Corporate Reporting as a Means of Disclosing and Realising the Principles of Responsible Business

Abstract

Relevance . Increased attention is being paid to the concept of responsible business, a key element of sustainable development, in the context of the transformation of Russia’s socio-economic environment. Corporate responsibility of business, primarily interpreted as a tool of image policy, shapes today an independent strategic framework that influences the long-term competitiveness of companies. The aim of the study is to analyse the principal tasks of responsible business in contemporary Russia. Within this framework, the author examines dynamics of the formation of corporate responsibility and are identifies its key directions, including social, environmental, institutional, and innovative aspects. The basic normative element of the article includes federal laws and decrees of the President of the Russian Federation; acts defining the requirements for the accounting of financial statements; information of the official website of the ECG rating; as well as scientific publications and monographs on the issues of accounting and auditing the achievement of sustainable development and national goals. Methodology . In the course of the work, general scientific and economic methods were applied: synthesis, induction, deduction, a point-rating method, logical analysis, as well as systemic-legal and comparative analysis. The article presents the results of an analysis of companies that are leaders in the ECG rating. The conclusion based on these results, points out that domestic businesses need to increase their contribution to social programmes for employees, as well as to engage in more transparent interaction with state institutions. A unified information space allowing Russian companies for disclosing their commitments to achieve national development goals, makes it possible to improve policy in the field of sustainable development.