Almost three quarters (73%) of UK business leaders believe that non-financial information is as important as financial data for predicting long-term value, according to an EY survey of 250 senior business leaders at firms with over £100m in annual revenues.
In addition, 70% respondents said better quality non-financial data helps win new business, while 57% said it improves their ability to raise capital, and half said it can help lower the cost of capital.
Over three quarters said non-financial data is effective for both strategic choices (79%) and for operational choices (76%), and 70%said it is effective for strategic decision making.
EY also found that two thirds of the companies do not believe that financial reporting alone reflects the full performance and value of their organisation, and 70% said that integrating financial and non-financial information would improve understanding and operational decisions.