The IFAC Small and Medium Practices Committee has followed the development of this project and that of the Non-Assurance Services (NAS) since their inception and welcomes the close coordination of IESBA with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board. We also concur that the outcome from the work of the Task Force on the definition of Public Interest Entities and Listed Entities will be equally impactful on this ED. Hence, we support this project being accelerated.
Ms. van Onselen is an experienced, strategic executive with an extensive background across the financial services as a litigation lawyer and with various listed, government and not-for-profit organizations including membership bodies.
Prior to joining Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand, Ms. van Onselen held a number of senior roles over six years at Westpac Group, including Managing Director of RAMS, Chief of Staff to the CEO and General Manager of Deposits & Unsecured Lending. She was also the Global Director of Women’s Markets and Inclusion & Diversity.
Ms. van Onselen has more than 20 years’ experience as a non-executive director. She is currently a non-executive director at financial services company Automic and the commissioner of Legal Aid NSW.
Ms. van Onselen commenced her career practicing as a lawyer and ultimately became a partner in a specialist corporate and commercial practice in Western Australia. She holds a Bachelor of Laws and Master’s of Applied Finance, and completed the Company Directors Course at the Australian Institute of Company Directors.
It is well acknowledged by investors, business leaders, and other stakeholders that, in addition to financials, effective corporate reporting must also measure value creation, sustainability and environmental, social, and governance factors. Such enhanced corporate reporting is needed to maintain confidence in companies and financial markets, to better meet stakeholder needs, and to inform business planning for long-term success.
The WEF consultation makes a valuable contribution in the dialogue amongst all stakeholders who share a common interest in relevant, reliable, and comparable reporting of this information.
In its consultation response, IFAC focuses on six takeaways to keep the global conversation moving forward:
Rationalization efforts must work toward a global system. IFAC strongly supports a global approach to ESG metrics and disclosures.
Timeliness is key. Alignment, harmonization, and convergence must take place before regional or jurisdiction-specific initiatives become standard practice.
Take a modular approach. Build upon existing high-quality metrics and disclosures.
There is a role for both standards and frameworks. For example, the Integrated Reporting Framework.
Assurance is needed to deliver confidence in corporate reporting. Assurance is most effective when applied against metrics and disclosures that follow clear best practices or standards.
The accounting profession must remain engagedin the conversation. The profession is critical to evidence-based decision making, reliable information gathering, and consistent, comparable corporate reporting—be it ESG-focused or otherwise.
IFAC stands ready, as a global voice and convener of the accountancy profession, to facilitate coordination, assimilation, and convergence in sustainable reporting approaches. IFAC supports the WEF consultation as a catalyst to challenge policy makers, regulators, and ESG metric providers to get the job done, now.
Ongoing and active engagement by the profession—through this initiative and by assisting companies in the implementation of its metrics and disclosures—is an enormous opportunity for the profession to embrace.
Professional accountants in business and the public sector have an important role to play in leading their organizations through the challenging times ahead. In a recent report, Supporting Accountants in Business & Public Sector through Uncertain Times, the IFAC Professional Accountants in Business Committee (PAIBC) shares latest thinking on focus areas for finance teams, including on value creation, data, accountancy careers, and professional and skills development.
“Organizations are turning to their accountants and finance teams as trusted professionals for guidance in navigating the crisis and its economic implications,” said PAIBC Chair, Sanjay Rughani. “Times of crisis provide unique opportunities for radical change, often by necessity. But a crisis also offers many valuable lessons for the future.”
Through ongoing conversations with global business leaders, Rughani shares four additional recommendations for accountants to lead their organizations in the context of current uncertainties. These recommendations include:
Financial management: Look for opportunities to drive cost control and savings, new sources of growth and revenue, and positive cash flows.
Operational effectiveness: Drive thinking about the supply chain, digital transformation, data, and innovation.
Leadership: Support strong governance, deliver frequent and authentic communications, and evolve commitments to social purpose; and
Planning: Update scenario planning and risk management, monitor and respond to market realities, and take the time to understand new stakeholder expectations.
Today’s business challenges make clear the need for strong information and analysis to support decision-making. Accountants working within organizations – both in the public and private sector – are well-positioned to provide this key information and to deliver in other areas critical to long-term success. CFOs and finance teams must embrace these opportunities to lead.
