Today, consumers and governments are sharpening their focus on ethical and sustainability issues. Buying habits are changing. Regulations are tightening. And businesses are under increasing scrutiny about their impact on society from the media, consumers, governments and their own employees.

Digital advances such as the use of AI have introduced new ethical complexities to the evolving business world - and businesses should identify and manage these to survive.

The profession must be ready to lead the ethical debate on all this change, and use its leading knowledge in ethical issues, combined with a wider view of business success that covers financial, ethical, digital, and sustainability issues.

ACCA is at the leading edge of this change, working with our partners to equip our students and members with the right tools, skills and knowledge to succeed. Ethics and professionalism is essentially about doing the right thing. Now, the urgency is steadily intensifying to make good decisions to address the world's climate emergency. Record rainfall, longer droughts and destruction from hurricanes are just a few of the weather patterns that are having a devastating impact on the world.

Climate Week was held in New York in late September alongside the United Nations Climate Summit, and at the start of the week at a joint event co-hosted with IFAC, called 'creating value in a climate emergency', ACCA launched a new report called Social and Environmental Value Creation.

This report calls for more concerted action to deal with the challenges of social and environmental value creation. It examines the role of business in environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues which are under increasing scrutiny from investors and society more widely.

It also assesses the current state of corporate disclosures on key social and environmental issues in different regions around the world and outlines five disclosure and decision-making approaches that can support business to create inclusive and sustainable value for society over the long-term.-PR

Copyright Business Recorder, 2019