governance. performance, and prospects in the context of its external environment. lead to the creation of value over the short. medium, and long term (see p. 8 of the CD). Although providers of financial capital are the primary intended IR users, an integrated report should be designed to benefit all stakeholders—including. employees. customers. suppliers. business partners. local communities, regulators, and policy makers -interested in an organization's ability to create value over time The key objective of IR is to enhance accountability and stewardship with respect to the broad base of six kinds of capital. or "capitals" (financial. manufactured. intellectual. human, social and relationship. and natural). and promote understanding. of their interdependencies. In doing this. IR is designed to support integrated thinking. decision making, and actions that focus on sustainable value creation for stakeholders. The International IR Framework is being developed to assist organizations with the IR process. In particular, the purpose of the Framework is to establish fundamental concepts, guiding principles, and content elements that govern the overall content of an integrated report This will help organizations determine how best to express their unique value-creation story in a meaningful and transparent way. Significantly., the IR Framework doesn't intend to set benchmarks for such things as the quality of an organization's strategy or the level of its performance. The intended report users will do these assessments based on the information in an organization's integrated report.
Next. we begin our journey within the IR Framework as illustrated in the CD. Our analysis starts with the fundamental concepts proposed within the document.