Latest articles
Non-financial reporting: Addressing the challenges of the future with technology
How can technology be better utilised in company reporting? The FRC Lab examines why this is increasingly as important for non-financial information as it is for financial data.
ReadNon-financial reporting: preparing for take-off
If the volume of non-financial reporting by companies is set to grow significantly, what does the profession need to do to prepare itself? We speak to Naomi Rigby, ESG Assurance Director at PwC.
ReadNon-financial information: let good decision-making begin
The transformation of our economies to allow for prosperity and fairness within what nature can support requires a wholesale rethink of our economic and business models, writes Richard Spencer, ICAEW’’s Director of Sustainability.
ReadWhy Europe wants sustainability and financial reporting to connect
EFRAG’s Board President explains why sustainability is as much a financial reporting issue as a non-financial one.
ReadCarbon reporting: one year on
The requirement for large companies to report on their carbon and energy use (under the streamlined energy and carbon reporting or SECR requirements) has been in place since 2019.
ReadPledge net zero 2022: carbon offsets from a programme you can visit
Where to start? That is the question lots of companies will ask their trusted adviser as they seek to meet their net zero pledges. Carbon offsetting is part of the mix, especially in the early stages of a net-zero pathway, but wouldn’t it help if companies could visit the projects they invest in?
ReadEnsuring the Section 172 statement is actually used
While the Section 172 statement is almost three years old, a lot of work remains to ensure it provides decision-useful information for stakeholders and guarantee its original aim of enhancing trust is met.
ReadMandatory UK climate-related financial disclosures on the horizon
Plans to introduce mandatory climate-related financial disclosures in the UK have edged closer to becoming law in recent months as the government laid draft regulations before Parliament in October, with the expectation that the new rules will soon be approved and come into effect on 6 April 2022.
ReadNever more optimistic about high quality sustainability disclosure
This is the sentiment of Jeffrey Hales, Professor of Accounting, University of Texas at Austin, and Chair of the SASB Standards Board and Sector Chair for Financials and Renewable Resources and Alternative Energy.
ReadSustainability reporting: why should SMEs care?
Call it the pandemic effect, but the penny is finally dropping that environmental and social reporting is becoming the responsibility of all practitioners and companies – not just large complex organisations and their advisers. Johan Barros, EU Policy Manager at Accountancy Europe, explains.
ReadBuilding trust through bespoke reporting
Over reliance on standard wording and generic templates to provide narratives in financial reporting should be a thing of the past.
ReadCarney: how we are transforming the global economy
Former Bank of England Governor turned climate activist Mark Carney explains how the financial system is changing to combat climate change.
ReadNew sustainability standards board targets globally comparable reporting
Moves to provide global financial markets with high-quality disclosures on climate and other sustainability issues moved a step forward after the IFRS Foundation formally announced the formation of the International Sustainability Standards Board, with a pledge for operations to begin in early 2022 and published prototype disclosure requirements.
ReadCorporate reporting: no decline but sharp focus on climate risks
Despite the pandemic, the FRC has revealed that it has not detected a decline in reporting quality. But improvements in key areas are still necessary.
Read10 years of FRC Lab: future focus on ESG and technology
The Financial Reporting Lab is celebrating its 10th birthday. We speak to Lab Director Phil Fitz-Gerald about its finest achievements and probe its future work, particularly on environmental, social and governance reporting and technology.
ReadThe road towards unified non-financial reporting standards
While the impetus for non-financial disclosures is growing, there needs to be some harmonisation of standards if it’s going to work.
ReadProportionality and cooperation key to future of sustainability reporting
The UK government aims to lead on mandating climate-related financial disclosures and adopting international sustainability reporting standards but acknowledges requirements must not be excessively costly or onerous for business, says Lord Callanan.
ReadNarrative reports and back-end financials: numbers must back up words
Companies need to do a better job of providing more consistency between front-end and back-end reporting in their annual financial statements if they are to engender trust with stakeholders and tap into the burgeoning appetite among investors for opportunities to invest.
ReadThe crusade to achieve the SDGs and the role of accounting
Implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals is no mean feat, but progress must be made. Josette Caruana talks us through the work she is doing with Giovanna Dabbicco on the Global Reporting Initiative, and its relevance for the achievement of SDGs.
ReadESG tops business priority list
Almost a third of mid-market businesses say they face a high risk of losing business if they fail to act on ESG, according to new research, which also ranks ESG above Brexit and COVID in priority.
Read2021 marks step-change in corporate action on ESG reporting
More mainstream investors are seeing ESG as real investment issues and are calling for companies to provide better disclosure - something which ramps up the need for improved information systems, says former FASB chairman Bob Herz.
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