Is your business making ‘counterfeit profits’? As a new guide shows directors how to prepare ‘true and fair’ financial statements, our columnist says responsibility means accounting for the ‘hidden costs’ on society and the planet.
By expressing issues such as low pay or overuse of carbon as 'externalities', we have let company directors, their auditors and investors off the hook – ignoring actions they could take using existing accounting standards, warns Jeremy Nicholls.
From aircraft safety to finance, we live our lives by standards. But many simply reinforce patriarchy – not least in financial accounting. With developments like AI exacerbating prejudices, there’s an urgent need for change, says Jeremy Nicholls.
Current guidance on how to prepare a financial report ignores their biggest user – one that's interested in much more than just money. It's causing billions in wasted resources, writes our columnist.
Most companies’ sustainability reports still fail to capture what matters to the people who actually experience the impacts. Assurance can help us put them and their wellbeing high up on the agenda – and push us to keep improving.
PART 3: Figuring out what to include in a sustainability report means accepting higher thresholds for uncertainty. That’s confusing for the user and more difficult for the auditor, writes our columnist – but there is a way to make it work.
PART 2: Assurance and audit might not get your heart racing – but they're fundamental to investment. In the second in this four-part series, columnist Jeremy Nicholls explains what financial audit means for sustainability assurance.
Company directors’ reliance on international accounting standards means sustainability issues are currently reported separately, if at all. But there are steps they can take to better meet their legal responsibilities, says our columnist.
The financial accounting system we use today is hurtling towards irrelevance, undermined by the very inequality to which it has contributed. It's time to change how profit is calculated – before it's too late.
