Representatives of major groups and the accounting industry voiced their concerns about the implementation of the European Sustainable Reporting Standards (‘ESRS’) (see EUROPE 13288/27), on Tuesday 28 November, at a conference organised by the ‘European Financial Reporting Advisory Group’ (EFRAG), which developed the standards.
The deadline is approaching, as the CSRD Directive, which sets out the principles governing ESRS, requires large companies to draw up their first sustainability report in 2025, based on data from 2024.
For Luc Vansteenkiste, Chair of the EuropeanIssuers association, which represents the interests of companies listed on European stock exchanges, companies do not currently have the skills to collect the data that will be required. “The EU can be proud of having developed standards in such a (short) period of time, but implementation is the problem for companies”, he stressed. “They don’t have the engineers for the tech solutions that could help them to collect the data”, he explained.
“Data is the dark horse in the room”, added Eelco van der Enden, Chair of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), an independent body which also sets standards for sustainable reporting.
For his part, Mark Vaessen, President of Accountancy Europe, which represents European accountants, auditors and consultants, drew attention to the fact that companies are running out of time, which adds a certain amount of “pressure”.
In her keynote speech, the Commissioner for Financial Services, Mairead McGuinness, welcomed the launch of an online Q&A platform, “that stakeholders can go to ask practical questions and get practical answers”.
Chiara Del Prete, Chair of EFRAG’s Sustainability Reporting Technical Expert Group (EFRAG SR TEG), said that the first implementation guidance was ready for publication. Two other documents will subsequently be published on the analysis and assessment of materiality. The first will illustrate the content that will be expected from companies to explain how to validate the requirements, and the second will provide answers to the most frequently asked questions about these two models.
The panellists confirmed their need for advice. “We must avoid companies seeing ESRS as penalties”, warned Mr Vansteenkiste, calling for “respect for the identity of companies”.
For Mr Vaessen, national standards bodies should play an important role in helping companies. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)