Published on: 30 January 2025

Share this article:

Embracing Transparency, Imperfection, and Collective Accountability: Governments play a crucial role in publishing corporate data, ensuring it meets high standards of accuracy and reliability. However, this necessary caution can create gaps in transparency, as authorities must avoid publishing anything that could be misleading or legally contentious. This is where civil society, social enterprises, and transparency networks step in—to bridge the gaps, add context, and enable a more dynamic and participatory approach to corporate accountability.
Why Transparency Networks Like TISCreport Are Essential with Government Data

The Role of Government Data and Its Limitations

Government transparency initiatives, such as open corporate registries and procurement databases, provide a foundation for public accountability. However, they often face constraints, including:

  • Delays in data publication due to verification processes

  • Limited scope of disclosure based on legislative requirements

  • The challenge of enforcement, particularly when businesses fail to report accurately

These factors mean that while government datasets are vital, they often provide an incomplete picture of corporate behaviour, ethical risks, and supply chain relationships. That's why transparency platforms, networks, and social enterprises play an essential role in ensuring that data is both accessible and actionable.

How Transparency Networks Fill the Gaps

Platforms such as TISCreport, OpenCorporates, Global Witness, and Transparency International have emerged as key players in the effort to strengthen corporate accountability. Unlike government platforms, these networks aggregate, contextualise, and scrutinise corporate data, enabling businesses, civil society, and the public to:

  • Identify discrepancies and dark spots - By bringing together data from multiple sources, transparency networks reveal areas where information is missing or inconsistent.

  • Engage with and challenge corporate data - Instead of passively consuming information, businesses and stakeholders can interact with datasets, report inconsistencies, and work towards greater accuracy.

  • Go beyond compliance - Government datasets often focus on legal minimums, but transparency platforms encourage businesses to proactively disclose their ESG commitments, supplier relationships, and ethical policies.

TISCreport: A Civil Society Advocate for Transparency

As a social enterprise embedded in the transparency ecosystem, TISCreport operates as both a data-driven platform and an advocate for ethical business practices. Unlike commercial data providers, its mission is rooted in social impact, collaboration, and continuous improvement, rather than merely selling insights.

By integrating open data from governments with user-reported insights and risk indicators, TISCreport supports businesses, procurement professionals, and campaigners in:

  • Assessing supply chain risks - Identifying potential ESG violations, modern slavery risks, and ethical concerns in procurement.

  • Holding companies accountable - Encouraging firms to improve their transparency by enabling scrutiny from stakeholders.

  • Building a more connected transparency ecosystem - Facilitating partnerships between businesses, regulators, and civil society to drive systemic change.

Why Imperfection Drives Greater Accountability

One of the greatest strengths of transparency networks is their ability to work with imperfect data - rather than waiting for flawless government records, these platforms expose gaps and inconsistencies, driving businesses to address them.

TISCreport and similar platforms encourage businesses to:

  • Acknowledge missing data and take steps to disclose more

  • Compare their reporting against peers and best practices

  • Use transparency as a competitive advantage, rather than a compliance burden

This approach transforms data imperfections into opportunities for greater accountability, fostering a system where businesses, governments, and civil society work together to strengthen transparency.

Transparency Networks as Partners to Government

Transparency is not just about publishing data--it's about ensuring it is understood, challenged, and improved over time. Government datasets provide a starting point, but the work of social enterprises, investigative journalists, and advocacy groups ensures that the data leads to meaningful action.

By engaging with transparency networks like TISCreport, businesses and public sector organisations can:

  • Identify and correct data gaps before they lead to reputational or legal risks

  • Strengthen corporate governance through proactive disclosure and stakeholder engagement

  • Support a more ethical and accountable economy by using transparency as a tool for improvement, rather than just compliance

Get Involved: Strengthen the Transparency Movement

TISCreport is more than just a platform--it is part of a global movement towards accountability, ethical business, and open data. Businesses, procurement professionals, and civil society organisations all have a role to play in making transparency work.

By engaging with TISCreport and the wider transparency ecosystem, organisations can move beyond compliance and actively contribute to a more just and accountable corporate landscape.

Transparency is not about perfection--it's about progress. Join the movement and help build a future where businesses, governments, and civil society work together to shine a light on corporate responsibility.