Published 09-28-04
Submitted by East-West Management Institute
The survey provides current data concerning companies' disclosures on a range of CSR issues in annual reports and on websites as of August 15, 2004. For the companies from the eight new member states of the European Union (EU), comparative data from the previous surveys conducted in April 2004 and August 2003 is presented
In general, disclosures on CSR issues were similar to those observed in the survey conducted in April 2004. However, the survey demonstrates improvement in the quality and quantity of disclosures about corporate governance issues. As noted in the survey conducted in spring 2004, EU accession and adoption of corporate governance codes in several countries in 2003/2004 are two factors influencing broader and deeper reporting.
Survey findings include the following:
In terms of disclosures made on company websites, other comparative findings include the following:
The first time results for Bulgaria, Croatia and Romania are positive; whereas few companies disclose complete information in English on all three information categories surveyed, at least one company from each country disclosed information on each of the five questions in each of the three categories. This demonstrates an awareness of these issues in each country.
Starting today, the survey is available online at: www.ewmi.hu/capitalmarkets_research.php
About the Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program
The Partners for Financial Stability (PFS) Program, established in December 1999, is a cooperative program of the United States Department of State and East-West Management Institute (EWMI), a New York-based non-profit organization. Active in the Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, the PFS Program is mandated to fill remaining gaps in the institutional development of the financial sector through regional integration and cooperation, selective technical assistance programs and the practical application of lessons learned in neighboring countries. The substantive areas covered under the PFS Program are: accounting, auditing, banking, capital markets, insurance and pension reform.
Conceptually, PFS Program activities share ideas, experiences learned and policy recommendations with the goal of strengthening existing and building new institutions to further advance financial sector reform. Also, the PFS Program is mandated to identify and promote the implementation of best practices and international standards in the above-mentioned financial sectors. All PFS Program activities are regional in nature and include a cost-sharing element on the part of local institutions. For more information, visit the PFS Program website at www.ewmi.hu/activities_pfs.html
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