Insights and impacts
ACCOUNTING BODIES ADDRESSING SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES AND ENABLING CHANGE
The context in which accountants operate is changing rapidly, with increasing recognition of the role of finance in embedding sustainability into organizations and the global economy more broadly. As professional bodies it is vital that we help the profession adapt so that it not only keeps pace with sustainability developments and maintains its relevance but also plays a key role in influencing the trajectory we are currently on.
In response to this, we hosted a workshop that brought together CEOs, Technical Directors and Heads of Sustainability from accounting bodies across Europe, Asia, Oceania, Africa, and North America. Thought leaders and representatives from accounting body associations also participated, with a total of 25 accounting bodies being represented.
Our goal was to collaboratively shape the future role of accounting bodies in driving transformation within the global finance and accounting sector. Participants explored the evolving responsibilities of accounting bodies, examining how they can adapt to address emerging sustainability challenges and seize new opportunities as we approach 2030.
The discussion was intentionally challenging and ambitious in nature with an emphasis on how the finance and accounting community can adopt a more systems thinking mindset and holistic approach to sustainability, looking beyond financial value.
The workshop discussion helped identify how accounting bodies can facilitate positive change and can help address the world’s most significant sustainability challenges. The consensus was clear that accounting bodies are in an enabling position to respond to key drivers, adopt approaches to transform mindsets and skills, and strive for transformational outcomes and positive impact.
A visual summary of the workshop discussion is presented here and explanations follow.
DRIVERS
Accounting bodies must urgently and actively respond to key sustainability drivers by taking a proactive role in shaping how accounting professionals can contribute to sustainable development. Sustainability has become a core concern for businesses, investors and regulators, and accounting professionals are uniquely positioned to play a key role in driving and supporting this transition.
DRIVERS:
- Act in the public interest: We can no longer claim that accounting in purely financial terms serves society. To act in the public interest we must now change.
- Act like it’s an emergency: Action on climate, nature and socio-economic stability must be at the heart of all decision making.
- Protect future generations: We must include their voices when we make decisions and ensure our members do the same.
RESPONSES
The accounting profession has a unique opportunity to drive meaningful change in how organizations integrate sustainability. Accounting bodies can help transform mindsets to a values-driven approach that considers financial, environmental, and social dimensions. This shift will encourage organizations to align their strategies with broader global sustainability goals, contributing to a more sustainable future for all.
RESPONSES:
- Be bold: We must be brave enough to debate how we respond to the polycrisis and create sustainable outcomes together.
- Think differently: We need to position the profession for the future if we are to play a meaningful role in it and in the transition.
- Embrace systems thinking: Professional accountants must understand the systems change required.
APPROACHES
Sustainability is becoming increasingly central to business and investor practices. Accounting bodies, therefore, must adopt proactive and innovative approaches to ensure that their training, education and resources for their collective members and students are aligned with the needs of a more sustainable economy.
APPROACHES:
- Work collaboratively: We will seek opportunities to work collaboratively and constructively.
- Be guided by evidence: We need to capture and disseminate the compelling evidence base to demonstrate the importance of sustainability in business and financial decisions.
- Think globally: We willlisten and we will frame our response from this global viewpoint.
ACTIONS
Accounting bodies can leverage their influence, expertise and position across business, government, and society to drive meaningful change. They can influence the development of new standards, provide vital resources to their members, advocate for regulation to support a sustainable transition and foster a more sustainable investment ecosystem. Ultimately, their collective actions have a crucial role to play in transitioning to a sustainable economy.
ACTIONS:
- Promote a sustainable global economy: We shall promote a transition to a sustainable economy through our professional training and education, advocacy and wider influence.
- Transform mindsets and skills: We need to normalize sustainability as part of the syllabus for accountancy training programmes and CPD, and to build sustainability into mindsets.
- Take a broader view of value: We need to support a holistic understanding of value that integrates financial, human, social and environmental dimensions.
OUTCOMES
Accounting bodies can play a powerful role in shaping a sustainable economy by promoting sound financial practices that integrate environmental, social, and governance considerations. They are a critical enabler of a sustainable future and can help guide organizations toward practices that contribute positively to society and the planet.
OUTCOMES:
- Prioritize for impact: Aligning short-term decisions with long-term sustainable value, driven by materiality of impact.
- Lead with urgency: Leading pro-actively to drive change, with sustainability knowledge, agency and innovation at every level.
- Value what matters: Driving shifts to an economic model that values and sustains the natural and living assets it depends on.
IMPACT
From embedding sustainability throughout all our work and leveraging our influence, expertise and position, we will proactively drive the shifts needed in the finance and accounting community to achieve tangible impact and accelerate the sustainable transition:
IMPACT:
A profession that upholds the public interest by playing a meaningful role in ensuring a sustainable global economy:
- Putting climate, nature and socio-economic stability at the heart of decision making
- Raising and allocating funds with the primary purpose of driving sustainable value
- Measuring, monitoring, reporting and assuring performance through a holistic representation of value that integrates financial human, social and environmental dimensions.
