finding new business in sustainability

why now is the time to invest in corporate sustainability and social responsibility reporting.

by ed mendlowitz
call me before you do anything: the art of accounting

my columns are autobiographical and some tell about things that happened decades ago – although they’re still relevant – and hopefully, there are takeaways you can benefit from.

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this one is about something just starting to happen and presents an opportunity for you to get in on the ground floor of what could become a hot area for additional revenues. the overall topic has various names, two of which are sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

we all know something about the deteriorating environment, greenhouse gases, and global warming. however, if you are like me, you really don’t know squat about it. i was introduced to this area of potential business from two sources pretty simultaneously. chris frederiksen sent me a gift of a book about the history of accounting by jane gleeson-white. half the book was about the measurement issues of sustainability and how accountants could be the main people performing these services. i also heard her deliver a speech in which she presented her suggestions. soon after that, i had lunch with stanley goldstein, who also raised the future potential of accountants getting involved in this new area.

after lunch, i had a meeting with a client who is an important real estate developer and asked him if he had any thoughts on sustainability. he gave me an earful. it seems this was an important issue for him and he was very well informed. i went from knowing nothing and not caring to still knowing nothing but starting to think that i should care about it.

very soon afterward through stanley, i was asked if i was interested in joining the soon-to-be-formed sustainability accounting committee of the new york state society of cpas, which i did. i began starting to meet new people as we tried to develop what accountants need to do. it was exciting because we were all on an equal playing field and it could be something big.

this is a description of my involvement, which in some respects was by accident through a confluence of a number of events. at this point i do not know where any of this will lead, but if it develops the right way it could become a major area for business development.

i have inserted some links so you can find out more about this crucial area for humanity and an exciting opportunity for business development.

seven key resources:

sustainability investment leadership council: www.silcny.com
may 6 conference: http://silcny.com/event/2016-silc-conference/
sustainability accounting standards board: http://www.sasb.org/
tiffany sustainability report with an opinion by pwc: https://www.tiffany.com/csr/
pepsico report: http://www.pepsico.com/purpose/performancewith-purpose/sustainability-reporting
exxonmobil report: http://read.uberflip.com/i/514689-exxonmobil-2014-ccr-fullreport-digital-final
kpmg website: https://advisory.kpmg.us/risk-consulting/iarcs/sustainability-services.html

book referred to above: “double entry / how the merchants of venice created modern finance” by jane gleeson-white. this book has a great history of accounting and an introduction to sustainability reporting. her latest book is “six capitals,” also recommended.

i am frequently asked how i got involved in so many different areas. this article shows how and gives you the opportunity to also get into something on the ground floor.

posted on march 31, 2021

one response to “finding new business in sustainability”

tim crawford
april 2, 2021
this article makes me want to work harder. i want to make sure i can retire before “woke accounting” becomes fashionable, because i have zero interest in it. i appreciate the article – it’s a great wake up call!

edward mendlowitz

about the author

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edward mendlowitz, cpa, abv, pfs, is a partner at withum, a forward-thinking, technology-driven advisory, and accounting firm. ed has over 40 years of public accounting experience, is recognized as one of the top 100 most influential people in accounting by accounting today, and is the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 "practice doctor." his latest handbook for 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 is 77 ways to wow! the handbook for small-business advisory services.

ed is also the author of "memoirs of a cpa," available at amazon.

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"memoirs" tells his story as a cpa and provides an inside look at what cpas do and how they run their accounting "business." cpas must serve clients effectively and exceptionally, recruit, train, retain and grow staff, and charge fees that clients happily pay because of the value they receive while the cpa earns a living, funds a retirement account, grows infrastructure, and perhaps makes a profit. this book tells how he did all of this and much more.

more ed mendlowitz in the 卡塔尔世界杯常规比赛时间 store:

he is a licensed, certified public accountant in the states of new jersey and new york and is accredited by the american institute of certified public accountants (aicpa) in business valuation (abv), certified in financial forensics (cff) and as a personal financial specialist (pfs). ed is also admitted to practice before the united states tax court and has testified as an expert witness in federal and state court regarding business valuations, and twice at the house ways and means committee on tax reform, fairness, and reduction. a city college of new york graduate, ed earned his bachelor of business administration degree.

he is a member of the aicpa, the new jersey society of certified public accountants (njscpa) and the new york state society of certified public accountants (nysscpa). in addition, ed was a founding partner of mendlowitz weitsen, llp, cpas, which merged with withum in 2005. currently, he serves on the nysscpa estate planning committee and was chairman of the committee that planned the nysscpa’s 100th anniversary. ed, the author of 19 books, has also written hundreds of articles for business and professional journals and newsletters.

he is the contributing editor to the practitioners publishing company’s 706/709 deskbook, the aicpa’s management of an accounting practice handbook, corporate controller’s handbook and wiley’s handbook on budgeting and is on the editorial board of bottom line/personal newsletter and the journal of accountancy member panel on business valuation. appearing regularly on television news programs, ed has also been quoted in numerous major newspapers and periodicals in the united states. he received the lawler award for the best article published in 2001 in the journal of accountancy.

ed frequently speaks to many professional and business groups, including the aicpa, njscpa, nysscpa, american management association, the national committee for monetary reform, the university of medicine and dentistry in n.j., and many more. for 11 years, he taught courses on financial analysis, corporate financial policy and theory, monetary and fiscal policy, and managerial accounting in the mba program at fairleigh dickinson university.

click here for more by edward mendlowitz

one response to “finding new business in sustainability”

tim crawford