The Prince of Wale’s Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S) and the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) have formed the International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC).
The IIRC’s aim is to create a globally accepted framework for accounting for sustainability. A framework which brings together financial, environmental, social and governance information in a clear, concise, consistent, comparable and integrated format.
Every publicly listed company is required to file an annual report on its financial performance in compliance with, in most cases, either International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) or U.S. Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (U.S. GAAP). Increasingly companies are also producing, mostly on a voluntary basis, corporate social responsibility or sustainability reports but these can vary widely in terms of relevance and quality, largely because there is no global standard for measuring and reporting on environmental, social and governance performance.
“To make our economy sustainable we have to relearn everything we have learnt from the past. That means making more from less and ensuring that governance, strategy and sustainability are inseparable" said Professor Mervyn King, Chairman of the GRI. "Integrated Reporting builds on the practice of Financial Reporting, and Environmental, Social and Governance - or ESG - Reporting, and equips companies to strategically manage their operations, brand and reputation to stakeholders and be better prepared to manage any risk that may compromise the long-term sustainability of the business."
The IIRC brings together a cross section of representatives from corporate, accounting, securities, regulatory, NGO, IGO and standard-setting sectors.
The Steering Committee is chaired by Sir Michael Peat, Principal Private Secretary to TRH The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall, with Professor Mervyn King, Chairman, King Committee on Corporate Governance and Chairman, Global Reporting Initiative, as Deputy Chairman. The Working Group has co-chairmen: Paul Druckman, A4S Executive Board Chairman, and Ian Ball, Chief Executive Officer, International Federation of Accountants.
