ACCA spotlight Why all

Step up to make change happen

Emmeline Skelton urges all ACCA students and members to united in the fight against climate change and do their bit

COP26 in November 2021 seems to have faded into the distance. But despite the conference doors closing at the SEC in Glasgow, work continues on the agreements made at that session, and preparations begin in earnest for November 2022’s COP27 event in Egypt.

This is vital work, as there’s an urgent global step change that needs to happen if we are to act together to limit temperature rises and climate change. Reaching net zero emissions by 2050 is essential if global warming is to be limited to 2 degrees Celsius or less.

COP26 had the biggest private sector presence in history. For business to operate in a changing climate they must follow through with their pledges to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, embrace green technology and reach net zero. There are four topics coming out of COP that matter for accountants and the wider finance community which need immediate attention:

The establishment of the International Sustainability Standards Board will help guide companies on what sustainability disclosures need to be made to supplement financial statements. This information is needed to build trust, between business, governments and society. Companies should start to disclose more information, to allow stakeholders to understand how they are addressing the impact of climate change, and importantly transforming their organisations for success in the future. It’s not just about the risks climate change presents for a business, but also the opportunities it provides.

Investors, banks, and other business stakeholders require confidence in the reporting. Business cannot let the risk of poor information and greenwashing undermine trust. Today, accountants provide reliable financial information, and that reliability needs to be extended to climate related data. Organisations should have systems, processes and controls suitable to provide high quality information. Accountants are imperative to ensuring this high quality.

The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) announcement at COP 26 promised $130 trillion of private capital to help economies move towards net zero transition. Decarbonising will be costly. Business needs to understand how they can benefit from modern green finance opportunities. Accountants will need to understand what their banks are looking for – qualitative and quantitative.

There’s a need to educate and raise the level of knowledge and expertise among all employees and in particular the finance teams, on the importance of ESG and climate action.

Reassuringly, sustainability is fully integrated into our qualification, preparing the future generation of accountants to recognise the challenges and address the impact in organisations. Some of the topics we cover include Integrated Reporting <IR>, a framework we have adopted and championed for over a decade; environmental management accounting; and environmental taxation considerations.

For the next few months, we’ll be focusing on this necessary step change that needs to happen, and we want PQ readers to be part of that. Of course, we’ll always place sustainability on our agenda as it’s a core part of ACCA’s work and that of the profession.

While we recognise the importance of all 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals, associated 169 targets and related indicators of success, ACCA has identified that we can make the most significant contribution towards nine of the UN SDGs.

And this is where PQ readers come in, as we’re calling on everyone in the ACCA community to make their own personal commitment to at least one of the UN SDGs.

We’ve collated a selection of our resources and learning materials and linked them to each of the nine SDGs we’ve made our commitment to, and these are the STEPS you can take:

STEPS

Share with your connections Use your influence to raise awareness of the UN SDGs in your workplace with your team, colleagues, and clients or across your personal and professional connections

Take time to upskill

Ethics and fairness Be proactive in keeping your knowledge and skills up to date so you continue to add value to the world

Understand your role in creating a more sustainable and transparent organisation, fight corruption and build trust

Power of accountancy

Steer positive change Contribute your key business and financial skills to helping organisations find innovative solutions and take sustainable and ethical decisions Share success stories, speak up, build connections with like minded people, be flexible and persistent, if you’re not a leader speak to those who are

Our Rethinking our World Hub has what’s needed to help you take these steps. For example, UNSDG 4: Quality Education is about ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promote lifelong opportunities for all.

Our commitment to this is to offer access to a quality finance and accountancy education that is free from artificial barriers. And the resources we provide include Professional Insights research to help you understand issues like digital and meaningful work, links to CPD and webinars, our online FinTech pack of learning and links to our Career Navigator.

We do the same for each of our nine commitments, with clear signposting to the support we offer to help others make a change too. This is the start of a call to action, and the steps taken can be large or small. But the important thing is to make that step, even if it is a tentative one. Find out more here https://tinyurl.com/3ye27z4m • Emmeline Skelton is head of sustainability at ACCA