ACCA welcomes today’s endorsement by the European Parliament’s Legal Affairs (JURI) Committee of the agreed text on disclosure of non-financial and diversity information 

The new rules will only apply to some 6000 large undertakings across the EU with more than 500 employees. Under the proposal, these undertakings will have to include in their management report a non-financial statement with information on environmental matters, social and employee-related aspects, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery issues, and diversity on boards of directors.

Helen Brand, Chief Executive of ACCA, says: “ACCA welcomes this endorsement that represents an essential move towards enhancing transparency and contributing to smart and sustainable growth. It is an important moment in creating long term competitiveness in Europe and restoring trust of investors and stakeholders. At the same time it needs to be ensured that the administrative burdens are kept to a minimum for public interest entities that would fall under the scope of the directive.

“Certain large undertakings will have to disclose the diversity policies with regard to age, gender, educational and professional background. ACCA strongly supports this requirement as it is one of our core values.

“Transparency drives sustainability. Non-financial and diversity information is critical for companies’ risk management and for their long term perspective. It is especially crucial to have modern European rules in the current economic situation. This is part of how we build sustainable economic governance.”

Recent research from ACCA’s Understanding Investors series, which captured the views of the investor community, found that 93 per cent of investors expressed support for the concept of non-financial reporting in company information.

Helen Brand added: “Today’s investor is sophisticated and will often pay an interest in all of a company’s activities, not only its profits, but there are clearly business benefits too. ACCA research has shown finance chiefs also have a growing appetite for non-financial reporting. The EUs moves towards incorporating this initiative across the continent echoes that sentiment.  

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For more information, please contact:
Vikte Andrijauskaite
vikte.andrijauskaite@accaglobal.com
+32 (0) 2 286 11 37

Notes to Editors

• ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) is the global body for professional accountants. We aim to offer 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.
• We support our 162,000 members and 428,000 students in 173 countries, helping them to develop successful careers in accounting and business, with the skills required by employers. We work through a network of over 89 offices and centres and more than 8,500 Approved Employers worldwide, who provide high standards of employee learning and development. Through our public interest remit, we promote appropriate regulation of accounting and conduct 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. We believe 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. Our values are aligned to the needs of employers in all sectors and we ensure that through our qualifications, we prepare accountants for business. We seek to open up the profession to people of all backgrounds and remove artificial barriers, innovating our qualifications and delivery to meet the diverse needs of trainee professionals and their employers.