SCRUTINISING SUSTAINABILITY AND ESG REPORTING AT AIA EXAMINERS' CONFERENCE

On 27 January 2023 the Examiners’ Conference connected AIA’s academic team from universities across the world for a wide-ranging and interactive event, including the opportunity to hear from internationally recognised Director of the Pentland Centre for Sustainability in Business at Lancaster University, Professor Jan Bebbington.  

Jan’s research focuses on issues that emerge at the intersections between sustainable development concerns and accounting scholarship and she has published on topics such the Sustainable Development Goals; sustainability science; motivations and rationales for standalone reporting; carbon accounting; sustainability assessment, and accounting education. 

She is also part of a long-term collaboration at the Stockholm Resilience Centre and The Centre of Ocean Solutions at Stanford University, providing insight into the differences between accountability and stewardship as well as the issues in establishing organisational control over supply chains and reporting meaningfully on performance. 

At the conference Jan Bebbington said: “Sustainability used to be a sprinkling of a discussion but now it is as the forefront of everyone’s mind due to the great acceleration; an increase of people has resulted in accelerated pollution. Climate change is the key on which everything moves and when the climate changes everything else does too. 

“Externalities are persistent and are creating system tipping points, which creates the conundrum of globalisation and growth. Not keeping pace with the globalisation of minimum social and ecological maximum standards with growth making it worse, but current economic system is unable to flourish without it. 

“The Green Deal and Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation is in place to steer finance flows towards sustainable investments. This includes the Transition Plan Taskforce Disclosure Framework; a global investment and engineering grade physical climate risk analysis report, which asks companies to commit to net zero but do it through a strategic plan. They must explain specifically what the business is going to do and change, as well as the expected timelines to reach net zero. 

“Accounting is critical for organisational control. We are masters of our own destiny – we choose what we do!” 

As signatories to the Green Finance Education Charter, AIA is committed to embedding green finance and sustainability into its Recognised Professional Qualification at all levels alongside the continued professional development of accountants. Each of the signatories acknowledge their collective responsibility to deliver Article 2.1c of the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.  

Comparable national and international reporting standards are key to ensuring that green finance and sustainability are effective tools for investors and accountants alike. AIA works effectively in the public interest to ensure standards are fit for purpose and applicable to its members, including emphasising the importance of effective reporting for SMPs and their SME clients. For example, we have worked with partners including fellow European Federation of Accountants and Auditors for SMEs (EFAA) to respond to the European Commission’s introduction of European Sustainability Reporting Standards and a new Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive.  

Building on work to expand guidance for members following the introduction of Green Finance & Sustainability Insights, AIA recently provided a series of workshops, led by council member Dr Peter Ellington, to ensure members are ready to operate in a low carbon/net-zero world. The interactive workshops looked at issues which are being faced not only by companies but by individuals, including climate change, sustainability reporting and social inequalities and why firms may not be taking them seriously.  

We rely on the support of AIA examiners, moderators, and tutors, as well as AIA council members, to ensure our qualifications are fit for purpose and that we act in the public interest. Working with our academic team means we can ensure the AIA Recognised Professional Qualification is maintained at the appropriately high standard and that we meet our regulatory requirements. The conference also attended by the Financial Reporting Council, reflecting the importance of sustainability reporting with professional accountancy and audit qualifications.  

The 2023 AIA Examiners’ Conference also included input from AIA’s partner BPP Learning Media, giving key insight into how learning materials can reflect advancements in sustainability reporting and a demonstration from AIA’s online learning and assessment platform partner Eintech.