The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) welcomes the U.S. SEC’s proposal on enhanced climate disclosures, as we continue our work in support of a global system for delivering consistent, comparable and assurable sustainability information. The SEC’s action is one more important demonstration of the need to enhance and evolve corporate reporting.
Sustainability-related disclosure is now a core component of the corporate reporting ecosystem, as reflected in global and jurisdiction-specific initiatives. Climate and other ESG matters are decision critical. Regulatory frameworks must promote rigor, clarity, and consistency of information, both to meet investor demands and those of other stakeholders.
The SEC’s proposal also acknowledges the importance of high-quality assurance—to bring confidence and trust to what is disclosed. This is consistent with the work of IOSCO at the global level, which has identified independent assurance as a “key element of building trust in sustainability reporting.” See IFAC’s Vision for High-Quality Assurance of Sustainability Information.
IFAC CEO Kevin Dancey said, “This SEC proposal allows policymakers and stakeholders worldwide to compare and contrast important initiatives that are taking place on climate-related disclosure, including the work of the newly established International Sustainability Standards Board under the IFRS Foundation, that of the European Union, and others.
“Alignment among all these initiatives is imperative for decision-useful information. It’s critical that we create a harmonized, global system of sustainability and climate disclosure and avoid a patchwork of standards and regulations emerging across jurisdictions. IFAC also supports regulations that promote narrative as well as performance-focused measurements and that better align sustainability disclosure with financial reporting.”
Read more about IFAC’s support for global sustainability-related standards on the IFAC website.
About IFAC
IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. IFAC is comprised of 180 members and associates in 135 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.