ABSTRACT
Narrative reporting within corporate reports is an area of study where there are still significant differences across jurisdictions. This chapter discusses specific regulations of the management commentary and strategic reporting with a particular focus on the US and Europe. It provides examples of research that indicate opportunities for comparative study of particular aspects of narrative reporting within corporate reports. The Management Discussion and Analysis (MD&A), regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, is required from companies listed on US stock markets. In the EU, the Accounting Directive of 2013, augmented in 2014, established the requirement for a strategy-based management report, extending the requirements to include some non-financial reporting. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued a non-binding statement on a Management Commentary in 2010, largely overtaken by subsequent national and international regulatory and voluntary initiatives. Dual listing on more than one stock exchange may impose disclosure requirements that create a management report which is more detailed than national regulations of the separate countries require. There are frequent calls for greater transparency through extending narrative reporting, but without agreement on precisely what characteristics create transparency.
