Developments in the world around us have increased awareness among professionals that they have increased responsibility towards sustainability in the private and public sectors. As investors and stakeholders around the globe become more conscious of the social, environmental and governance challenges the world is facing, they are seeing long-term value creation and hold organizations accountable for their impact on the economy, environment, and society, thus the demand for sustainability-related information grows.
The need for stronger Corporate Sustainability Reporting will be the key theme tackled at the MIA’s Biennial Conference. This debate is expected to provide invaluable information to members and non-members by providing better awareness of what the Corporate Sustainability reporting shall entail and how this may impact them.
The one-day event examines the anticipated transformations affecting the sector in the wake of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) proposal adopted by the European Commission. The CSRD extended the requirements to share information about the impact of business on people and the environment to all large companies and all companies listed on regulated markets (except listed micro-enterprises).
This reform implies that more companies than ever will be obliged to provide disclosures on Environment, Society and Governance (ESG). The CSRD proposal will extend the scope of the requirements to include all large companies, whether they are listed or not and without the previous 500-employee threshold. This change would mean that a significantly wider array of companies will be publicly accountable for their impact on people and the environment.
The conference will also feature an intervention by the EFRAG, which is the Group asked by the Commissioner for Financial Stability, Financial Services and the Capital Markets Union to start undertaking the necessary changes to draft the standards. This session will tackle the latest status of the standards being considered for sustainable reporting, and the challenges currently being faced by the reporting group when tackling these standards.
“The MIA Biennial Conference is a platform for the accountancy profession to set the agenda on pressing matters,” said the president of the Institute of Accountants, Fabio Axisa.
“Businesses have a responsibility to consider the broader implications of their activities and accountants are leading that change in mindset. This is the right time to discuss sustainable reporting in finance and the Institute is delighted to present such an outstanding programme.”
Beyond the discussion on the regulatory developments in this field, participants will have the opportunity to understand the practical side of how disclosures are compiled by accountants and audited by auditors, through the participation of experts in the field coming from industries that are already disclosing non-financial information, education and how the syllabus is integrating sustainable reporting as well as the learnings based on an experienced assurance leader.
In addition, participants will be given the opportunity to discover more on growth and funding opportunities for themselves and their clients, with government representatives delving into concepts such as greener business models, Malta Enterprise funding and soft loans being made available to support businesses suffering from cash flow strains.
Further details on this event are available through this link.