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The Global Accounting Alliance (GAA) alongside the ICAEW have launched a new guide to help address the “urgent need” for the accounting profession to integrate nature-related issues into its work.
The guide, ‘Why Nature Matters To Accountants’, explores how nature risk is linked to financial risk, and how nature connects to the professional responsibilities of accountants.
It also provides guidance on how to integrate nature into work across a range of different functions. It has been written for accountants working in business and in practice, particularly for board members, senior managers, analysts, report preparers and auditors, to underscore the urgent need for action as the planet faces an “unprecedented nature crisis”.
By identifying the key actions that can be taken and integrating nature across business functions – from finance to reporting, and from risk management to strategy – organisations can benefit from improved resilience and value creation through a more sustainable, nature-positive business model.
Alan Vallance, ICAEW chief executive and GAA board member, said: “On World Wildlife Day, we are reminded of the critical role that nature plays in supporting our economies and societies – and, with nature declining faster than at any time in human history, this is bad news for businesses and our finance system.
“Accountants play a key role in helping the businesses they advise and lead in getting on top of the agenda and navigating a way forward. We are proud to have developed this practical guide for accountants to use to integrate nature across their work. The launch of this guide is a timely and essential step, helping accountants to build business resilience and value by embedding nature into their work – while also enabling the business to contribute to a sustainable, nature-positive future.”
The guide follows the GAA’s October 2024 report, ‘Nature is Everyone’s Business: the GAA’s Progress and Pathway to 2030’, which set out a series of actions to accelerate collective progress in line with the global 2030 nature targets in the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
