Triple materiality: concept, structure and perspective
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.71159/bizinfo250022JAbstract
Materiality is a way of expressing the importance of a certain financial or non-financial category, that is, to measure, manage and reveal issues that are important for a company. It is significantly used in the process of financial reporting, both in accounting and auditing. This raises the question of determining materiality, which is really very important. In this context, one-level, i.e. financial materiality, considers whether an issue can affect the company's operations in a financial sense. Two-level materiality involves additional consideration of how a company impacts people and the planet, i.e. environmental sustainability. Triple materiality introduces an additional angle of observation that places previous concepts of materiality in a significantly broader context, which includes all interested parties. The subject of the paper is the consideration of the concept, structure and perspective of three-level materiality. The main conclusion is that three-level materiality suggests that one cannot decide whether a certain issue or a certain business transaction is materially significant to the company unless the assessment of its impact and implied dependence is viewed in the context of all stakeholders.
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