“Alagiyawanna A.M.A.S.N.1 and Tilakasiri K.K.2
1,2Department of Accountancy, Faculty of Commerce and Management Studies,
University of Kelaniya, Dalugama, Sri Lanka.
sadunialagiyawanna@gmail.com1, ktilakasiri@kln.ac.lk2
DOI : 10.57075/jaf1012305
ABSTRACT
Although Sustainability Reporting (SR) is not a mandatory requirement in many countries as well as Sri Lanka, many companies use them. Considering the firm’s financial performance is the best way to analyze its performance. The relationship between firm financial performance and sustainability reporting of the manufacturing sector has not consistently been identified by Sri Lankan researchers. Then, there is a need to further investigate this area to be carried out to recognize the factual impact of SR. This study fills the gap of previous studies and will contribute to the existing literature by identifying the significant relationship between firm financial performance and SR. Considering the lack of usage of the GRI guidelines and the quality of sustainability reporting of Listed manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka, the study will develop a sustainability scoring model to measure SR. Return on equity (ROE) and Return on Assets (ROA) will be used to measure the financial performance of the organization. All the listed manufacturing companies which disclose sustainability reporting are considered as the sample of the study. Since Sri Lanka faced Covid-19 during the year 2020 onwards, the analysis will be divided into 2 phases the “pre-Covid-19 period” from 2015 to 2019 and the “post-Covid-19 Period” from 2020. The researchers focus on secondary data collection techniques to gather data and required data will have collected through annual reports and sustainability reports. The study will use some statistical methods to analyze quantitative data which is collected from manufacturing companies listed in CSE. Data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, and panel data regression analysis. Mean, standard deviation, and tables will be used to discuss the findings, according to the descriptive analysis. Regression analysis was used to test the relationship between environmental, economic, and social disclosures and firm financial performance. The findings of this research help to take decisions of the stakeholders of manufacturing companies in Sri Lanka. Finally, such information will help investors, decision-makers, regulators, policymakers, and scholars to improve their knowledge about sustainable reporting practices.
Keywords: Covid-19, Global Reporting Initiative, Return on Equity, Return on Assets, Sustainability Reporting”
