over the world have been providing Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) related information. As a result many companies today implement CSR strategies and disclose respective information either via standalone CSR reporting or through their websites. In Estonia today there are no governmental requirements related to the disclosure of nonfinancial information, but companies quoted at the Tallinn Stock Exchange have already started to prepare standalone CSR reports and include non-financial information into their annual reports. Most companies provide CSR related information on their websites making it visible and easily accessible for the users. This article presents the survey of CSR reporting by the Top10 Estonian companies (ranked by profit growth) conducted by studying annual reports and websites of the selected companies for the year 2012. The criteria for the choice, and presentation of information were tailored to the template developed by Ashridge Business School. The research results revealed that there is a growing trend of CSR reporting among the leading Estonian business companies, however companies are not willing to prepare standalone CSR reports and prefer to disclose CSR related information via either website and/or via annual report, which may be related to such factors as time, human resources and practical knowledge and skills. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]