Business and finance have a critical role to play alongside in helping governments deliver the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and accountants can be at the frontline of mobilising collaborative action, says a new report from ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants).
The SDGs —an ambitious global framework for countries to achieve by 2030 —set out the building blocks of a new type of inclusive prosperity creation. As the global economy increasingly comes up against new complex and interconnected challenges, the report notes that finance professionals are well-placed to bring together business, finance and government to deliver on this important commitment.
“The SDGs provide a framework for understanding context, risk and opportunities that is in line with the new nature of the global economy, the challenges it faces and the future contours of global growth,” said Jimmy Greer, head of sustainability at ACCA.
“Organisations have the opportunity to take the common language of the SDGs and apply them to dealing with a range of interconnected issues, and there is a clear business imperative for contributing to creating inclusive, environmentally-aware and long-lasting prosperity.
“As such, professional accountants are facing growing demands for greater precision in reporting on performance beyond the financial, and to provide strategic advice about the impacts and opportunities that the new operating context horizons engender.
“But awareness is not enough. The implementation of successful strategies that deliver the inclusive, enduring prosperity required to take on global issues that the SDGs encompass will require an unprecedented degree of collaboration, innovation and problem solving skills that will test and overturn traditional orthodoxies,” concluded Greer.
The full report is available
here.
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Adele Gilbert, ACCA Newsroom
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About ACCA
ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants, offering business-relevant, first-choice qualifications to people of application, ability and ambition around the world who seek a rewarding career in accountancy, finance and management.
ACCA supports its 198,000 members and 486,000 students in 180 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers. ACCA works through a network of 101 offices and centres and 7,291 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development. Through its public interest remit, ACCA promotes appropriate regulation of accounting and conducts relevant research to ensure accountancy continues to grow in reputation and influence.
Founded in 1904, ACCA has consistently held unique core values: opportunity, diversity, innovation, integrity and accountability. It believes that accountants bring value to economies in all stages of development and seek to develop capacity in the profession and encourage the adoption of global standards. ACCA’s core values are aligned to the needs of employers in all sectors and it ensures that through its range of qualifications, it prepares accountants for business. ACCA seeks to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove artificial barriers, innovating its qualifications and delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers. More information is here: www.accaglobal.com
