The corporate reporting landscape has seen a number of forces moving forward over the past months. The Sustainable Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and global reporting framework International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) today officially announced their decision to merge into the Value Reporting Foundation.
Janine Guillot, CEO of SASB and the Value Reporting Foundation: “Businesses and investors have long asked for more clarity and more simplicity in the corporate reporting landscape. Our merger is a direct response to this call. By combining the tools, the resources and the relationships of SASB and IIRC the merger also better positions us to support key bodies, such as the IFRS foundation and to continue to work with our colleagues around the world to drive to a more coherent and comprehensive corporate reporting system.”
The Value Reporting Foundation will operate as one global organisation with one unified strategy.
Janine Guillot: “Our goal is to help businesses and investors develop a shared understanding and a common language to talk about enterprise value and how enterprise value is created, or preserved or eroded over time.”
The Value Reporting Foundation supports investor decision-making with three principal tools:
– Integrated Thinking Principles (Management Decision making)
– Integrated Reporting Framework
– SASB Standards
The SASB Standards and the Integrating Reporting Framework are already complementary tools and many companies alreay use them together.
IR Framework: 6 Capitals
SASB Standards: 5 Sustainability Dimensions
These will be fully harmonized over time to make it very easy to use the SASB Standards and the IR Framework together.
Value Reporting Foundation’s Role within the global reporting landscape
Currently, the most important global efforts are:
(1) IFRS Foundation’s plan to establish the International Sustainability Standards Board: the Value Reporting Foundation will be participating in the Techical Readiness Working Group,
(2) EU Commission and EU legislation (CSRD and SFDR): both of these efforts are having global impact already
(3) U.S. SEC: public consultation on climate disclosure and signals for global cooperation.
The “Group of Five” (CDP, CDSB, GRI, IIRS and SASB) published a shared vision for comprehensive corporate reporting system that includes financial accounting and sustainability disclosure. The SASB and IIRS merger grew out of that work.
A global system for corporate sustainability disclosure is needed. One issue is how sustainability issues affect a company’s fincial performance and it’s long term enterprise value. And another lense is how a company’s activities impact society and the environment.
Janine Guillot: “Both of these lenses are very important and very valuable.”
Robert K. Steel, Chairman at Perella Weinberg Partners and Chair of the Board at the SASB Foundation and Richard Sexton, Board Member of IIRC are acting as Co-Chairs of the Value Reporting Foundation.
Both, IIRC and SASB celebrated their 10th anniversary last year.
