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Companies are often accused of using sustainability disclosures as public relations tools to manage financial and non-financial stakeholders' impressions. The purpose of our study was firstly to determine how comprehensive the human rights disclosures of a sample of large international companies were and secondly, whether different narrative styles are associated with levels of disclosure to manage readers' impressions about the company. We analysed the public human rights disclosures for 154 large, international companies obtained from the UN Guiding Principles Reporting website. On average, companies complied with only one-third of the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework criteria. Communication about policies has the highest compliance, whilst communication about determining which human rights aspects are salient to the company, remedies for transgressions and stakeholder engagement have the lowest disclosure. When we split the sample between high disclosure and low disclosure companies, we found that the readability of the human rights disclosures is exceptionally low and even more so for low disclosure companies. Low disclosure companies used words implying Satisfaction significantly more than high disclosure companies, which provides some support for suspecting that low disclosure companies practise impression management by only presenting a ‘rosy picture’, as well as obfuscation via low readability. We add to the literature on impression management by large corporations in their sustainability reporting, and specifically human rights disclosures, by revealing how the interplay of low disclosure, low readability and overuse of words signalling Satisfaction contributes to impression management, rather than sincere attempts at accountability to all stakeholders.

Using the resource dependence and legitimacy theories, this research aims to examine the relationship between board attributes and human rights reporting, as well as the interaction effect of board chairperson experience on the relationship among listed firms at the Nairobi Securities Exchange (NSE).

This study collected data from annual reports of firms listed on the NSE from 2009 to 2019 using content analysis to examine how boards influence human rights reporting. A total of 547 firm-year observations were used to test the hypotheses. This study used a hierarchical regression model to examine the relationship.

This study found that board attributes are important predictors of human rights reporting. This study shows that both board diversity and board independence have a positive impact on human rights reporting. Furthermore, the interaction results revealed that having a highly experienced chairperson strengthens the effect of board independence on human rights reporting; however, this study found that experienced chairperson reduces the influence of board diversity on human rights reporting.

The findings suggest that board diversity and independence are essential attributes to which listed companies should pay attention when appointing board members. Moreover, the chairperson's leadership on the board is critical in ensuring that publicly trading companies adopt policies that disclose human rights information.

This paper provides insights into Kenya's human rights disclosure practices. It also analyzes how boards influence human rights disclosures, an empirical test that has received little attention in the previous literature. This study emphasizes the importance of board members and the chairperson in advocating for human rights reporting to improve corporate sustainability.

This paper aims to respond to increasing interest in the intersection between accounting and human rights and to explore whether access to information might itself constitute a human right. As human rights have “moral force”, establishing access to information as a human right may act as a catalyst for policy change. The paper also aims to focus on environmental information, and specifically the case of corporate water‐related disclosures.

This paper follows Griffin and Sen, who suggest that a candidate human right might be recognised when it is consistent with “founding” human rights, it is important and it may be influenced by societal action. The specific case for access to corporate water‐related information to constitute a human right is evaluated against these principles.

Access to corporate water‐related disclosures may indeed constitute a human right. Political participation is a founding human right, water is a critical subject of political debate, water‐related information is required in order for political participation and the state is in a position to facilitate provision of such information. Corporate water disclosures may not necessarily be in the form of annual sustainability reports, however, but may include reporting by government agencies via public databases and product labelling. A countervailing corporate right to privacy is considered and found to be relevant but not necessarily incompatible with heightened disclosure obligations.

This paper seeks to make both a theoretical and a practical contribution. Theoretically, the paper explores how reporting might be conceived from a rights‐based perspective and provides a method for determining which disclosures might constitute a human right. Practically, the paper may assist those calling for improved disclosure regulation by showing how such calls might be embedded within human rights discourse.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a number of important recent developments in the area of business and human rights and considers the impact of these developments for accounting, assurance and reporting. Following the UN endorsement of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (the Guiding Principles) in June 2011, initiatives related to their implementation have advanced at a rapid pace. Despite the centrality of accounting, assurance and reporting to some of the key initiates – accounting research has, hitherto, lagged behind this growing momentum. In order to address this lacunae, this paper develops an agenda for future research in the area of accounting and human rights. In doing so, the paper provides an overview of the important contributions advanced by the other papers in this special issue of Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal (AAAJ).

This paper draws together and identifies key issues and themes related to the rapidly evolving research and policy domain of business and human rights and considers the relevance of these issues to accounting research.

The paper highlights the wide-ranging impact the Guiding Principles and other developments in business and human rights have for accounting practice and draws attention to potential areas of research for accounting scholars. In particular, the paper highlights the emergence of business and human rights due diligence requirements, including their management and reporting. Further, the paper draws attention to the development of business and human rights reporting and assurance practice – which, while still in its infancy, has gathered considerable momentum and support.

The paper provides important insights into emerging issues and developments in business and human rights that have clear relevance to accounting research and practice.

This paper, and the other contributions to this special issue of AAAJ, provide a basis and a research agenda for accounting scholars seeking to undertake research in this significant and emerging field.

The purpose of this paper is to discuss a wide range of significant developments that have emerged in the wake of the UNs endorsement of the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (GPs) in June 2011. In particular, the paper offers a preliminary assessment of how the GPs’ corporate responsibility to respect human rights has been interpreted and to what extent it has been operationalised through government action, business behaviour and the praxis of other social actors.

The paper provides a comprehensive assessment of a number of key developments related to Pillar 2 of the GPs – concerned with the corporate responsibility to respect human rights. More specifically, the paper considers a range of elements relating to corporate human rights due diligence, including: establishing a corporate human rights policy; the undertaking of human rights impact assessment; integrating findings of impact assessment, and; corporate human rights reporting.

Based on the assessment of recent developments and initiatives, the paper suggests that the corporate responsibility to respect human rights, as expressed in Pillar 2 of the GPs, embodies the culmination of significant progress in the sphere of corporate accountability. In doing so, the paper documents a plethora of innovations in regulation and praxis, led by actors in government and the corporate sector, civil society organisations, labour unions and others, in the areas of human rights due diligence, impact assessment and reporting. Yet overall, change is slow and partial and the results achieved are still unsatisfactory. Severe business-related human rights abuses remain endemic in many industry sectors and in many countries.

The implementation of the GPs is at a key stage of development, with a multitude of initiatives and actors attempting to develop and influence new forms of corporate governance. This paper provides an overview and assessment of these key developments.

This paper provides an important assessment and synthesis of key developments related to corporate responsibility for human rights.

This paper aims to examine the Indonesian Stock Exchange-listed (IDX-listed) companies’ human rights disclosures.

The year-ending 2012 annual report disclosures of 75 IDX-listed companies are analyzed. The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines are used as the disclosure index checklist.

The results show a low level of voluntary human rights disclosure (36.74 per cent). The highest level of communication is for assessment issues. Very few companies disclosed information about child labor and forced and compulsory labor. Statistical analysis reveals that board size significantly influences “human rights” communication in a positive direction. Company size, one of the control variables in this study, is also found to be positively significant. The managerial stakeholder theory partially explains the variability of these disclosures.

The main implication of the findings is that key stakeholders do not see the importance of human rights issues to be disclosed, except for commissioners. It seems that commissioners have the spirit of the United Nation Guiding Principles (UNGPs), requiring companies to respect human rights in daily business operations. Another implication is that companies may attempt to hide certain information regarding child labor and forced and compulsory labor.

This paper provides insights into the disclosure practices of human rights issues in Indonesia. The paper also investigates the key determinants of human rights disclosures, an empirical test which is largely ignored in previous human rights reporting studies. This paper highlights the potency of commissioners in campaigning and promoting the importance of social responsibility on human rights for corporate sustainability.

This research develops a set of specific modern slavery disclosure principles for organisations. It critically evaluates seven legislative Acts from five different countries and 16 guidelines and directives from international organisations. By undertaking an in-depth content analysis, the research derives an index comprising nine principles and 49 disclosure items to promote best-practice disclosure in tackling modern slavery. We promote nine active principles for organisations to implement and disclose: recognising modern slavery practices, identifying risks, publishing a modern slavery risk prevention policy, proactive in assessing and addressing risks, assessing efficacy of actions, garnering internal and external oversight, externally communicating modern slavery risk mitigation, implementing a suppliers' assessment and code of conduct to ensure transparency and specifying consequences for non-compliance. The research is motivated by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 8, which focusses on economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work. The research findings will assist practitioners seeking to discover and disclose evidence of modern slavery practices and their mitigation to minimise and encourage the elimination of this unethical and illegal practice in domestic and global supply chains and operations.

This study aims to investigate the representation of human rights issues within photographs in the 2015 corporate social responsibility (CSR) reports of Fortune 70 companies.

Content analysis is used to examine human rights photos in CSR reports by Fortune 70 global corporations for the year 2015. Based on impression management theory and Roland Barthes’ work on visual rhetoric, a total of 744 photos are analysed.

The findings of this study reflect the main feature of the omnipresence of the linguistic in photographic human rights disclosure. Denotation and connotation in the photographs are inextricably intermingled; the linguistic message has the “anchoring” function that guides the interpretations of the symbolic message of the photos. The authors conclude what the proliferation of photos and associated text achieves, or attempts to achieve, is not only to provide information, but also carry visual rhetoric and impression management.

International accounting standard organisations, such as GRI, might provide guidance on the utilisation of photos in CSR reports to improve the realism of the reports. The principle of balance applicable to reported information should be extended to photos as much as possible. This may help ensure that the CSR reports reflect the reality of human rights issues within the organisations, rather than the construction of idealised images.

The findings have potential for global reporting institutions.

This study contributes to the impression management literature by analysing how companies present human rights issues and by demonstrating the way the photos are used to construct images of happiness, safety, diversity and mutual support.

This paper explores the subpolitical role and main characteristics of a specific accounting technique, sustainability reporting boundaries. Its focus is on how the sett2ing of sustainability reporting boundaries affects the definition and distribution of social risks along the supply chain, particularly the risks related to working condition and human rights.

The paper draws on Beck's (1986) exploration of the ways in which techno-economic spheres offer opportunities for the politicisation of new areas. It is argued that the sphere of sustainability reporting offers that opportunity for the politicisation of supply chains. Using the case of Inditex, the historical context of initiatives relating to the ready-made garment (RMG) industry at global, European and industry level as well as media coverage on the entity are analysed; this is correlated with the analysis of boundary setting in relation to sustainability reports, focusing specifically on working conditions.

The analysis suggests that accounting technologies that set contested boundaries are subpolitical, that is, defined outside traditional political processes. The paper finds that the way social risks are framed along the supply chain renders them invisible and impersonal and that the framing of these risks becomes endless as they are contested by different groups of experts. Setting sustainability reporting boundaries has subpolitical properties in producing and framing those risks, whilst is simultaneously limited by the inherent politicisation of such an exercise. The questionable legitimacy of sustainability reporting boundaries calls for the construction not only of discursive justifications but also of new possibilities for political participation.

The analysis is limited to working conditions along one organisation's supply chain.

The contribution of this paper is threefold: (1) It studies in-depth how working conditions in global supply chains are portrayed in sustainability reports. (2) It answers the call to study accounting technologies themselves, in this case sustainability reporting boundaries. (3) It extends Beck's work on global ecological dangers to working conditions in global supply chains to explore how sustainability reporting boundaries are subpolitically involved in the definition and distribution of social risks along the supply chain.

This paper aims to examine the relationship between board demographic diversity and human rights reporting for a sample of large Western European companies.

Grounded on resource dependence theory, the authors hypothesize that greater gender, age and nationality diversities will translate into enhanced levels of human rights reporting. The authors use ordinal logistic regression analysis to analyze the association between these types of board diversity and such reporting.

The findings suggest that the companies in the sample attribute little importance to the reporting of information pertaining to the issue of human rights. They also suggest that only the diversity of nations represented in the board of directors is significant in explaining this type of reporting.

The sample includes only large companies from Western Europe and the analysis covers only one year.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this study provides the first empirical analysis of factors influencing human rights reporting conducted on a multiple-country setting. It is also the first investigating the association between boards of directors’ demographic diversity and such reporting.