Recent sustainability and integrated reporting developments

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23 Jul 2020

A summary of recent developments at SASB/GRI, GRI, Carrots & Sticks, CAQ, IIF, the Good Governance Academy, IFAC/IIRC/AICPA/CIMA, IAASB, ASCG, and SSE.

In an important move, the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) have announced their future collaboration. Please click for the joint press release on the GRI website.

The GRI has also published an exposure draft that revises its Universal Standards, GRI 101, GRI 102, and GRI 103. Comments are requested by 9 September 2020. Please click for more information on the GRI website.

The GRI has also published a proposed sustainability reporting standard for oil and gas companies that identifies climate change as the single biggest challenge facing the sector. Comments are requested by 6 October 2020. Please click for more information on the GRI website.

New translations of the GRI Tax Standard have been made available in Arabic, Bahasa Indonesian, traditional and simplified Chinese, French, German, Italian, and Spanish. Please click for more information on the GRI website.

The GRI has also launched a new training portal. The GRI Academy is a global online platform that offers courses and tutorials on how organisations can communicate their impacts on the economy, environment and society through the GRI Standards. Please click for more information on the GRI website.

The fifth edition of Carrots & Sticks has been published providing an analysis of the latest trends in reporting provisions, covering 614 reporting requirements and resources cross over 80 countries, including the world’s 60 largest economies. The new report can be downloaded from the Carrots & Sticks website.

The Center for Audit Quality (CAQ) of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) has released a new report The Role of Auditors in Company-Prepared ESG Information: Present and Future outlining how investors are using ESG information and the evolving, more prominent role of auditors in advancing the reliability, comparability, and relevance of this reporting. The report can be downloaded from the CAQ website.

The Institute of International Finance (IIF) has published Building a Global ESG Disclosure Framework: A Path Forward strongly encouraging the relevant international standard-setting bodies to take practical steps in the coming months towards a harmonised cross-sectoral ESG disclosure framework. The report can be downloaded from the IIF website.

The Good Governance Academy, an international collaboration of business schools, institutions and universities that shares information on critical governance and business science issues, has released a report Integrated thinking and doing an integrated report; the report brings together insights and findings from a Colloquium it held in May 2020. Please click to access the report on the IIRC website.

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC), the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants (AICPA), and the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA) have released new guidance for CFOs and finance teams to navigate their organisations toward long-term value creation. Among the actionable insights is driving priorities for value creation into decision making and reporting. Please click to download the publication from the IFAC website.

Recently, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) offered two webinars providing guidance on extended external reporting assurance. Recordings of the webinars can be accessed on the IAASB website.

The Accounting Standards Committee of Germany (ASCG) has voiced strong criticism of the European Commission (EC) saying that trying to use sustainability aspects as an excuse for moving European corporate reporting away from IFRSs as issued by the IASB is inappropriate. The statement is part of a response on an EC consultation document that implies that IFRSs hinder sustainable investment. Please click to access the response on the ACSG website.

Recent news from the United Nation's Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative include:

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