The majority of CEOs are increasingly looking to add additional information about a wide range of issues to their reporting and decision making, rather than relying on financial measures alone, according to a survey by PwC.

The firm's report, Measuring and managing total impact: a new language for business decisions says 93% of company CEOs surveyed believe measuring their organisation's total 'footprint on society' would allow them to make better decisions about business risk and also help build a stronger reputation with employees, investors and regulators.

This includes examining economic, environmental, tax and social impacts as well as balance sheet figures.

However, less than a quarter of companies surveyed by PwC are currently using information on their organisation's total impact for decision making, and less than 15% for reporting. Despite this, four out of five believe it would provide more insights in decision making than conventional financial reporting and help identify new business opportunities.

Malcolm Preston, global leader of sustainability at PwC said: 'Assessing decisions on their total impact - economic, environmental, tax and social - is a framework for how a company can run itself in the 21st century which transforms the way boards make their strategic decisions, beyond profit and loss.'

However, he cautioned that companies need to do more to communicate why this approach is appropriate, saying: 'With such a strong emphasis on the short-term returns, businesses will have to make the case to analysts and investors on how measuring and reporting on a company's total impact will deliver improved returns, identify opportunities, and risks that other more conventional approaches may miss.'