CEO of Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, Louise Davidson, joins IIRC Board

The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) today announces the appointment of Louise Davidson, Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors, to its Board of Directors. Louise has over twenty years’ expertise in the financial services and superannuation industry. Louise Davidson’s appointment to the IIRC Board of Directors will ensure the perspective of providers of financial capital is central to the work of the IIRC. Louise Davidson’s three year term begins on the 1 October 2016.

Commenting on her appointment to the Board Louise Davidson said, “I’m honoured to be appointed to the Board of the IIRC. As the CEO of the Australian Council of Superannuation Investors (ACSI), which represents 35 Australian and international superannuation funds and asset managers, I believe it’s vital for businesses to consider wider value creation factors when developing their strategy. The more businesses considers all their opportunities and risks in a holistic way, the better they enhance their long term value and sustainable development. I’m looking forward to working with the IIRC Board to move this agenda forward, in Australia and globally.”

Louise Davidson’s appointment further strengthens the balance of the IIRC’s Board in terms of geography, gender, diversity and sector. Louise represents the ever-growing group of investors that is calling for Integrated Reporting, as evidence grows regarding its benefits. Surveys recently conducted by PwC and EY both demonstrate the investor demand for improvement in the way companies explain how they create value, with 70% of institutional investors responding to an EY survey seeing integrated reports as essential or important.

Academics have provided reasoning for this growing demand, with research led by Stanford University finding, “Integrated Reporting is positively associated with both stock liquidity and firm value.” The National University of Singapore and KPMG have produced research concluding that companies that disclose more than just financial information started outperforming their control group in mid-2010.

Investors are becoming more vocal in their concerns of the current state of reporting, with the CFA Institute writing to the Financial Times calling for the adoption of Integrated Reporting as a practical tool to support value creation over time. The pull for Integrated Reporting from superannuation investors in Australia is especially strong, where many of the major funds are leading the way by adopting Integrated Reporting themselves.