New reporting rules require certain large EU companies to include in their management report a non-financial statement. These companies need to begin gathering and auditing information in order to be prepared to publish the required information within good time after the end of the 2017 financial year. Frank Bold recently published a short guide on the Non Financial Reporting Directive that identifies who will be affected and explains how to comply with the new reporting requirements.
The objective of the Directive is to lay the foundation for a new model of corporate reporting that complements financial transparency with environmental and social information necessary to understand a company’s development, performance and position, as well as the impacts of its activities on society. The briefing also explores the implications of the Directive for organisations generally.
If properly implemented, the Directive will help to promote transparency and a stronger corporate governance framework that enables boards to better anticipate challenges and opportunities associated with their company’s business model. Improved and integrated disclosure of both financial and non-financial information leads to better understanding of the role of societal and environmental sustainability for delivering on the twin objectives of creation of real value for customers and wealth for shareholders.
This briefing is for general information only and is not intended to provide legal advice. For further information on the matters outlined in this briefing, please contact Paige Morrow or your usual Frank Bold contact.
The European Parliament has adopted the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which clarifies transparency obligations for large companies operating in the EU on their sustainability impacts, risks, and opportunities. Pursuant to the CSRD, companies across all sectors will report against the European Sustainability Reporting Standards, which were developed by the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), submitted to the European Commission and published on 22 November.
NGOs and civil society groups will only support an ambitious first set of sector-agnostic ESRS that closely builds on the EFRAG drafts adopted last November. They urge the Commission to follow EFRAG’s technical advice alongside 60+ companies and investors worth 651bn USD, and caution against making significant changes at this stage, as this would risk discrediting the process so far and undoing a good compromise.
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