ethical sustainability reporting: essential, yes. easy, no.
by 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 research
cpas are renowned for their honesty, integrity and ethics, not to mention their detached disinterest, their objectivity and capability, their knowledge, accuracy and thoroughness. they act in the public interest, not the interests of those who hire them or even themselves.
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certified by the american institute of cpas, they necessarily accept and comply with the international code of ethics for professional accountants.
ethical dilemmas
the guidance in the code has a long history of consideration and development, but one of the newer parts of the code, on ethics involved in sustainability reporting, is still a bit vague. it can leave accountants with ethical dilemmas not easily resolved, according to a new study from the association of chartered certified accountants, “ethical dilemmas in an ear of sustainability reporting.”
the study cites several dilemmas as examples. in one, an energy producer is moving from fossil fuels to wind energy. on the surface, that seems a wise and sustainable move to make.
but what about the impact on a community deprived of a major employer and on the employees themselves? what about the impact on birds and butterflies struck down by whirling blades? how does the shift impact investors? what to do with the profits taken from selling carbon credits? does it involve “greenwashing” – exaggerating the alleged benefits of environmental measures for nothing more than public image?
and what to do when a business code of sustainable development conflicts with the accounting ethical code for sustainable development?
the answers aren’t easy, and the considerations involved in this example get complicated – too complicated to explain here. suffice it to say that the relative newness of sustainability standards and reporting makes the process more complex and precarious than financial reporting.
stakes are getting higher
the stakes are getting higher as more companies and other stakeholders want sustainability reporting to include assurance. in 2021, 64 percent of sustainability reports included some form of assurance, up from 51 percent in 2019. approximately 60 percent of this assurance was conducted by professional accountants.
the acca study offers a checklist of questions that address ethical threats. here are just a few:
- how does the organization consider nonhuman concerns, such as biodiversity?
- how might accountants’ actions be seen as compromising their own values?
- what should be or should not be revealed to outside stakeholders?
- when and where does an accountant’s duty of care cease?
- how well or inadequately does reporting and assurance guidance apply to the situation?
the answer is the process
the study presents five fictional ethical dilemmas, but it doesn’t just leave the reader to wonder what to do. each dilemma comes with definitions of the problem and a list of threats and mitigations to an ethical decision. the definitive answer isn’t provided. the answer isn’t important. what’s important is the process of pursuing the answer.
sustainability reporting and assurance are a wide-open field of new business opportunities. cpas are in demand for not only their financial expertise but for their objectivity, knowledge and credibility. the challenge is to sustain those integral characteristics in work that is new to cpas, still only vaguely defined, and more important every day as the world struggles to sustain itself.
