Central European Business Review 2025, 14(1):1-18 | DOI: 10.18267/j.cebr.378

Impact of Non-Financial Reporting Directive in Energy Industry: Case of Czech Republic

Hana Bohušová ORCID...1, Patrik Svoboda ORCID...2, Veronika Linhartová ORCID...3, Renata Skýpalová ORCID...4
1 AMBIS University, Department of Economy and Management, Lindnerova 575/1, 108 00 Praha, Czech Republic. Email: hana.bohusova@ambis.cz (corresponding author)
2 Mendel University in Brno, Faculty of Business and Economics, Department of Accounting and Finance, Zemědělská 1, 613 00 Brno, Czech Republic. Email: patrik.svoboda@mendelu.cz
3 AMBIS University, Department of Economy and Management, Lindnerova 575/1, 108 00 Praha, Czech Republic. Email: veronika.linhartova@ambis.cz
4 AMBIS University, Department of Economy and Management, Lindnerova 575/1, 108 00 Praha, Czech Republic. Email: renata.skypalova@ambis.cz

The objective is to assess the quality and quantity of non-financial disclosures required by Directive 2014/95/EU for companies operating in the energy sector in the Czech Republic before and after the introduction of the obligation of non-financial disclosure for large publicly traded companies. The information disclosed by companies is the subject of quantitative research. Non-financial information in the form of annual reports or sustainability reports before (2015, 2016) and after (2017–2021) the introduction of the duty of non-financial reporting was the subject of the analysis. The textual analysis of these reports was carried out using IRAMUTEQ software and used to assess the quality of non-financial reporting of Czech energy companies. The quality of disclosures was evaluated in two ways: the length of non-financial reports (number of words, sentences and pages) and the incidence and number of occurrences of identified words. A paired t-test was employed for the evaluation. It was confirmed that those companies that were required to report non-financial information related to their operations in 2017 increased their disclosures in areas with the strongest environmental impact. This method could allow stakeholders to assess the quality of disclosure and its evolution over time with relative ease.
Implications for Central European audience: Companies should offer transparent information about the environmental impact of their activities and how they engage with employees and other partners. Non-financial reporting plays a crucial role in achieving this transparency. Given the substantial environmental footprint of companies in the energy industry, the objective of this paper was to assess whether companies operating in Central Europe provide stakeholders with pertinent information and to examine the impact of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive on the disclosed information.

Keywords: Non-financial reporting; environment; corporate social responsibility; energy industry; textual analysis
JEL classification: M14, M41, M48

Received: January 15, 2024; Revised: May 6, 2024; Accepted: June 3, 2024; Prepublished online: September 30, 2024; Published: March 28, 2025  Show citation

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Bohušová, H., Svoboda, P., Linhartová, V., & Skýpalová, R. (2025). Impact of Non-Financial Reporting Directive in Energy Industry: Case of Czech Republic. Central European Business Review, 14(1), 1-18. doi: 10.18267/j.cebr.378
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