On July 4, 2023, in Lahore according to the most recent report by ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants), accountants and financial experts are leading the transition to a sustainable future. Our new research, Accounting for Society’s Values, was produced as a consequence of the opinions expressed by finance experts from throughout the world.

Organizations must make the transition to a sustainable future that integrates the social, economic, and environmental facets. Social injustice poses long-term problems for society, and regulators and stakeholders are paying more attention to how firms’ actions affect society as a whole. Because of this, establishing and assessing the contribution that an organization makes to society is now just as crucial as achieving its financial goals.

The accountancy and finance profession needs to see this as an opportunity to define its future role and put the social agenda at the core of the profession.

Three key messages from this report:

  1. The profession’s future embraces sustainability through social equity and protecting the environment.
  2. Measuring the social agenda is difficult, but we must act.
  3. There is a strong business imperative to embed this agenda into strategy

Helen Brand OBE, ACCA chief executive commented: ‘The social agenda is a broad one and requires organisations to act now. Without the valued and proactive input of the accountancy and finance profession, the goal of reaching sustainability for all organisations will be unattainable. The profession has an opportunity to play its full part in enabling the just transition, not least the social aspect – one that it cannot afford to shirk.’

Assad Hameed Khan, head of ACCA Pakistan, said: ‘Whilst the emphasis for many organisations may have become focused on the environmental aspects of a just transition it is important to ensure that nobody is left behind. The social agenda is a vital element of the transition and whilst it may present challenges in readily measuring progress this cannot be an excuse for a lack of action.  Accountancy and finance professionals need to be at the forefront on ensuring that their organisations measure and report performance in this area if we are to be a just society.’  

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