Streamlining Towards Sustainability: What is the long-term future of accounting?

Value creation in business today is going beyond revenue or profit. The long-term value of a business involves evaluating the returns it brings not only to its shareholders, but also the impact it has on society and the planet’s natural resources.

For the accounting profession, the lens with which stakeholders perceive a business has therefore become multi-dimensional. In order to continue delivering value to stakeholders, a broader range of matters – financial, environmental and societal aspects – can impact on the resilience of a business.  

This not only requires longer-term thinking, but also requires a streamlining of processes. Digitalisation has been instrumental in shaping real time data capture and reporting; whereas cloud technology has spearheaded the adoption of digitalisation across business practices.

As businesses evolve to stay ahead, what solutions are available for Chief Financial Officers to integrate the company’s financial performance alongside their sustainability commitments?

What are the challenges faced by the practitioners whose role as the financial gatekeeper has expanded to encompass externalities whose price tag is not clear cut? Who are the stakeholders who can further support the modernisation of accounting, and how can policy and regulation boost the capabilities needed?

During this dialogue, we will engage our speakers discuss the transformational road map in which finance and accounting meets sustainability integration, with the aim of helping accounting professionals, policy observers and business leaders stay ahead of the curve.