Analysing South Africa’s King IV Report on Achieving Sustainable Development Goals Through Enhanced Transparency and Sustainability Practices

The study examines the compliance of South African JSE-listed companies with the King IV Report principles on corporate governance and their contribution to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). To achieve this, integrated reports were downloaded from the websites of the top 22 JSE-listed companies representing six different economic sectors. Using content analysis of the 22 top-performing companies, this study assesses transparency in governance as well as SDG disclosure practices. Results show high compliance with King IV Report principles, especially good performance, legitimacy, and effective control, though full disclosure is not yet achieved. Similarly, while SDG-aligned reporting is robust, only a small percentage of listed companies provided full disclosure on all SDG themes. For regulators, the findings are supportive of stricter reporting and possibly mandatory disclosures aligned with King IV and SDGs. The study’s findings validate the views of stakeholder theory and the triple bottom line framework.