Why corporate reporting remained topical for organisations this year

Organisations had to manage risks, build resilience, and seize opportunities for business growth. The role of corporate reporting, as a critical component for organisations in executing their strategy during the year, cannot be overemphasised.

Both financial and non-financial reporting information were key ingredients for organisations to provide clarity for decision-making, evaluate strategic choices, deliver sustained returns to shareholders, and build trust with their stakeholders.

Organisations continued to invest in capacity building for corporate reporting across all levels of the organisation, particularly at the highest governance levels, such as the board of directors and senior management.

Having clarity on the tangible benefits realised from corporate reporting has been a focus area for organisations, including increasing the utility of their reports and motivating for the right investments aligned with the right reporting maturity ambition.

Sustainability reporting continues to generate significant interest among organisations executing strategy, policy, and compliance, including mandatory reporting.

Preparation for the mandatory adoption of the new IFRS sustainability standards is in full swing, with organisations revisiting specific upstream activities across their businesses to align and improve as they invest in their sustainability reporting capabilities.

The next few years will see organisations accelerate their efforts to meet the compliance timelines for mandatory sustainability reporting. On the financial reporting front, organisations are now spending more time analysing financial information, having recently adopted a range of new IFRS accounting standards over the last seven years.

This shift for finance teams from operational to strategic partnering across their organisations has necessitated the modernisation of the finance function, leveraging digital technologies to enhance efficiency, effectiveness, and value delivery.

This is a finance transformation journey that will help organisations do more with less.

The PwC global investor survey for 2025 offers a window into what investors are prioritising and how it's shaping the decisions by organisations, for example, how organisations using sustainability data to drive efficiency and performance will attract more investments, demonstrating that corporate reporting will remain a big component of how organisations execute strategy.

Akinyemi Awodumila is a Partner at PwC Kenya. He is an author who writes and speaks widely on corporate reporting topics.