IC statement vs environmental and social reports : An empirical analysis of their convergences in the Italian context

Purpose – To verify if the intellectual capital (IC) statement has some points of contact with environmental and social reports, or whether it can be considered as a brand‐new reporting model, which is completely detached and independent by the other two. Design/methodology/approach – An empirical analysis of environmental and social reports in Italy, and in particular an analysis whether some elements of IC statement are present in the environmental and social reports. Findings – A high level of dispersion in the information composing the environmental and social reports; a significant overlapping of data between these two sets of documents; and a quite relevant set of information in common between the environmental and social reports and the IC statement. Research limitations/implications – The environmental and social reports analysed could be not an exhaustive list, because Italian companies produce such reports on a voluntary basis and for internal purposes. Practical implications – The lack of uniformity in and between environmental and social reports, and the correspondence between many elements of those documents and the IC statement information seem to suggest that the environmental and social reports could probably serve as a support for the development of IC statement in the Italian context in the near future. Originality/value – Looks at the growing awareness of the multi‐dimensional nature of firm performance and the inadequacy of traditional accounting systems to account for issues posed by economic and technological environments.