As it is an undeniable reality that chief financial officers and finance professionals must face matters on sustainability and dedicate ample time to understand the importance of sustainability reporting to harness potential benefits in operations and decision-making procedures, it is only fitting that finance leaders have a good grasp of how to prepare.
The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) released a guide for the preparation of sustainability report that helps all involved, especially professional accountants, paving way for better business.
The demand for sustainability reporting is growing, according to ACCA, and this is further amplified by stakeholders’ and regulatory requirements for organisations to be more equitable and sustainable.
The need for reporting of sustainability-related information, that is ideally interconnected with financial information, is not limited to large or complex organisations, as all need data to develop and continually improve business strategies, implement and monitor them.
Further, organisation stakeholders, from regulators, investors to the suppliers and customers in the value chain require this information to assess stewardship.
The ACCA guide delves deep into how finance professionals should lead the way and collaborate with technologists, human resource, talent developers, risk management, senior management and other experts to engage with the eight stages of the cycle, which outline:
- who is accountable and responsible
- the processes for identifying material sustainability-related information for reporting purposes
- determining, collecting and reporting the data
- considerations for verification that can lead to continual improvement of reporting, and
- the role of people and technology as vital enablers.Â
ACCA's guide seeks to help all organisations irrespective of size, industry or sector, focusing on preparing for sustainability reporting in accordance with the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (or the ‘ISSB Standards’).
This guide also applies ‘building-blocks’ approach which makes it equally relevant to organisations applying other sustainability reporting frameworks or standards.
