A global survey released today from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) reveals deep concerns about social and environmental issues, with 90% of accountants and finance professionals wanting organizations to increase efforts to become more environmentally sustainable and make a more positive impact on society after the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.
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The survey—Mainstreaming Impact: scaling a sustainable recovery—reveals the desire of accountants to spearhead this change, with 95% agreeing that finance teams have a role to play in building a more socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable future.
The global findings among 829 professional accountants illustrate the significant concerns worldwide amid record-breaking temperatures, devastating fires and flooding in some regions, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which has worsened existing socio-economic inequalities and reinforced the fragilities of the natural world.
Warner Johnston, head of ACCA USA says, “Speaking to a panel of 37 accountancy experts across the United States, the findings reveal 71% want to see their organization change so that it does less damage to the environment. Sixty five percent see the role of the accountant as being one to support the work of others to build a more socially inclusive and environmentally sustainable future for their organization.”
He adds, “It is also good to see respondents looking ahead at their own skills and knowledge, with many expressing an interest in developing further skills to tackle these issues – 49% say they are looking to develop knowledge in social impact measurement and 65% are interested in sustainability data analytics.”
“Guided by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals, which can act as a common language roadmap to follow out of the current crisis, businesses of all sizes can use this moment to step forward and commit to making an intentional, positive impact on society and the environment through their activities,” Helen Brand OBE, Chief Executive of ACCA says in the report’s introduction. “And for professional accountants, they can make these commitments a reality.”
She adds, “They have a huge role here, because it’s through professional education that accountants can support an equitable transition to a net-zero carbon world. We’re committed to ensuring that sustainability and green finance is an integral part of our world-class qualification and members’ continuing professional development, supporting our members with a range of new online learning offerings on these important areas.”
Global findings
In ACCA’s survey, 75% of respondents concede that their own organizations must change to better address social inequalities, and 85% felt the organizations would do less damage to the environment by adapting.
More than half—54%—considered they had the skills and training to address social and environmental impact management in their organization. Many stressed the barriers preventing them from addressing these concerns, such as potential costs, lack of senior management buy-in, and too narrow a focus on financial returns.
Given perceived leadership barriers, global respondents saw themselves in supporting roles to partner for change, providing the right kind of help for their organizations. Other results show:
“Now is the time to mainstream social and environmental impact management, so that our economies and societies become more resilient to future shocks and can embed health, equity, community and sustainability into business models,” says Jimmy Greer, ACCA’s Head of Sustainability. “Professional accountants and finance teams are central actors, with the skills, knowledge and ambition to do more.”
Warner Johnston concludes, “ACCA’s call to action for all organizations is for them to commit to building better impact management into their processes to create value – they need to make board level governance commitment to additional and intentional social and environmental positive impact creation. And they also must allocate resources within finance teams and across organizations to build decision-making capabilities related to environmental and social impact.”
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