Because People Count

In our third episode of season three we continue our discussion on sustainability reporting standards with Accountancy Europe's senior manager Paul Gisby, this time with a focus on governments, mainly excluded from our last debate.

Governments make up a major part of the world economy with currently no internationally accepted standard for sustainability reporting, or for other elements of NFI reporting. Therefore it is crucial for the public sector to be held accountable through sustainable reporting standards tp help us reach our global climate goals. Tune in to hear how this necessary change for the public sector is a pillar of Accountancy Europe's Green Recovery Counts campaign and how we are working on pushing for more action from national governments in public sector NFI and sustainability reporting.

Have a listen to what would happen if governments were obliged to do sustainability reporting and what kind of difference that could make in helping us achieve global climate goals. And how can we go about putting the wheels in motion for this?

Stay tuned to hear more about updates on EU financial and non-financial matters and follow us on iTunes, Spotify and more!

For further information on the podcast, please contact: [email protected]

Photo Credit: Accountancy Europe, 2021

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Season three continues with our very own Jona Basha, Senior manager at Accountancy Europe, and a look into sustainability reporting standards. She answers crucial questions about the sustainability reporting standards and how they make a difference.

Unlike financial reporting, which is based on a globally trusted set of standards, sustainability reporting is still fragmented. Many competing options of what to report on emerged over the years. These varying ‘standards’ allowed companies to cherry pick the standard that would show them in the best light. But where does this leave the global debate? Is the EU striking out on its own?

Jona takes us on a deep dive into the political debate around how and who should develop these standards. We also look at where the process stands and how it could best achieve its goals.

Stay tuned to hear more about updates on EU financial and non-financial matters and follow us on iTunes, Spotify and more!

For further information on the podcast, please contact: [email protected]

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We kick off season three with a look at how our sustainable future begins with corporate reporting. How can that be, you might ask?

Nadja Picard, Global Reporting Leader at PwC Germany joins us to answer some crucial questions about the future of corporate reporting.

Many companies are already going beyond the financials, but without harmonisation in non-financial reporting standards, this can very easily lead to greenwashing, as companies choose to report only the non-financial information that makes the company look good.

We spoke with Nadja on how financial and non-financial reporting has to come together to give a more accurate picture on company performance. She also discusses how EU efforts and global non-financial reporting standards will have to be aligned and why.

Stay tuned to hear more about updates on EU financial and non-financial matters and follow us on iTunes, Spotify and more!

For further information on the podcast, please contact: [email protected]

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Before the summer break, we present you a special episode at the end of this season: On June 21 Accountancy Europe held a virtual fireside chat between European Parliament Vice-President Heidi Hautala and Olivier Boutellis-Taft, CEO of Accountancy Europe, which we turned into a podcast episode.

In anticipation of the Commission’s proposals on Sustainable Corporate Governance, Heidi Hautala and Olivier Boutellis-Taft discussed the expected reform and how it can drive the transition to a sustainable economy.

They touched on what the European Parliament is doing and why it’s now the duty of the Commission to be more ambitious and make the corporate governance revolution a success in this crucial final decade of climate change.

Hear now how the charismatic Heidi Hautala also puts the accountancy profession in the hot seat to answer how our profession can make the next “Brussel moment” happen!

Watch the video of the Fireside chat here.

For further information on the podcast, please contact: [email protected]

Photo Credit: European Union, 2021

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The modern economy is flawed. It tends to ignore non-financial ‘externalities’, like the environment, when considering a company’s bottom line. As a result, our planet is at risk of massive environmental degradation.

However, accountants can adapt and flip the balance sheet. We speak with Andrew Watson, co-founder of Rethinking Capital, about how this shift in accounting practices could hold the key to changing our economy. Listen now to hear how simple it is to bring sustainability into the heart of business. 

Links to check out:

Rethinking Capital

Rethinking Capital paper: Constrained by Accounting

Rethinking Capital paper: Constrained by Economics

For further information on the podcast, please contact: [email protected]

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We’ve covered the shift to sustainable corporate governance from a variety of angles on the podcast so far, and now we turn to the private sector to see what companies are doing. After all, they are a major player to get us beyond “business as usual”. 

In this episode, we spoke with Karim Hajjar, Chief Financial Officer of Solvay. He shared with us not only Solvay’s experience of integrating sustainability into its business practices, but also his own personal story of why he believes that value must include more than just the financial bottom line.

On June 21 we will also hold an event on corporate governance with MEP Heidi Hautala as a guest. Further information and registration can be found here.

But first listen to our latest episode, in which we embrace corporate vulnerability as it could mean the end of greenwashing!

Links to check out:

Sustainable Corporate Governance - A fireside chat with MEP Heidi Hautala

Paper: 10 ideas to make corporate governance a driver of a sustainable economy

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Everyone is talking about the BEIS consultation into "Restoring trust in audit and corporate governance" in the UK.

To dig deeper into this consultation, we invited Mark Babington, the Executive Director of Regulatory Standards from the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) to share with us what is in the consultation and the work that FRC has done in the area of audit reform.

Listen now and find out more about how the consultation addresses all aspects of corporate governance!

Links to check out:

BEIS consultation: Restoring trust in Audit and Corporate Governance

FRC website

FRC: webinars, blogs, podcasts

Podcast Episode: Get your seat at the top table

Podcast Episode: The EU & the fight against financial crime (Part 1)

Podcast Episode: Accountants & the fight against financial crime (Part 2)

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The core of every business is its ideas, concepts and know-how. Protecting this intellectual property (IP) is standard for large companies, but is often still a mystery for SMEs. In this episode, we speak to the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO), whose mission is to help businesses register their IP. Our guests Andrea Di Carlo, Deputy Executive Director and Inge Buffolo, Director of the Customer Department, explain to us why so few SMEs protect their IP and how the new EUIPO program “Ideas powered for business” can be the solution.

But where does the accountancy profession fit in?

According to data from EUIPO, accountants are the most trusted advisor for SMEs and they can play a critical role in setting SMEs up for success through the protection of their IP. At the same time, this offers new opportunities for the accountancy profession, to become holistic business advisors to their clients.

If this episode has piqued your interest, we would like to welcome you to our joint event with EUIPO on May 4th. Further information on the event and registration will follow shortly.

Links to check out:

EUIPO program “Ideas powered for business”

EUIPO website 

Follow-up paper: SME risk management - Insolvency

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For the first time we interview two guests for the podcast: Myles Thompson, President of Accountancy Europe and Mark Vaessen, Deputy President of Accountancy Europe. Myles is our go-to expert on audit and has been leading our work on fraud and going concern. Mark is focused on making harmonised, integrated non-financial information reporting standards for corporate reporting a reality.

We talked about the momentum and the speed of change in both audit and corporate reporting, both are in the global spotlight and are more relevant than ever.

Myles and Mark are challenging the profession to become bolder. They call on auditors to get outside of their comfort zone. After this episode one thing is sure, it has never been more exciting to be a part of the accountancy profession! Listen now.

Links to check out:

Going concern: recommendations to strengthen the financial reporting ecosystem

Fraud: recommendations to strengthen the financial reporting ecosystem

Podcast: Without human capital, there is no capital

Follow-up paper: Interconnected standard setting for corporate reporting

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As the Covid-19 pandemic and remote working continue into 2021, we cover mental health at work in this episode. We spoke to Vic Petri, CEO and Founder of Performance Innovations and former Partner at PwC, to learn about how to maintain motivation and drive. He was a global lead on human capital, focused on resolving mental health issues to guide teams to better performance and a healthier work environment. He discusses how to face mental health issues during an ongoing worldwide pandemic and also how the accountancy profession must embrace change to be ready for the future. He urges a fundamental shift in the leadership paradigm, where the leader serves the team, not the other way around.

Tune in if you want to know what the accountancy profession can learn from the military and sport teams, and why our biggest goal should be to be ‘in flow’. 

Links to check out:

Performance Innovations

Vic Petri on LinkedIn

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