Katarzyna Kobiela-Pionnier

Purpose: This article examines the potential for automating financial statement consolidation, focusing on intelligent automation supported by artificial intelligence (AI).Methodology/approach: The study is based on a systematic literature review covering 18 articles identified in the Web of Science, Scopus, EBSCO, and Google Scholar databases.Findings: The automation of the financial statement consolidation process remains a relatively underexplored area, and the existing body of literature is preliminary and still evolving. The literature is dominated by conceptual and descriptive studies, while empirical research is scarce and limited in scope. The automation opportunities identified in the literature primarily concern routine and repetitive tasks performed during the consolidation process. None of the studies addresses non-routine transactions and events that require advanced expertise and professional judgment. The key prerequisites for successful automation include high-quality input data, the standardization of accounting policies and practices across the corporate group, system interoperability, the selection of appropriate technological solutions, and the development of relevant employee competencies. The main barriers and challenges include high implementation costs, data protection and cybersecurity issues, as well as legal and regulatory constraints.Research limitations/implications: The literature review was limited to articles in Polish and English available in the selected databases. Books, as well as conference, promotional, and marketing materials were excluded.Originality/value: The article contributes to the literature by systematizing current knowledge on technologies supporting the digital transformation of accounting, identifying a research gap concerning the automation of the financial statement consolidation process, and proposing directions for future research. To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first literature review in the Polish academic literature focused specifically on the automation of the financial statement consolidation process.

Purpose | The aim of this article is to identify a new research area, namely the digitalisation of sustainability reporting, and to determine how the XBRL ESRS taxonomy is perceived by those experienced in XBRL-based financial reporting. Research method | The study used a grounded theory methodology. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with XBRL experts who had up-to-date and in-depth knowledge of taxonomy used for ESG reporting purposes. Results | The XBRL ESRS taxonomy constitutes a digital transposition of ESRS standards, and the design of this taxonomy is considerably more complex than that of the ESEF taxonomy. Most tags are non-numeric in nature, which may pose a significant challenge for companies required to tag sustainability reporting. Many of them are not yet prepared, or even unaware of the obligation to digitalise ESG reports. Therefore, it is necessary to involve XBRL experts, or even follow the structure of the ESRS taxonomy when creating the layout and content of the report itself. This may suggest a shift towards adopting a rules-based approach in sustainability reporting. Originality / value / implications / recommendations | The study reveals the perspectives of two sides of the ESG report digitalisation process (the user and the regulator) prior to the final adoption of the ESRS taxonomy and the determination of its scope of application. The results highlight the challenges that entities subject to mandatory ESG report tagging are likely to face.

Purpose: The purpose of the paper is to investigate whether Polish issuers applied the double materiality principle when preparing their reports before implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) became mandatory, and if so, whether they disclosed the double materiality assessment process and at what level. Methodology/approach: The research sample consists of the 30 largest Polish companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange (WIG30 Index). The qualitative content analysis and document analysis of their ESG/CSR/sustainable/non-financial reports for the year 2023 were applied. Findings: Seven companies (23%) already conducted double materiality assessment in accordance with the new EU regulations. Of this group, only one company made full required disclosures, which in the case of the planned preparation of an ESG report in the digital ESEF format would also allow it to perform full tagging with the ESRS XBRL taxonomy. The remaining six companies included four out of the eight mandatory aspects in their double materiality assessment process, as specified in ESRS 2. Three companies (10%) indicated that they had started the double materiality assessment process and described what was done in 2023 and what is planned for the next year. The majority (20 companies; 67%) continued their existing approach to materiality in accordance with the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD). Research limitations/implications: The research sample was limited to the 30 largest companies listed on the regulated market in one country. Originality/value: The study contributes to the growing literature on the double materiality approach as the basis for sustainability disclosures by offering empirical insights into how Polish listed companies actually apply the double materiality principle in sustainability reporting. The analysed companies were categorised into four groups: Early birds, Seekers, Claimers, and Deadline-driven adopters. Within the first group, differences in the level of double materiality disclosures were noticed and a leading company was identified. Its disclosures were assessed in the context of the planned ESRS XBRL taxonomy.

Purpose: The article presents the results of a study on the use of XBRL (eXtensible Business Re-porting Language) tags in the consolidated financial statements of Polish listed companies for 2020. The study: 1) verified the correctness of the classification of substantive errors, first published by Kobiela-Pionnier (2023); 2) analyzed the frequency of occurrence of particular types of errors related to the type of primary financial statement; 3) analyzed the occurrence frequency of extensions, their validity, and the correctness of anchoring. Methodology/approach: The research method used was a detailed analysis of all XBRL tags used by 50 companies listed on the Warsaw Stock Exchange in their first consolidated annual financial statements in the European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) format. This sample covers all Polish listed companies (excluding banks and insurers) whose consolidated financial statements for 2020 are available in the data-base filings.xbrl.org. The authors examined a total of 5,980 tags from the core ESMA ESEF taxonomy (5,626 used to tag rows in primary financial statements and 354 used to tag columns in statements of changes in equity) and 510 extensions. Findings: The verified classification was found to be generally correct, although one new type of error was revealed. The most common errors in companies҆ taxonomies concerned the selection of tags that are too general, unauthorized extensions, and selecting anchors that were too wide in meaning. Most errors occurred in cash flow statements, while the fewest were found in the statements of comprehensive income. At the same time, the cash flow statements and the statement of financial situation contained the most extensions, which was one of the significant sources of substantive errors. Research limitations/implications: The results will be useful both for issuers of financial statements using XBRL tags and statutory auditors, who are required to verify the correctness of the tags used as part of their audit obligation. Additionally, the article will be of interest to regulators developing guidelines for the use of XBRL tags. Originality/value: This article provides evidence that the main source of errors in tagging primary financial statements in the first year of the ESEF Regulation is insufficient knowledge and understanding of the ESEF taxonomy, in particular, creating and anchoring extensions.

Wraz z pojawieniem się nowych trendów w sprawozdawczości przedsiębiorstw, a zwłaszcza sprawozdania zintegrowanego i strategicznego, udział narracyjnej części raportów nieustannie rośnie. Według danych Deloitte, obecnie odpowiada ona za ponad 60% objętości rocznego raportu spółki w Wielkiej Brytanii. Celem artykułu jest ukazanie roli, jaką odgrywa narracja, a zwłaszcza opowiadanie historii (ang. storytelling), w sprawozdaniu zintegrowanym. Artykuł składa się z dwóch głównych części: teoretycznej i praktycznej. W części teoretycznej na bazie studiów literaturowych przeprowadzono pogłębione rozważania na temat pojęć „narracja” i „storytelling” w kontekście sprawozdawczości przedsiębiorstw. W części praktycznej wnikliwej analizie poddano sposób prowadzenia narracji w duńskiej firmie farmaceutycznej Novo Nordisk, uznanym liderze raportowania zintegrowanego. Zdaniem autorki niewątpliwym wyzwaniem dla badaczy w najbliższej przyszłości powinno być pogłębienie wiedzy na temat narracyjnych wyborów w ramach sprawozdawczości korporacyjnej oraz ich konsekwencji w bogatym, złożonym środowisku informacyjnym.