What does transparency mean in the context of taxation, corporate reporting and sustainability? Are more data always better, or could they lead us astray? High-profile representatives from the fields of business, politics and science met to discuss these and other questions from 10 a.m. to 5.15 p.m. on Thursday, 3. November at Paderborn University. The Collaborative Research Center (in German: Sonderforschungsbereich, or SFB) “TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency” and business association Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft invited the public to a discussion forum entitled “Science meets practice: The new transparency – an opportunity or a threat to the economy?”
Discussions about red-hot issues
In politics, transparency is increasingly becoming the method of choice: it promises to reduce entrepreneurial misdeeds, create trust and improve corporate activity. However, the call for more transparency also creates more and more extensive reporting obligations and increased volumes of data. So, when is transparency helpful and where does it start to become a problem? Is more information within and about companies really useful? And what costs does it entail for the various stakeholders? “These are pressing questions to which there are no easy answers, and which require intensive critical examination from different angles,” said Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Dr. h.c. Caren Sureth-Sloane, spokesperson of “Collaborative Research Centre TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency” and Vice-President of the Schmalenbach-Gesellschaft. “A frank exchange between science, politics and practice is essential if we are to tackle these questions and the challenges that arise from them,” added the Professor for Economics, specialising in Commercial Taxation, at Paderborn University.
Consequently, the event organisers primarily chose interactive formats. As well as panel discussions with politicians, scientists and representatives of companies operating locally and globally – such as Dr. Oetker, Phoenix Contact, Evonik, Henkel, Bosch, KPMG, Württembergische Versicherung, ABB and SAP – the guests also enjoyed “breakout sessions”, in which participants and presenters discussed topics that currently concern businesses, policymakers and scientists, such as sustainability reporting or global minimum taxation. The discussions covered opportunities, challenges and possible solutions.
About “TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency”
The Collaborative Research Centre “TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency” was started in July 2019 and will initially be funded by the German Research Foundation (DFG) for four years. It is Germany’s first Collaborative Research Centre focusing on economics. About 100 scientists from nine universities are involved: Paderborn University (head institution), Humboldt University in Berlin, the University of Mannheim, and research teams from Munich’s Ludwig-Maximilian University, the ESMT Berlin, the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management, the Goethe-Universität Frankfurt am Main, the WHU – Otto Beisheim School of Management and Carl von Ossietzky University in Oldenburg. The researchers examine how accounting and taxation affect corporate transparency and the influence of regulatory legislation and corporate transparency on business and society. The funding volume of the CRC is about 12 million euros.
