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ACCA | Sustainability Reporting in ASEAN

Posted by admin1689

ACCA launched a new report – Sustainability Reporting in ASEAN – summarising the current state of play and making recommendations that support regional alignment and competitiveness. We believe this publication will be of significant value to professional accountancy organisations, regulators, and businesses across the region. For your further reference, please refer to the release and the attached full report, which is free to read on their Policy & Insights website.

 

The report sets out a series of observations and recommendations for ASEAN leaders to further advance sustainability practices, including:

  • Supporting the implementation of the ISSB standards as a global and regional baseline, using a building blocks approach to support their implementation.
  • Encouraging member states that remain uncommitted today to bring forward national roadmaps for ISSB implementation.
  • ASEAN economies accounting for 85% of regional GDP have already signalled alignment with ISSB (a ratio far higher than the global picture), and ASEAN should claim a stronger voice in international standard-setting forums.
  • It is vital that the ASEAN approach works for SMEs. The ISSB and other standard‑setters therefore need to keep their standards scalable, while governments and professional bodies further support by sharing tools and templates.
  • Despite the signalled progress towards alignment, effective implementation across ASEAN will depend on a pipeline of trained professionals, adopting international ethics and assurance standards, and supporting the development of robust national oversight frameworks. Urgent and broad-based capacity building in ASEAN is required to support this.

 

ACCA’s campaign approach in 2025:

  • January: As part of Malaysia’s 2025 ASEAN chairmanship, ACCA entered into a knowledge partnership with the ASEAN Business Advisory Council to support the Council’s twelve strategic initiatives to enhance economic integration, inclusivity, and regional collaboration.
  • April: ACCA presented its emerging recommendations to the ASEAN Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governor’s Meeting Kuala Lumpur as part of an EU-ASEAN Business Council delegation.
  • July: ACCA and ASEAN BAC Malaysia launch the ASEAN Sustainability Reporting Advocacy Collective (ASRAC) Statement at the Singapore Business Federation’s ASEAN Conference. The ASRAC grouping also includes the Sustainable Finance Institute Asia (SFIA) and APEC Business Advisory Council Malaysia. At the launch, the Institute of Singapore Charted Accountants (ISCA) and ASEAN BAC Singapore also sign up to the initiative.
  • July: ACCA launches its ‘Sustainability Reporting in ASEAN’ report at the Eco-Business Unlocking Capital for Sustainability Summit in Kuala Lumpur, hosted by Securities Commission Malaysia.
  • August: ACCA will introduce the report to its stakeholders in the Philippines when the Eco-Business Unlocking Capital for Sustainability Summit heads to Manila on 28 August.