Globalization and Trust: Non-financial Information

Abstract

Changes in the way of doing business that have resulted from globalization of markets have enabled countless benefits, but also a significant number of risks, that have been evident as since 2001 revelations about financial scandals around the world have occurred one after another. These unfortunate events showed the vulnerability to which investors (and other stakeholders) are exposed for not having timely, clear and accurate information of the business progress in which they invest, and therefore not being able to take precautions. In addition, these business disasters have shown how the most unscrupulous executives do not hesitate to act illegally to hide their shady financial and accounting manoeuvres, in order to promote their personal benefit. Then the executive compensations policy lies behind. At this juncture, the importance of migrating to a new model of disclosure where the global financial community can take shelter of these malpractices and trust the board controls and the management stablishes has been increasing. This new model of disclosure has one of its pillars in non-financial information reports. This is not an alchemist solution, but is one of many efforts to be undertaken by companies to recover damaged trust. The international financial crisis affecting the world economy at the moment is another example of the need to give greater trust to the stakeholders –through transparency in the information they provide–. Only then, their participation in the capital market will be maintained and increased, and the costs that brings widespread lack of trust in which we live will be reduced.