Karen McWilliams FCA, Sustainability and Business Reform Leader explains why smaller and medium sized practice Members should care and the impact heading their way.

Listen on Apple podcast, Spotify, Google Podcasts.

Chartered Accountants play a key role in contributing to sustainable business, sustainability related disclosures and accompanying reporting for important decision making. Professional accountants also have a responsibility to act in the public interest and advance the profession.

We’re passionate about empowering members in this space and also taking action as a membership body. Our sustainability action plan has a core focus on supporting members to play a key role as professional accountants.

As members of the UN Global Compact Network Australia and Accounting for Sustainability, we are committed to contributing to the UN Sustainable Development Goals and other important sustainability matters.  

Shaping the future

CAs are integral to shaping the future and helping organisations understand past performance and provide insight into what the future might hold.

Accounting for Sustainability. From Sustainability to Business Resilience, a publication from the International Federation of Accountants, clarifies the important role accountants can, and must, play in embracing sustainability to ensure that businesses become more resilient by linking sustainability to a broader business agenda and strategy. 

Sustainability Management Advisory Committee (SMAC) 

The sustainability management advisory committee (SMAC) consisting of members who work in, advise, or have a special interest in sustainability matters. They provide expert feedback to CA ANZ on practical sustainability matters and facilitates the exchange of knowledge about useful tools and resources for our membership. The committee helps to shape our advocacy efforts by providing feedback for consultations as well as raising awareness of the important role our members play in sustainability. All committee members act in their individual capacity as CA ANZ members. 

UN Sustainable Development Goals 

The UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are 17 goals for the period 2016-2039, covering all aspects of sustainable development from poverty and climate change to innovation and economic growth. Agreed upon by all 193 UN member states, the SDGs explicitly call on all businesses to apply their creativity and innovation to help solve these sustainable development challenges. They enable leading companies to demonstrate how their business helps to advance sustainable development such as: identifying future business opportunities, enhancing the value of corporate sustainability and strengthening stakeholder relations.