The focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance issues (ESG) continues to accelerate as investors and other stakeholders seek to understand and assess material ESG factors in their investment, purchasing and employment decisions. ESG investment strategies already make up a large portion of US assets under professional management, and are poised to rise even higher.
This self-study webinar will address key drivers demanding corporate attention on ESG, and how financial reporting teams can help companies identify, assess, and disclose ESG issues in ways that increase trust with stakeholders and enhance corporate reputation and long-term value.
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Sustainability & ESG Reporting Update
– S&P 500 Reports
– Private company
considerations
– Framework statistics and
assurance
– Industry classification
– Global Reporting Initiative (GRI)
– Climate-related financial
disclosures
– International integrated
reporting -
Navigating the ESG Landscape
– Climate change expectations
– Limited, voluntary and high-
quality reporting and
disclosures
– Risks and opportunities
– Governance
– The Chief Sustainability
Officer’s role
– Financial planning
– ESG-linked financing
– Corporate reporting
– Processes and controls
– Data and analytics
– Board’s evolving role in
oversight -
SASB: Investor Preferred Sustainability Standards
– What differentiates SASB
Standards?
– Disclosure topics and
accounting metrics
– Examples (banks, IT services,
apparel)
– Evolving marketplace
– Increased corporate use
– Reporting channels
– Task force on Climate-Related
Disclosures (TCFD)
– Disclosure demands
– International support
– Adoption driven by investors -
Third-Party Assurance of Sustainability & ESG Reporting
– Measurement controls
– Level of assurance -
ESG Standards Convergence
– Developing a comprehensive
corporate reporting system
– Global ESG reporting baseline
– IFRS Foundation
– International Sustainability
Standards Board (ISSB) -
ESG Activity at the SEC
– Climate rulemaking and
disclosure expectations
– Accounting and reporting
considerations - Other Matters
• Identify the single biggest perceived threat to strategic success in the next 3-5 years per a recent survey of governance specialists
• Recognize the relative popularity of ESG as an investment strategy
• Recognize the biggest obstacle to assessing ESG risk per an investor’s report
• Identify the first and most widely adopted global standards for sustainability reporting
• Identify the roots of the Global Reporting Institute (GRI)
• Recognize the SEC’s perspective towards ESG reporting
• Recognize the ESG-centric entity associated with industry-specific disclosure topics, metrics and guidance
• Identify stakeholders’ view of existing ESG standards and frameworks
