On the direct comparability of non-financial reports from a “Climate Action” & emissions perspective : - with specific reference to Large Cap companies on the Swedish Stock Market over a ten year period

There are problems connected to the non-financial reports (NFRs) prepared by companies. The purpose of this study is to compare over a ten year period, the NFRs of Large Cap companies on the Swedish Stock Market, from a “Climate Action” and emissions perspective, to determine if the direct comparability of NFRs has increased within companies, if the direct comparability of NFRs between companies has increased and if regulations launched during the past decade have increased the direct comparability of NFRs. The non-financial reports (NFRs) of twenty four different Large Cap companies on the Swedish Stock Market were studied from 2010 to 2019 using a semi-inductive approach. A Research model and an Analysis model, the latter containing four components, frameworks, indicators, units of measurement and physical quantities, was developed in this study and its components used for analytical purposes. The results of the study show that only four enterprises’ NFRs, out of a total of twenty-four, could be compared internally for climate change issues over the entire decade. Furthermore, none of the companies’ NFRs could be directly compared between companies within this timeframe. The study has shown that direct comparability of NFRs, both within and between companies over time, requires that a unit of measurement and a physical quantity are used consistently by the companies. This study indicates that neither direct internal comparability of NFRs nor direct comparability between companies’ NFRs, have increased within and between companies over a decade. Despite the introduction of regulations there has not been a uniformity of procedures of the companies’ combined use of units of measurement and physical quantities which allows for individual interpretation of their contents. A suggested future research project is to lay the foundation for a combined financial and non-financial report where issues of risk and responsibility are tackled.