New Delhi, Jan 5 (PTI) A significant percentage of finance leaders in India witnessed a transition from traditional financial reporting to an enhanced corporate reporting model that encompasses financials and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting, according to a survey.
As per the 2021 EY Global Corporate Reporting Survey, businesses around the world are strengthening their support for globally consistent and enforced standards on environmental reporting.
The survey gathered the views of over 1,000 finance leaders from companies spanning 14 sectors and 26 countries, including 40 finance leaders from India.
As per the survey report, 80 per cent of finance leaders surveyed in India (74 per cent globally) across some of the world’s major companies said they have witnessed an acceleration in the transition from traditional financial reporting to an enhanced corporate reporting model that encompasses financials and ESG reporting.
The report highlighted how businesses need to adapt in the face of major challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and technological change, to provide enhanced reporting. It also examines the role that finance functions can play in achieving this.
“Today, there is an opportunity for CFOs and financial controllers to build on the agility and innovation as successfully deployed by them during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“They need to continue to demonstrate their strategic role in reframing a new future for finance by building more agile and fluid operating models,” said Sandip Khetan, National Leader and Partner, Financial Accounting Advisory Services (FAAS), EY India.
The survey also highlighted the challenges that companies face in providing useful ESG reporting. Around 38 per cent of finance leaders in India (39 per cent globally) said there is a disconnect between ESG reporting and mainstream financial reporting.
Finance leaders said the foremost barrier to producing useful ESG disclosures is “getting clarity from investors on what they want from ESG reporting”.
In addition, the survey exposed a gap between the views of companies on the usefulness of their reporting and the perspective of investors who use this information to make decisions on their portfolios, the survey said. PTI DRR BAL BAL
