Sustainability in accountancy
As organisations face growing expectations from regulators, investors and stakeholders, companies now need to understand and report on how they impact the environment and society, not just their finances. Accountants are increasingly responsible for measuring, reporting and assuring the non-financial data of the impact of a business’ activities on the environment and society, alongside traditional financial performance.
From climate-related disclosures to ESG reporting, the role of the accountant is evolving to help businesses understand their wider impact and make informed, long-term decisions. In this way, sustainability is no longer separate from accountancy, but becoming a natural part of the accountant’s role.
Sustainability is no longer a separate consideration for business; it is becoming fundamental to professional judgement, market confidence and long-term resilience. For the accountancy profession, this means bringing sustainability-related risks and opportunities into the heart of decision-making, reporting and assurance as part of everyday practice.
Sustainability in the ACA
As one of the three pillars of the ACA – alongside ethics and technology – sustainability will be embedded throughout the qualification, forming a fundamental part of students’ professional toolkit from day one.
Over the past 10 years, sustainability content has been embedded across the ACA through annual syllabus updates to reflect changing legislation, trends and behaviours. More recently, the ACA qualification has been updated to build further on this area of the profession.
At Certificate Level, the Sustainability and Ethics exam provides a solid foundation of knowledge for trainee accountants. Central to this knowledge is the understanding that, alongside the financial reporting framework, there is now a non-financial reporting requirement that goes hand-in-hand with it – and is equally important. This initial understanding will be fundamental as students’ progress through the qualification and on through their careers.
Sustainability is also prominent within exam questions across every exam and level. Case studies at Professional and Advanced Level also provide opportunities to integrate sustainability are more widely, such as producing a set of accounts for a sustainable company, or exploring how sustainable decisions affect and drive a company’s future strategy.
Diving deeper into sustainability
Alongside the core ACA exams and professional work experience requirements, Specialised Learning offers a ‘menu’ of tailored units that employers and students can select from depending on their region, sector and specialism. This allows learning to be tailored, giving those working in – or with a particular interest in – sustainability the option to explore this fast-changing area more deeply, providing depth of expertise in the areas where sustainability and accountancy overlap.
The advantage of Specialised Learning is the potential for ICAEW to create and update content rapidly to ensure it remains current and relevant – particularly important in a fast-moving area such as sustainability.
As sustainability continues to reshape the profession, it’s important that the ACA evolves with it. Specialised Learning introduces greater flexibility, enabling students to engage with emerging topics and build relevant, future-focused expertise.
Coupled with the robust annual update of the ACA syllabus, this approach means the ACA delivers as a future-fit qualification.
Sustainability beyond the ACA
The journey that begins and builds through the ACA is the start of a commitment to lifelong learning. Not only will newly qualified chartered accountants start their careers with sustainability as a key part of their professional ethos, but they will be equipped to lead the way with their employers and their clients.
The next generation coming through the ACA really understand why sustainability matters. They are not just thinking about financial performance, but about the wider impact businesses have on society and the environment. As they build their careers, they will play a key role in strengthening how organisations measure, report and act on that impact.
Develop future-ready talent
Last updated: June 2026