This month in our main interview we meet Leigh Roberts, who as chief executive at the Integrated Reporting Committee of South Africa has spent the last decade and a half promoting a holistic approach to corporate disclosures. With sustainability reporting frameworks proliferating, she talks about the relationship between sustainability reporting and the integrated report, and why the latter is ‘ideally placed to bring everything together’.
Staying with the reporting theme, our article on marine risk considers the impact that corporates have on the health of the seas. Recent guidance on measuring nature-related financial risks has broadened to include ocean-related data so that direct, or indirect, interactions with marine ecosystems are transparent. What challenges do businesses face in disclosing their dependencies on aquatic biomes?
Also on the topic of disclosures, albeit on a larger stage, our columnist Okey Umeano FCCA considers the credibility crisis in Senegal after an audit of the previous administration’s budget revealed some US$11bn of undisclosed debt. The misreporting scandal reinforces the imperative for transparent reporting, strong internal controls and the adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS) by governments.
Fraud prevention is a key part of the work of Christine Ombaka FCCA, our public sector interviewee this month. As an investigator with Kenya’s Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission, she identifies fraud risk and investigates financial crime in Kenya’s government. Along with technical skill, agility and experience, she sees a commitment to ethics and integrity as fundamental to the work.
Over in our careers section, we ponder the need to integrate AI agents – the next wave of employees – with human colleagues, and ask how human and digital staff can collaborate and connect in harmony. What can leaders do to ensure that everyone gets along?
Finally, September saw the launch of ACCA’s annual virtual conference, Accounting for the Future. This year’s theme is ‘Trust and innovation in the new era of finance’. Register to attend live 25–27 November or on demand, and earn up to 21 free CPD units.
Further information
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