Supporting the global profession
The future of our organisations and society itself depends on sustainability and a just transition. Accountancy and finance professionals must drive the journey towards social equity.
Accountancy and finance professionals are at the forefront of the transition to a sustainable future according to our research. Over 75 finance professionals from around the world shared their views, resulting in this report Accounting for Society’s Values.
Organisations need to transition to a sustainable future that embraces the economic, environmental and social aspects in combination. Society faces long-term challenges from social injustice, with stakeholders and regulators increasingly focusing on the social implications of the actions of organisations. That’s why defining and measuring the return to society by an organisation’s activities is becoming as important as the financial objectives themselves.
The opportunity for the profession is to take a leading role in driving the necessary change and ensure that the agenda moves forward. A strategic view must be taken and social injustice is addressed as part of the strategic direction of organisations. Having the social agenda at the core of the profession is as much about its own future and attractiveness as it is about driving towards a sustainable future.
Accounting for society's value: the social agenda
Accountancy and finance professionals are leading the transition to a sustainable future. Here three people with significant practical experience discuss the part they can play in the journey towards social equity.
Accounting for society's value: the practical agenda
The future of our organisations and society itself depends on sustainability and a just transition. In this short video, three experts discuss the practical steps businesses can take to progress the social agenda.
Accounting for society's value: Renaka's story
Renaka Ramachandran FCCA, CFO of Sime Darby Plantation in Malaysia, shares her first-hand experience of resolving a forced-labour business risk through applying ILO standards.
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Three key messages from this report:
1. The future of the accountancy and finance profession is one that embraces sustainability, including the social agenda, in a just transition which balances social equity with environmental action.
2. The social agenda is broad and complex and its constituents are often difficult to measure, but this does not excuse a lack of action.
3. It is important not to stand by on these issues; there is a strong business imperative for action now and this agenda needs to be embedded into the view of strategy and performance.
Supporting the global profession
"The social agenda is a broad one and requires organisations to act now. Without the valued and proactive input of the accountancy and finance profession, the goal of reaching sustainability for all organisations will be unattainable. The profession has an opportunity to play its full part in enabling the just transition, not least the social aspect – one that it cannot afford to shirk."
Helen Brand, ACCA chief executive