John Edwards: Accountants must build sustainability skills

Accountants who don’t build skills in sustainability reporting will be left behind as sustainability regulations, which now apply to large corporations under the Companies (Strategic Report) (Climate-related Financial Disclosure) Regulations 2022, make their way to SMEs, IFA CEO John Edwards recently wrote in Accountancy Age. 

These regulations, or an iteration of them adapted to meet the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards, are expected to apply to SMEs by 2025.

“According to the joint report Accounting for Climate Change from CIMA and A4S, the UK is at the lower end of the scale when it comes to accountants’ role in reporting on climate functions,” Edwards wrote. 

“Just 44% of UK accountants consider it part of or a future part of the finance role, despite the discipline and numeric insight they can easily provide. Key barriers are lack of time (the main reason for 42% of respondents), lack of knowledge (38%), and short-termism focusing on things like budget and financial planning, meaning that sustainability falls behind in priorities.”

Read the full story at Accountancy Age.