NON-FINANCIAL INFORMATION IN ANNUAL REPORTS

The emphasis placed on non-financial information by the United Nations Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting has aroused much interest and controversy. In contrast to the usual focus on financial matters by national and other international bodies concerned with the subject, the Group considered non-financial reporting „as important as financial reporting in appraising the operations of transnational corporations and their impact on and contribution to the countries and communities in which they operated.”* 1) More than three years have passed since the Group’s report came out. Although the United Nations is continuing to deal with the issues raised and the recommendations made by the Group in the newly constituted ad hoc Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts,2) following the recommendations of the Secretary-General, progress to date has been slow. The purpose of the present paper is to review the background against which the Group made its recommendations, evaluate major issues and considerations raised in them, and draw some conclusions as an aid to further work in this area.