EQUIPPING PROFESSIONAL ACCOUNTANTS FOR SUSTAINABILITY

WHAT’S NEW AND TECHNICAL EXPERTISE BUSINESS ACUMEN

WHAT HASN’T CHANGED

As the accountancy profession prepares

to meet demands for high-quality,
sustainability-related information,
professional accountants, academics
and educators, accountancy firms, and
professional accountancy organizations WE ALREADY: WE ALREADY:
(PAOs) must consider how to close gaps
• Produce high-quality, decision-useful financial reports. • Understand and evaluate changing business models.
in accountancy education programs.
• Interpret non-financial data and information. • Interpret regulatory, industry and other external factors
The good news is that much of what
• Analyze data and information to support management in an entity’s operating context.
professional accountants already do
decision making. • Analyze the impact of strategic business decisions.
is transferable to sustainability-related
services. Other new sustainability- • Evaluate the adequacy of systems, processes and • Develop and assess governance and risk management
related topics and challenges will controls for financial reporting. procedures.
require new ways of thinking and
working. Getting this right will ensure WE WILL: WE WILL:
professional accountants are equipped
• Understand and apply new sustainability-related • Be systems-thinkers who consider the impact of the
to lead on sustainability. reporting and assurance standards and requirements. global sustainability landscape on business models,
As part of IFAC’s focus on the • Establish new ways to measure performance, including value chains, and strategies.
intersection between education science-based metrics and targets. • Recognize the connectivity of financial and
and sustainability—and to help the • Analyze new types of sustainability-related data sets sustainability risks and opportunities.
profession consider what additional and scenarios to support informed decision making. • Evaluate the impact on governance, risk, and
education and training may be performance management.
• Design, implement and evaluate systems, processes and
needed—IFAC has developed this
controls for sustainability-related reporting. • Provide management with sustainability-related
sustainability education framework information to support informed decision making.
• Use judgment and assess materiality for a sustainability
covering what’s new and what hasn’t
context. • Produce high-quality, decision-useful information for a
changed in four key focus areas for
• Produce high-quality, decision-useful sustainability range of external stakeholders.
professional accountants.
disclosures and information.
 BEHAVIORAL COMPETENCE ETHICS AND PROFESSIONAL VALUES

IFAC, with its International Panel on

Accountancy Education, developed
this sustainability education
framework by conducting:

More than 70 discussions with

WE ALREADY: WE ALREADY:
preparers, auditors, investors, academics,
• Train to be analytical thinkers. • Maintain a strong ethical foundation through sustainability professionals, regulators
adherence to the IESBA Code1 together with any and PAOs around the world.
• Demonstrate resilience, flexibility, and intellectual agility
in how we work. national requirements that are more restrictive. A stakeholder survey conducted in
• Attain and maintain professional knowledge and Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, and
• Are intellectually curious and life-long learners.
skills to deliver quality services and protect the public Spanish, which received more than 340
• Build strong interpersonal relationships. interest. responses from 80 countries.
• Work collaboratively across teams, organizations, • Have inquiring minds and exercise professional A literature review, Educating
specialties, and experts. judgment and skepticism. Accountants for a Sustainable Future,
in partnership with the International
WE WILL: WE WILL: Association for Accounting Education
& Research.
• Apply analytical skills and accounting knowledge to new • Apply forthcoming revised and new ethical standards
data types and reporting requirements. for sustainability-related reporting and assurance.
• Utilize critical thinking and problem-solving skills to • Consider ethical threats in the context of sustainability,
EDUCATING ACCOUNTANTS
effectively analyze future scenarios, including risks and including when working with experts and others. FOR A SUSTAINABLE FUTURE

uncertainties, and weigh alternatives. • Use professional judgment and skepticism when
• Be adaptable and agile in developing new knowledge preparing or providing assurance on sustainability-
A Literature Review of
and skills to respond to sustainability-related activities. related disclosures. Competencies, Educational
Strategies, and Challenges
• Further enhance collaboration skills to work effectively in for Sustainability Reporting
and Assurance
multi-disciplinary teams and with a wider range of experts. 1
International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants’ International Code of Ethics
• Communicate clearly and effectively with a wider range for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (‘the
IESBA Code’) is issue by the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants.
of internal and external stakeholders.
JANUARY 2024

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