The Relationship Between Financial Reporting and Sustainability Report. The Exposure Draft: IFRS S1 General Requirement for Disclosure of Sustainability-Related Financial Information (From International Sustainability Standard Board) Overcomes the Duality of External Corporate Disclosure

Abstract

On 29 March 2022, the International Sustainability Standard Board (ISSB), an emanation of the IASB, issued two Exposure Drafts: IFRS S1 General Requirement for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosure. This article will only deal with Draft S1, which proposes a vision of corporate disclosure that goes beyond the Financial reporting of the year/Sustainability disclosure dualism. Draft S1 suggests a unitary corporate communication that, at the same time, disseminates a set of documents to be considered as a whole concerning the company's financial situation, assets and liabilities, income and the actions and strategies implemented concerning sustainability. This proposal proposes a model of global corporate reporting rather than a fragmented one, as is often the case in companies in many countries. However, even in the vision of Draft S1, the presence of the financial statements remains separate from the document providing information on sustainability, even if interpreted as a unitary means of communication. It should also be noted that the sustainability report requires the disclosure of financial data related to the implementation of sustainable policies.