Sustainability Reporting - The Guide to Preparation (ACCA)

Sustainability
April 25, 2024

This is a thought leadership guide from our Global Strategic Partner, ACCA. ACCA’s guide to preparing for sustainability reporting helps all involved, especially professional accountants, take a leading role in enabling better business

To access more sustainability resources, visit our dedicated Sustainability hub, including thought leadership, videos on demand, and partner resources.

The demand for sustainability reporting is growing, further amplified by stakeholders’ and regulatory requirements for organizations 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 organizations. All organizations need this information to develop and continually improve their business strategies, and implement and monitor them. Further, organization stakeholders, from regulators, and investors to the suppliers and customers in the value chain require this information to assess stewardship.

What this guide addresses

Developed with proportionality in mind and structured around an eight-stage sustainability reporting cycle, ACCA’s first-in-a-series guide suggests a flow of process-, technology- and people-related activities to prepare for and manage sustainability reporting.

Professional accountants 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.

Sustainability reporting cycle

Who should use this guide?

This guide aims to help all organizations irrespective of size, industry, or sector. With a focus on preparing for sustainability reporting per the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (or the ‘ISSB Standards’), this guide applies their ‘building-blocks’ approach which makes it equally relevant to organizations applying other sustainability reporting frameworks or standards.

Designed to be relevant across different components and levels of the organization, top-level executives and those charged with governance may find our interactive high-level overview particularly helpful. For those who need more detail, we have included examples and sample worksheets to facilitate understanding and implementation. Human resource and IT professionals may also find the People and Technology sections useful for resource planning and management.

Related Content