Abstract
This study looked at the disclosure of risks and opportunities in the top five South African banks' integrated reports for 2021. It determined the nature of the risks and opportunities disclosed in the integrated report and assessed whether the risk and opportunity disclosures provided complied with the requirements of the International Integrated Reporting Framework.
This research used an interpretivist paradigm and a qualitative approach. The information for this study was obtained through content analysis of the individual banks' 2021 integrated reports. A checklist was developed as a tool for assessing disclosure practices. Since data was gathered from the most recent integrated reports of the chosen South African banks at a single point in time, the study used a cross-sectional research design. The findings show that three of the selected banks disclosed all the requirements contained in the International Integrated Reporting Framework concerning risks and opportunities whilst two banks partially complied as they did not provide disclosures about their opportunities. The findings concerning the nature of risk disclosures show that the selected banks disclosed 38 themes related to risks, and the findings concerning the nature of opportunity disclosures show that the selected banks disclosed 14 themes related to opportunities. Furthermore, the results show that those in charge of preparing the integrated reports provide a thorough disclosure of risks, and there is room for improvement concerning disclosure of opportunities.
Key words: Integrated Report; banks; risks; opportunities; disclosures; South Africa.