Our four main areas of work for 2011/12 are summarised below.
1 – Integrated Thinking
Objectives
- To help organisations incorporate the value of all resources (including externalities and intangibles) in internal and external information and decision-making processes.
Activities
- Exploring the business case for valuing the resources (including natural capital externalities and intangibles) that underpin our global macroeconomic model, and the role of the finance function in embedding this in business models, strategies and decision-making.
- The first meeting of the Integrated Thinking committee took place in 2011, and Chris Tuppen, a sustainability consultant, is leading the work.
2 – International Network
Objectives
- Develop an International Network
- Identify and undertake individual projects in the areas of embedding and reporting
Activities
- Accounting Bodies Network (ABN) and wider International Network: In 2012 we are working to expand the membership of the ABN and develop an International Network committed to raising awareness of the A4S forum principles
- Capital Expenditure Appraisal: We will explore the current practices and issues of integrating sustainability considerations into capital expenditure decision-making. At the A4S Forum event in December 2010 we held a roundtable with IFAC to take our work forward. We will publish a report on the Investment Appraisal survey conducted by CPA Australia, and will conduct research based on the survey later in the year.
3 – Engagement and Communication
Objectives
- Engage the accounting and finance community
- Support IIRC and A4S work-streams
Activities
- Promote the application of connected, integrated reporting through workshops and pilot studies and on an international basis.
- Case study research with Marks & Spencer into how Plan A has embedded sustainability into corporate decision-making.
- Convene, influence and educate investor, corporate and accounting communities through regular communications and meetings, work with business schools and others, and through the main annual Forum event
- Launch a community website in collaboration with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC). The website will allow anyone with an interest in sustainability and integrated reporting to share ideas, discuss initiatives and connect with each other.
- Raise the profile of our work through presentation at relevant events in the UK and internationally.
4 – Integrated Reporting
Objectives
- Establish the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC)
- Create an internationally accepted Integrated Reporting framework
- Engage support
Activities
- The IIRC’s remit is to create a globally accepted framework for accounting for sustainability: a framework which brings together financial, environmental, social and governance information in a clear, concise, consistent and comparable format – put briefly, in an “integrated” format. As said by Jane Diplock, Chairperson, Executive Committee of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, “I believe we will look back on the creation of this Committee as a turning point in the development of corporate reporting.” Find out more about the IIRC’s work here.
