There are few issues in the world today more important than climate change. We have been slow to react, despite persistent warnings from scientists and growing numbers of extreme weather events.
Governments have been hampered by politicization of the issue, leading to much talk and little real action. But hope springs from an unexpected source – companies reacting to pressure from investors and other stakeholders to take concrete steps to help with climate control. They are becoming increasingly accountable to those stakeholders for their actions in this regard. This has turned the spotlight to Environmental, Sustainability and Governance (ESG) reporting.
ESG reporting has been a part of corporate reporting for several years, but there has been a confusing variety of standards and other guidance. Properly developed, maintained and generally accepted ESG standards by the accounting profession have been largely absent, until recently. The establishment of the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and the Value Reporting Foundation should change all that.
In the Fall Issue of ThinkTWENTY20, Alan Willis, FCA writes an extensive paper describing the standards and guidance that have evolved over recent years. It is essential reading for anyone interested in this area.
Another important issue for today’s financial professions is the implementation of Artificial Intelligence. For this issue, Gundi Jeffrey interviewed the MNP LLP about their progress to date. And Jaydeep Shah offers up a penetrating explanation of AI and its relationship with RPA. Also, Ed Hall provides a practical example of an AI based system being used to negotiate debt settlements.
Among the other articles, David Wray, author of the Amazon best-selling book The Power of Potential: A Straightforward Method for Mastering Skills from Personal to Professional gives us a compelling approach to improving our skills, a topic that is so important in this age of skill enhancement and re-skilling.
Eric Cohen provides valuable insight into the workings of cryptocurrencies, an area that continues to influence thinking on monetary control and management. And Jonathan Andrews provides a comprehensive review of Mark Carney’s book Values, which challenges the meaning of monetary as well as societal values.
As always, we strive to delve deeply into current issues and, we hope, help our readers reach a greater understanding of them. Your feedback is always welcome and can be sent to info@thinktwenty20.com. The Fall Edition of ThinkTWENTY20 can be found at https://thinktwenty20.com/images/Issues/Fall_2021_Issue.pdf
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