Urges its Global Membership to Engage and Support
IFAC, the global voice of the accounting profession, applauds the IFRS Foundation Trustees in issuing their Consultation Paper on Sustainability Reporting. This marks a critical step on the path towards a global solution to sustainability reporting, called for earlier this month by IFAC in its Enhancing Corporate Reporting: The Way Forward roadmap.
IFAC believes that the demand is urgent and real—from investors, policymakers and other stakeholders—for a sustainability reporting system that delivers consistent, comparable, reliable, and assurable information. The IFRS Foundation is optimally positioned to establish a new sustainability standards board that leverages the expertise and disclosure requirements of existing leading initiatives. Under the IFRS umbrella, the work of this new board can connect with the investor focus of the IASB, while also collaborating with respect to reporting requirements designed to address broader stakeholder interests.
IFAC CEO, Kevin Dancey, said, “The IFRS Foundation—with its backing by public authorities, independence, and globally-respected governance and due process—is the appropriate home for a new sustainability standards board. Today’s open letter to IOSCO from the five leading global ESG reporting organizations lends further support to the legitimacy of a new sustainability board and I strongly encourage their continued collaborative effort. Now is the time for Professional Accounting Organizations around the world to lend their expertise and support as the IFRS Foundation Trustees consider this important challenge. IFAC looks forward to engaging with our members and other key stakeholders in formulating a full supportive response to the Consultation.”