The Impact of Big Data Applications on Integrated Reporting Quality

The purpose of the annual report is to present an accurate and balanced picture of the company and its prospects. Stakeholders use that information as an input factor for decision-making to establish a stewardship relationship with the company. Integrated reporting has emerged as an important innovation in corporate reporting and has been growing over the last few years. However, it is still evolving. This paper explores how integrated reporting impacts the quality of the integrated report. Moreover, this document goes a step further and checks whether modern information technology, like big data, has any further impact on such quality. The research used a qualitative methodology to get insights from accounting and auditing experts at Iraqi banks listed on the Iraq Stock Exchange and investors and financial analysts in the stock market. 130 professionals were initially approached to participate in the interviews, with 104 respondents agreeing to participate, yielding a response rate of 80%. The results show that big data analytics significantly improves the quality of financial reporting by enhancing accounting reports and expert judgment, resulting in various benefits for companies when analytical methods are implemented effectively. Readers, financial analysts, accountants, and other decision-makers must utilize big data analytics to forecast revenues, identify opportunities for economic growth, estimate future investment opportunities, predict investment returns and risks, and detect fraud early. This will help them make more rational economic decisions.