By Adam Batchelor, PICPA vice president - member programs and strategy

Perhaps environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reporting is not yet on the radar at your firm or company, but that could soon change. Forthcoming ESG rules and standards could have a significant impact on the marketplace, presenting a meaningful opportunity – even for smaller firms and companies.

Investors are increasingly using ESG metrics to identify risks and growth opportunities, determine a company’s long-term value, and gauge nonfinancial impacts. ESG has been a topic of discussion for several years, but calls for standardizing ESG reporting have recently grown louder and more numerous, Just last year, the PICPA covered potential reporting requirements in this CPA Now blog and in the Pennsylvania CPA Journal. In addition, we are hosting a one-hour ESG town hall on April 22 (Earth Day!).

The PICPA would like to hear from Pennsylvania CPAs about your awareness, level of interest, and assumptions related to ESG, including your understanding of the impact ESG may have on your firm or company. We’ll use your feedback to create and share resources and to pursue analyses from ESG experts to help members better prepare for how this topic will impact them.

To obtain this feedback, we’re hoping you will take 5 to 10 minutes to complete either our brief survey tailored to public accounting practitioners or the survey for corporate accounting, finance, consulting, and academic professionals. The deadline to complete the survey you choose is March 23.

This project is the first in a series of research and analysis endeavors that we’re calling PICPA Insights. We will be focusing on impactful topics that present significant opportunities for our members to learn, grow, and enhance the profession. We’ll tackle a broad range of topics, including artificial intelligence and automation, the scope and makeup of corporate finance teams, and the innovations driving the future of audit, tax, and advisory services. Pairing feedback from members with expert analysis, we hope to deliver resources that will help members close the gap between where the profession is today and what it will take to thrive tomorrow.

If there is an important topic that you would like us to pursue, let us know! You can email Jim DeLuccia, PICPA’s manager of publications, research, and insights, at JDeLuccia@PICPA.org to share your thoughts.

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