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Non-financial reporting: where are we headed?

The landscape for non-financial reporting is evolving at a pace with further expected changes on the horizon. What are the challenges that companies face when it comes to non-financial reports, where can improvements be made, and what does the future hold?

Latest articles

Article
Two people talking at an office table with a laptop 14 Dec 2021
Non-financial reporting: Addressing the challenges of the future with technology

How can technology be better utilised in company reporting? The FRC Lab examines why this is increasingly as important for non-financial information as it is for financial data.

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Office workers talking and sticking post-it notes on a glass partition 13 Dec 2021
Non-financial reporting: preparing for take-off

If the volume of non-financial reporting by companies is set to grow significantly, what does the profession need to do to prepare itself? We speak to Naomi Rigby, ESG Assurance Director at PwC.

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Article
People standing and talking in little clusters, seen from above 12 Dec 2021
Non-financial information: let good decision-making begin

The transformation of our economies to allow for prosperity and fairness within what nature can support requires a wholesale rethink of our economic and business models, writes Richard Spencer, ICAEW’’s Director of Sustainability.

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A person in a wheelchair holding a clipboard and talking to three people 10 Dec 2021
Why Europe wants sustainability and financial reporting to connect

EFRAG’s Board President explains why sustainability is as much a financial reporting issue as a non-financial one.

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Article
Two men walking and talking in an office lobby 09 Dec 2021
Carbon reporting: one year on

The requirement for large companies to report on their carbon and energy use (under the streamlined energy and carbon reporting or SECR requirements) has been in place since 2019.

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Article
A person delivering a presentation to a group of office workers 07 Dec 2021
Pledge net zero 2022: carbon offsets from a programme you can visit

Where to start? That is the question lots of companies will ask their trusted adviser as they seek to meet their net zero pledges. Carbon offsetting is part of the mix, especially in the early stages of a net-zero pathway, but wouldn’t it help if companies could visit the projects they invest in?

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Article
A person at laptop showing charts holding a smartphone 06 Dec 2021
Ensuring the Section 172 statement is actually used

While the Section 172 statement is almost three years old, a lot of work remains to ensure it provides decision-useful information for stakeholders and guarantee its original aim of enhancing trust is met.

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Article
A hand writing at a desk with papers and a mug 13 Dec 2021
Mandatory UK climate-related financial disclosures on the horizon

Plans to introduce mandatory climate-related financial disclosures in the UK have edged closer to becoming law in recent months as the government laid draft regulations before Parliament in October, with the expectation that the new rules will soon be approved and come into effect on 6 April 2022.

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Article
Two people talking and looking at images and post-its stuck on windows 03 Dec 2021
Never more optimistic about high quality sustainability disclosure

This is the sentiment of Jeffrey Hales, Professor of Accounting, University of Texas at Austin, and Chair of the SASB Standards Board and Sector Chair for Financials and Renewable Resources and Alternative Energy.

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Article
Four people at a table talking to each other with papers and a laptop 01 Dec 2021
Sustainability reporting: why should SMEs care?

Call it the pandemic effect, but the penny is finally dropping that environmental and social reporting is becoming the responsibility of all practitioners and companies – not just large complex organisations and their advisers. Johan Barros, EU Policy Manager at Accountancy Europe, explains.

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Article
A person writing on report papers at a table. 16 Nov 2021
Building trust through bespoke reporting

Over reliance on standard wording and generic templates to provide narratives in financial reporting should be a thing of the past.

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Article
A group of people sitting round an office table with laptops and papers, talking 10 Nov 2021
Carney: how we are transforming the global economy

Former Bank of England Governor turned climate activist Mark Carney explains how the financial system is changing to combat climate change.

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Article
Report papers on a desk with a pair of glasses on them. 03 Nov 2021
New sustainability standards board targets globally comparable reporting

Moves to provide global financial markets with high-quality disclosures on climate and other sustainability issues moved a step forward after the IFRS Foundation formally announced the formation of the International Sustainability Standards Board, with a pledge for operations to begin in early 2022 and published prototype disclosure requirements.

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Article
A pair of hands typing at a laptop. 29 Oct 2021
Corporate reporting: no decline but sharp focus on climate risks

Despite the pandemic, the FRC has revealed that it has not detected a decline in reporting quality. But improvements in key areas are still necessary.

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Article
People in conversation at a table with notepads and pens 25 Oct 2021
10 years of FRC Lab: future focus on ESG and technology

The Financial Reporting Lab is celebrating its 10th birthday. We speak to Lab Director Phil Fitz-Gerald about its finest achievements and probe its future work, particularly on environmental, social and governance reporting and technology.

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Article
Close-up of letters on a keyboard 22 Oct 2021
The road towards unified non-financial reporting standards

While the impetus for non-financial disclosures is growing, there needs to be some harmonisation of standards if it’s going to work.

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Article
A corporate report on a table 12 Oct 2021
Proportionality and cooperation key to future of sustainability reporting

The UK government aims to lead on mandating climate-related financial disclosures and adopting international sustainability reporting standards but acknowledges requirements must not be excessively costly or onerous for business, says Lord Callanan.

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Article
A laptop with a report being written on it, a notebook, a smartphone and a glass of water. 08 OCT 2021
Narrative reports and back-end financials: numbers must back up words

Companies need to do a better job of providing more consistency between front-end and back-end reporting in their annual financial statements if they are to engender trust with stakeholders and tap into the burgeoning appetite among investors for opportunities to invest.

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Article
A fountain pen writing on paper. 05 OCT 2021
The crusade to achieve the SDGs and the role of accounting

Implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals is no mean feat, but progress must be made. Josette Caruana talks us through the work she is doing with Giovanna Dabbicco on the Global Reporting Initiative, and its relevance for the achievement of SDGs.

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Article
A hand writing on printed documents. 06 SEP 2021
ESG tops business priority list

Almost a third of mid-market businesses say they face a high risk of losing business if they fail to act on ESG, according to new research, which also ranks ESG above Brexit and COVID in priority.

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Article
A person typing at a laptop. 03 SEP 2021
2021 marks step-change in corporate action on ESG reporting

More mainstream investors are seeing ESG as real investment issues and are calling for companies to provide better disclosure - something which ramps up the need for improved information systems, says former FASB chairman Bob Herz.

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