ISCA Releases Sustainability Reporting Implementation Roadmap to Help Companies in Their Sustainability Reporting Journey

19 September, 2017 – Despite the advantages of adopting sustainability reporting practices, many business owners and board directors continue to view sustainability reporting as merely a compliance exercise. They also have the mindset that over-disclosure could result in leakage of trade secrets and loss of competitive advantage. These were comments from Chief Financial Officers (CFOs) at the CFOs for Sustainability Reporting roundtable discussion, organised by the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) in July this year.

To help new or early-stage Sustainability Reporting adopters kick-start their sustainability reporting journey, ISCA has developed a Sustainability Reporting Implementation Roadmap. The roadmap seeks to provide practical guidance on sustainability reporting implementation process as well as key considerations for the company’s first sustainability report.

The Singapore Exchange (SGX) requires listed companies to produce a sustainability report on a “comply or explain” basis from the financial year ending on, or after 31 Dec 2017.

The roadmap includes a compilation of questions asked by the early-stage sustainability reporting implementers in the market. These questions centre around practical implementation challenges faced, based on discussions with ISCA’s Corporate Reporting Committee and Sustainability Reporting Working Group.

ISCA’s Chief Executive Officer, Mr Lee Fook Chiew, said: “The true value of Sustainability Reporting lies in how businesses are able to successfully integrate sustainability within their business strategies, operations and processes. As the concept of Sustainability Reporting may be new to many, we developed the roadmap to help organisations formulate and execute their plans to achieve a smooth implementation of sustainability reporting.”

"Every journey starts with a first step, and sustainability reporting is no different. The new Sustainability Reporting Implementation Roadmap is a guide for companies embarking on their journey or seeking a path to better reporting, for the benefit of investors and societal stakeholders," said Mr Tan Wah Yeow, ISCA Corporate Reporting Committee Chairman. “Those with the experience will tell you that it is a marathon and not a sprint. The process takes time, effort and resources - but the results are also rewarding. It helps companies refine their stakeholder engagement, business strategy and operations.”

The roadmap is designed to promote thinking and discussion around sustainability reporting, and helps early adopters decide which aspects of sustainability are most important to their business.

The roadmap provides step-by-step guidance and by breaking down the process into six phases – planning, materiality assessment, target setting, data collection, report preparation and assurance.

To download the ISCA Sustainability Reporting Implementation Roadmap go to http://isca.org.sg/documents/sr-implementation-roadmap/

For the ISCA Sustainability Reporting Roundtable Report “Chief Financial Officers for Sustainability Reporting” visit http://isca.org.sg/documents/sr-roundtable-report2017

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For media queries, please contact:

Betsy Tan, Senior Communications Manager
Email: betsy.tan@isca.org.sg
HP: 96416920

Notes to Editor

About the Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants

The Institute of Singapore Chartered Accountants (ISCA) is the national accountancy body of Singapore. ISCA’s vision is to be a globally recognised professional accountancy body, bringing value to our members, the profession and wider community. There are over 32,000 ISCA members making their stride in businesses across industries in Singapore and around the world.

Established in 1963, ISCA is an advocate of the interests of the profession. Possessing a Global Mindset, with Asian Insights, ISCA leverages its regional expertise, knowledge, and networks with diverse stakeholders to contribute towards Singapore’s transformation into a global accountancy hub.

ISCA is the Administrator of the Singapore CA Qualification and the Designated Entity to confer the Chartered Accountant of Singapore - CA (Singapore) - designation.

ISCA is a member of Chartered Accountants Worldwide (CAW). CAW brings together 11 chartered accountancy bodies connecting and representing the interests of over 1.6 million members and students globally.