Constructing Alphabet Inc.'s 2017 Mock Integrated Report

Our second integrated reporting experiment focused on the technology sector. We wanted to determine whether we could replicate our earlier work to construct an integrated report based on information that a company had provided in the public domain and whether the task would be more or less difficult and time consuming than our previous work. We also wanted to evaluate whether this integrated report would reflect the suggested disclosures in the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board Technology and Communications Sector Standards and the guidance provided by the International Integrated Reporting Council. In addition, we wanted to understand how this integrated report would compare to our ExxonMobil 2016 Mock Integrated Report in communicating FCLTGlobal’s 10 elements of a long-term strategy. We selected Alphabet Inc. Our selection was driven by growing societal pressures on the technology sector to address a range of social issues including data security, customer privacy, and the negative consequences of frequent use of digital technologies on young users. The mock integrated report is primarily a reflection of Google’s operations because it is Alphabet’s largest subsidiary. We found that it was harder to create a mock integrated report for Alphabet than it was for ExxonMobil. We conclude that the quality of the Alphabet mock integrated report is lower than that of the ExxonMobil because ExxonMobil provided a great deal more relevant information, which was easier to find, than was the case for Alphabet.