Directive on Obligatory Non-Financial Reporting

21.12.2017.

This November, GRI, CSR Europe and Accountancy Europe have prepared a comprehensive overview of how Member States are implementing the EU Directive on Non-financial and Diversity Information. The document analyses and checks information on the local transpositions of the EU Directive 2014/95. The publication is a conclusive milestone in the follow up on the EU Directive transposition across Member States...

21.11.2017.

In the beginning of November, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) revealed links between tax havens and more than 120 politicians and world leaders, over 100 multinational corporations and a large group of wealthy individuals. The disclosure, called the Paradise Documents, includes 13.4 million documents originating mainly from company Appleby, operating in a tax haven and from business registers of many tax havens.

27.10.2017.

For year 2017, the developments in the field of CSR and sustainability reporting are considerably connected with the environment. The end of 2015 was marked by COP 21, resulting in Paris Agreement – a strong statement on the environmental course we wish to take globally. Though the obligations connected to it are generally self-imposed, it was a disheartening development when in June the US government made the decision to withdraw from the Agreement...

22.08.2017.

Sustainable, socially responsible or ESG (environmental, social and governance) investing is on the rise. A recent survey from Morgan Stanley Institute for Sustainable Investing has found that millennials are leading the way with nearly nine in ten (86%) of them being interested in sustainable investing.
Sustainable investing is the practice of making investments in companies or funds which aim to achieve market-rate financial returns while pursuing positive social and/or environmental impact.

30.06.2017.

When in 1869 the Committee on Stock List of the New York Stock and Exchange Board introduced mandatory publication of annual financial statements for companies seeking listing, companies’ executives vigorously pushed back defining publicity requirements “arbitrary and unreasonable”. Those who were already listed on the NYSE ignored the new requirement, as it wasn’t included in their listing agreement, but newly listed companies started to publish financial statements.

30.06.2017.

If 15 years ago the challenge was measuring and gathering data beyond the sole financial dimension, today technological improvements, software packages, and information and management control systems have largely filled this gap. Non-financial measures made their first entrance in the accounting systems through the popular Balanced Scorecard, firstly introduced by Kaplan and Norton (1996)...

27.04.2017.

Reporting on Corporate Social Responsibility is not only about leadership, people in the community and their lives or transparency. It is also about having fun!

25.04.2017.

The ABIS member Solvay, as a signatory member of the UN Global Compact, is already implementing the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in its daily business with its products and solutions. Solvay is committed to continue to advance those principles within its sphere of influence by incorporating the UN Global Compact and its principles within its strategy, culture and day-to-day operations.

28.03.2017.

Following the adoption of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by Governments in late 2015 a number of companies have been thinking about how to incorporate them into their integrated reports and strategies. The SDG Compass developed by the GRI, UNGC and WBCSD is full of (rather obvious) advice (“goal setting is critical to business success”, p5; “It is important to define the baseline for each goal”, p 18, etc).

24.03.2017.

The ABIS member ABN AMRO is the first financial institution in the world to publish a human rights report based on the reporting framework of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

16.03.2017.

On March 16th European Parliament adopted a new law obliging importers of minerals to ensure that their business does not contribute to armed conflicts in certain areas of the world.

02.03.2017.

There are plenty of topics. All that remains is choosing the ones that are the most important for the company stakeholders and the company itself. The report should describe what has happened during a so-called reporting period. It is defined as the time period for which the company describes its results – usually one calendar year.

02.03.2017.

The tool which is most commonly used to prepare reports on corporate responsibility are the Global Reporting Initiative Guidelines. These guidelines can be used to write the report by any company or organisation. Using them is free. As a supplement to these guidelines, there are several manuals specially prepared and published for individual types of business (e.g. the mining industry or banks).

Time flies when it comes to upcoming regulation. The 15th of April 2014 appears so distant in the past. On that Tuesday, The European Parliament adopted the now famous Directive on the disclosure of non-financial information by large companies in the EU.

Now, we are less than a month away from the hard deadline for the transposition of the Directive in national laws (6th December 2016). As other EU member countries, Italy is in the final stages of drafting the transposition law for the Directive.

While CSR is considered to be an important business competence in Germany, innovation has as much significance in leading companies and the country towards a sustainable future. It is more and more expected that companies improve their CSR processes and programs by integrating innovation as a complementary element.

Entrepreneurship and innovation are two concepts that go hand in hand. Entrepreneurs translate ideas into novel products, services or business models and processes. While starting up their businesses, corporate responsibility is usually not in the agenda of entrepreneurs.

A harmony between companies’ actions and their stakeholders’ expectations is becoming the highest priority for companies in today’s world. Increasingly more companies are becoming aware of the risks and opportunities that responsible entrepreneurship entails for companies’ reputation.

In March 2017, Slovenian parliament adopted the amendments to the Companies Act, which transpose the provisions of European Directive on Obligatory Non-Financial Reporting into Slovenian legal order.