As I write this, many members are celebrating Chinese New Year, and looking forward to the Year of the Snake and all that it holds. In that spirit, I have been casting my thoughts to the opportunities that lie ahead of us in the coming months.
At the top of my list is how we embrace sustainability, and the exciting role accountants can play in the growth of a green economy. This has been at the front of mind as I prepare to speak on this theme at a series of events for business leaders in Pakistan in February.
I am eager to share ACCA’s message that sustainability isn’t just about climate change. It’s about how we work, how we plan, how we grow, so that our businesses, economies and our societies can survive and thrive through to the middle of this century and beyond.
Not just about climate
Climate change of course grabs the headlines and dominates TV news. And I know all about its dire effects as a proud citizen of Pakistan, a nation that suffers unequally from climate-related natural disasters while producing a tiny fraction of world-warming greenhouse gases.
Sustainability reporting is the arena in which the future of business will be decided
But it’s also about rising inequality between social classes, countries and continents. It’s about how we remodel our economies amid an explosion in digital technology, automation and artificial intelligence, which is changing people’s lives and work forever. It’s about how we provide vital infrastructure and public services – in health, education, transport, energy, food and water – which every society needs to remain healthy and viable.
The good news for us is that accountants are in a perfect position to make a big difference in creating a better, fairer, more sustainable world that works for all people, everywhere.
Reporting imperative
This drives our global agenda for action, Accounting for a Better World. In a practical sense, accountants have the skills, expertise and ethical motivation to promote and defend global reporting standards in sustainability. That sounds like a dry and theoretical subject to the outsider, but this is the arena in which the future of business will be decided.
We achieve if everyone gets a clear sight of how organisations perform against universal metrics
Global reporting standards give us the means to measure results more accurately, more effectively and more transparently than ever before. The only way we achieve real progress is if everyone – public, governments, investors – gets a clear sight of how organisations perform against metrics that are easy to understand and universal. It’s the only way the best performers earn rewards in the marketplace, and how poorer performers receive a timely corrective.
I’m proud that ACCA members are trained, equipped and ready to make a real difference, with our global reach, our worldwide network, and a positive influence that reaches into boardrooms, civic organisations and corridors of power all over the world.
Sustainability is a global issue and it requires a global response to find the solutions we all crave and need.
