CGMA: Creating a Sustainable Future: The role of the accountant in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals

The CGMA has released this paper to assist organizations that are starting their integrated reporting journey on how to implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals into an integrated report. The paper identifies key areas to consider when preparing an integrated report and offers internal structures, planning and processes.

Business has a fundamental role to play in delivering against the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and their 169 associated targets. The skillsets, organisational role and ethical commitment of management accountants across the world place members of the profession at the forefront of planning and implementation.

The SDGs are set to help businesses face up to several key challenges in the years ahead – managing reputational risk, responding to ‘megatrends’ like globalisation and digitisation, and meeting investor demand for greater reporting transparency.

These are all areas where management accountants, at every level, have a key role to play, from proposing the business case for pursuing appropriate SDGs to Board-level alignment of sustainability initiatives with corporate activities.