Subscribe to the Bombay Chartered Accountant Journal Subscribe Now!

April 2008

Accountants must sharpen up on climate

By Raman Jokhakar, Tarunkumar Singhal, Chartered Accountants
Reading Time 1 mins

New Page 4

2. Accountants must sharpen up on climate


Accountants have been ‘part of the problem’ in contributing
to climate change and now need to become part of the solution, Sir Michael Peat,
the Prince of Wales’ Private Secretary has warned.

Addressing a CIPFA sustainability conference on February 27,
Peat said accountants had ‘failed to develop the new accounting systems and
techniques needed to address the sustainability revolution’.

‘The accountancy profession’s failure to point out that
mankind is living off the world’s capital is the greatest accounting failure
ever seen,’ Peat told delegates.

All organisations needed to have a connected reporting
framework to ensure sustainability performance was reported more clearly,
concisely and consistently. ‘If it is not measured, it is not done,’ he said.

Peat called on all organisations to look at their decision-making processes and
policies that require senior management sign-off and ensure that sustainability
factors were clearly set out. ‘Are you giving equal weight to sustainability as
to general financial factors ?’ he asked.

(Source : Internet Editions, 29-2-2008)

Download PDF

You May Also Like

Behave yourself

India, Mauritius in talks to counter treaty shopping