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Helping stakeholders understand impact of climate change
Stakeholders want information that enables them to assess the effects of climate risks on the business. Auditors and other accountants have key roles to play.
“The coronavirus pandemic has become the defining issue of 2020. But climate change will be the defining issue of this decade, if not this century,” says Michael Izza, CEO of ICAEW. “It affects us all, and ICAEW is committed to ensuring that chartered accountants are at the forefront of efforts to tackle the severe challenges it presents.” For some time, ICAEW has been creating and collating resources to assist with this and it is not alone in taking action.
The UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC) and the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) are among the regulators and standard setters taking initiatives (more on this, later). Like ICAEW, they and others see valuable roles for auditors and other accountants to help business operate more sustainably; to measure and mitigate their climate impact and associated risks; and to share information on this in ways that facilitate and support informed decision-making by investors and other stakeholders.