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CFOs launch guidance for finance teams ahead of COP26 to support board action on sustainable business

To equip chief financial officers (CFOs) and finance teams with the tools to drive action on sustainability within their organizations, an international group of CFOs, part of Accounting for Sustainability (A4S), have launched the ‘Essential Guide to Engaging the Board and Executive Management’.

LONDON / TORONTO, October 29, 2021 – To equip chief financial officers (CFOs) and finance teams with the tools to drive action on sustainability within their organizations, an international group of CFOs, part of Accounting for Sustainability (A4S), have launched the ‘Essential Guide to Engaging the Board and Executive Management’.

With the impacts of climate change continuing to intensify, there is a growing need for businesses to integrate sustainability considerations into all levels of decision making. The guide empowers organizations with a roadmap to make meaningful and long-lasting change.

With detailed guidance, step-by-step checklists and case studies, this guide illustrates how finance teams can use regular board activities to embed social and environmental risk and opportunity into strategy and decision making. Focusing on a three-step process of ‘prepare’, ‘engage’ and ‘embed and improve’, the guide highlights four key areas where a finance team can influence its board and executive management: business strategy and planning; governance and risk management; corporate development and investment; and corporate reporting and internal controls.

The CFOs developing the guidance are part of the Canadian Chapter of the A4S CFO Leadership Network, which is supported by Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada (CPA Canada).

Jessica Fries, Chairman of A4S commented, “In the run up to COP26 we are hearing a lot of words and commitments, but how can we tell what constitutes real change within a business? Action on climate change and other pressing social and environmental issues can’t be done through a project here or there, it needs to be engrained within the structure of a business, starting at the top. This guide will help organizations do just that – by helping finance teams to communicate sustainability as a driver of value and ensure it is placed at the very heart of a company’s governance and strategy.

“The guide offers practical solutions and examples to enable CFOs and finance teams to make sustainable business, business as usual.”

“As the guide demonstrates, accounting professionals, executives and board of directors have a responsibility to ensure that strategy around sustainability is clearly defined, implemented and improved from the very top of an organization,” said Charles-Antoine St-Jean, CPA Canada President and CEO. “We hope the guide encourages discussion among all communities from investors to employees on this critical issue.”

The guide shows how an engaged board and executive management can bring a myriad of financial benefits to a business, including growth opportunities, cost savings, an improved organizational reputation, increased investor interest and access to new sources of finance.

Practical examples included in the guide are from organizations such as British Land, Brookfield, Manulife, TELUS, Watercare and Yorkshire Water, all demonstrating how fostering board and executive engagement has helped reshape and increase sustainability within their organizations. 

The full guide can be found at cpacanada.ca/A4SEngagingTheBoard.