World Accounting Report
Editorial
Last month saw the launch of the European Reporting Lab at a conference in Brussels. Vice-president Dombrovskis gave the keynote
speech explaining how the Commission had given EFRAG the task of establishing a Lab as one of the key objectives in its 2018
Action Plan on Sustainability. The idea is that enhanced corporate reporting will enable investors to distinguish between
companies that have sustainable business practices and those that do not and, if necessary, shift their investments in favour
of the former group. In the first instance, the Lab’s focus is on climate-related disclosures and a project task force has
already begun work. The goal is to stimulate innovations in the field of corporate reporting by identifying and sharing best
practices. However, this is easier said than done as the Financial Stability Board’s Task Force on Climate-Related Financial
Disclosures has already done excellent work in this field. Richard Howitt, now CEO at the International Integrated Reporting
Council, who promoted and supported the Non-Financial Reporting (NFR) Directive as an MEP in Brussels, gave a speech in which
he made clear that he considers it is corporate reporting rather than financial reporting that matters. Although the NFR Directive
provides a strong foundation, if better reporting is going to help Europe attain its Paris Climate Change targets by 2030,
there is much to do and it has to be done fast. The conference generated plenty of ideas for the Lab and it will be interesting
to see how they are translated into practice.