Sustainability Reporting

Sustainability Reporting

Synopsis

Stances adopted and initiatives taken by the premier accountancy bodies in Australia (CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia). The second topic is discussing AGL's social and environmental accountability in the last two years. The main argument is whether the stances taken by such accountancy bodies is consistent with their activities / actions. It can be concluded that accountancy bodies have developed legitimate sustainability stances and have carried out initiatives that are consistent with the claim. It can also be concluded that AGL is proactively involved in sustainability and corporate social development which is evidenced by the two sustainability reports it published in 2011 and 2012.

Essay Part A

Introduction

Part A of the essay discusses the stance and initiatives of the Australian accounting profession on corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability. The essay also includes my views on the role of accounting and the accountant on CSR and sustainability. Accounting profession as a whole is regulated in Australia by two leading accountancy bodies CPA Australia and the Institute of Chartered Accountants in Australia. The plan is to identify and assess the stance or position adopted by two above mentioned bodies and the actions or initiatives taken by them promote sustainability in the profession. Assessment will also include, the requirements (if any) imposed by the two bodies on its members. IFAC's International Guidance Document on Environmental Management Accounting deals with the challenges faced by companies with respect to sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

Discussion

CPA Australia has a positive approach towards sustainability. For the past few years, they themselves have been issuing sustainability reports, which in itself is a commendable step. The purpose of providing its stakeholders this report is to enlighten them of the measures adopted by them to balance economic performance with environmental and social performance. Many initiatives have taken by CPA Australia to promote sustainability reporting. One of this is the acceptance of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). The GRI framework is the most common and widely adopted sustainability reporting framework. CPA Australia has been awarded a “C+” rating by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu. Grade C indicates that CPA Australia has met a minimum of 10 performance indicators that are based on social and environmental factors. “+” indicates that the sustainability report has been assured by an independent audit firm (in this case Deloitte, which is one of the Big 4 audit firms). Sustainability initiatives taken by CPA Australia have left a major imprint on various stakeholders such as employees, its members and the general public (Sustainability reporting - CPA Australia, 2010).

Sustainability has been integrated into the governance structure of the professional body. CPA Australia has the following stance on sustainability “Sustainability vision: To draw upon CPA Australia's core strengths to become a leading advocate of sustainability” (Sustainability reporting - CPA Australia, 2010). Sustainability is measured by three parameters: current achievements, challenges faced and future goals. CPA Australia changed the structure of the CPA program incorporating governance, non financial reporting and sustainability as a subject ...