Communication Strategies in Financial Disclosure

"Communication, which involves 'messages, information, meaning, and symbolic activity' (Putnam and Cheney, 1985, p. 131), shapes nearly every aspect of our daily lives. It not only influences our perceptions and the way we interpret the world but also how we view ourselves and others, acting as both a product and driver of social relationships. For business organisations, effective communication is crucial in managing relationships with external stakeholders.

Corporate reporting, which increasingly includes non-financial performance indicators, serves as a primary channel for corporations to communicate with investors and other stakeholders, offering important insights into the financial as well as social, environmental, and governance aspects of their activities. The course focuses on recent innovations in corporate disclosure that address challenges companies face in the 'age of corporate responsibilization' (Reinecke & Ansari, 2016). It also explores the often-overlooked inherent subjectivity within corporate communication (Stenka, 2021).

Outline of the Syllabus

1. The Main Theoretical Frameworks Concerning Communication Strategies in Corporate Disclosure
2. Forms of Corporate Disclosure – Reporting on Financial and Non-Financial Performance Indicators
3. Persuasive and Performative Aspects of Corporate Disclosure – Numbers, Narratives, and Images
4. Three-Dimensional Character of Numbers – Calculative, Existential, and Symptomatic (Vollmer, 2007)
5. Main Stakeholders and Interest Groups in the Corporate Arena – Who Are We Reporting To?
6. Recent Innovations in Corporate Reporting - various forms of sustainability reporting
7. The ESG Reporting Versus ESG Performance – Do They Walk the Talk?
8. Economic and Social Implications of Financial and Non-Financial Performance Indicators in Corporate Reports
9. Analysis of Various Communication Strategies – Oppositional Versus ‘Bridging’ Rhetoric
10. Crisis of Legitimacy and Corporate Scandals

The main objective of the course is to examine why corporate reporting communication deserves careful scrutiny, not only in terms of what corporate actors communicate but also how they communicate and the specific legitimation strategies they employ.

This course will focus on the latest innovations in corporate reporting that respond to society’s growing expectation that businesses be accountable for more than just the financial aspects of their operations. This new era of stakeholder capitalism (Freeman et al., 2007), or stakeholder democracy (O’Dwyer, 2005) also, coined by some as political corporate social responsibility (Scherer et al., 2016), expects corporations to act, or at least be seen to act, on issues such as social inequalities, climate change, sustainability, and financial controversies (Reinecke & Ansari, 2016).

In presence

The course examines relevant theoretical frameworks while incorporating a strong practical component, featuring real-world examples and case studies from the corporate sector. Students will be expected to demonstrate how they can apply the theoretical foundations learned throughout the course to gain deeper insights into current corporate reporting practices

In addition to attending lectures, students will be required to prepare and deliver presentations on selected topics and actively participate in group discussions informed by both academic and industry literature. Through these activities, students will have an opportunity to develop transferable skills, such as teamwork, leadership, critical thinking, and analytical skills to engage with complex study material.

• oral group presentations (20%)
• closed-book written exam (80%)