The recent development of integrated reporting intends to address the limitations associated with corporate reporting practices. This paper aims to examine whether a statistically significant relationship exists between integrated reporting quality and financial performance. Secondary data was used, namely the integrated reports and annual financial statements of South African banks listed on the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) for 2010–2014. For the period 2005–2009, only the financial statements were used, since integrated reporting was not yet mandatory. The research design was longitudinal and it combined qualitative and quantitative methods. Descriptive statistics and Feasible Generalized Least Square (FGLS) were used to explore the relationships between financial performance and integrated reporting quality. The results indicate that there is a positive relationship between integrated reporting quality (IRQ) and earnings per share (EPS). However, there is no significant relationship between IRQ and Tobin’s q (Q-Ratio), IRQ and return on equity (ROE), IRQ and return on assets (ROA) as well as IRQ and economic value added (EVA). Moreover, there are no significant differences on the financial performance of the listed banks before and after the introduction of integrated reporting.

Economic, social and governance (ESG) have become topical subjects amidst the deleterious effects of climate change, inequality and similar pressing challenges facing the people and the planet. The main objective of this study was to rank the importance of both the pillars within the ESG model and the five indicators beneath each pillar for the purposes of executive compensation plans through the Analytical hierarchical process (AHP). It is not known which pillar within the ESG model should be prioritised by companies operating in a developing economy context such as South Africa, and neither is it known which of the available indicators should be prioritised when designing executive compensation plans. AHP and pairwise comparison is employed in prioritising important pillars and indicators. The environmental pillar is identified to be the most important among the three pillars. Indicators that are prioritised mirror both the environmental and socio-economic challenges prevalent in South Africa as an emerging economy. Companies’ boards, remuneration committees, investors and policymakers can use the ESG-based indicators that have been prioritised in this study in designing the executive compensation plans. AHP and pairwise comparison are novel approaches used to prioritise the important pillars within the ESG model and the underlying indicators.

Financial literacy is important for employees in the banking sector, as they are required to advise and administer the savings and investments of their clients. This study aims to establish financial literacy levels for banking employees and socio-demographic variables that influence their financial literacy levels. When collecting the necessary data for analysis, a survey was used for the total final sample of 120 employees of the banking sector. Descriptive statistics, the two-sample T-test and a simple ANOVA were used to determine the actual financial literacy levels and the socio-demographic factors influencing them. Overall, the employees were found to have moderately high levels of financial literacy. Only gender, race and education level were found to have an influence on financial literacy levels. This study informs the banking sector about how well employees are involved in financial literacy and which socio-demographic groups of their employees they need to focus on when exploring financial education programs.