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Evolving corporate reporting landscape: Integrated reporting, sustainability reporting and ESG reporting

Find out about the three sets of voluntary reporting and related guidance: integrated reporting, sustainability reporting and ESG reporting.

With growing demands from investors and other stakeholders for more information and transparency from companies, the corporate reporting landscape is changing. There is a push for more voluntary reporting by companies on their priorities, plans and performance related to sustainability (environmental, social, economic) and their value creation over time.

This briefing is an excellent starting point for gaining a broad view of sustainability reporting, integrated reporting and ESG reporting suggested for U.S. filings.

It is a valuable resource for:

  • preparers and reporting teams
  • boards of directors
  • audit committees
  • investor relations officers
  • legal counsel
  • practitioners
  • investor analysts

This briefing also discusses how these sets of guidance compare to each other and to management’s discussion and analysis (MD&A), in particular to the principles and disclosure framework in Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada)’s MD&A Guidance.

Topics include:

  • discussion of the evolving corporate reporting landscape in a Canadian and global context
  • overview of the three types of voluntary reporting and reporting frameworks and guidance related to each type:
    • sustainability reporting and the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines
    • integrated reporting and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) Integrated Reporting Framework
    • environmental, social and governance disclosures in SEC filings and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board’s (SASB) Standards

Discussion of each type of reporting guidance will:

  • describe the reporting subject matter and its related purpose
  • outline the intended users of this reported information
  • provide the source of the guidance/framework/standard
  • outline at a high level the structure and key features of the reporting guidance
  • describe the level of acceptance and uptake of the guidance
  • discuss the alignment of the guidance with MD&A reporting relative to the 2014 CPA publication Management’s Discussion and Analysis: Guidance on preparation and disclosure
  • compare the three voluntary types of reporting guidance at a high level