Businesses Worldwide Grappling with ESG Reporting Complexity, According to New Survey by Workiva
22 August 2023 - 2:00PM
Business Wire
According to the 2023 Global ESG Practitioner Survey,
commissioned by Workiva Inc. (NYSE: WK), 71% of ESG practitioners
surveyed say three or more internal teams contribute to ESG
reporting within their organizations. Further, 74% say their
companies have appointed at least one employee to oversee ESG
reporting and initiatives, up 6% over the previous year, and the
same percentage expect their organizations will be required to
comply with two or more global regulations. Together, these results
illustrate the increasing significance of ESG in corporate
reporting and underscore the complexity of ensuring accurate and
assured data in ESG reports.
The 2023 Global ESG Practitioner Survey polled more than 900
professionals with knowledge of ESG reporting at their respective
organizations. The survey was developed with Alex Edmans, Professor
of Finance at London Business School, and builds upon Workiva’s
2022 Global ESG Practitioner Survey, which explored challenges and
opportunities in ESG reporting.
“It’s no secret ESG is receiving heightened attention in
boardrooms or that increasingly complex frameworks, standards and
regulations are presenting new challenges in ESG reporting,” said
Edmans. “What struck me from the survey results is the dichotomy
between practitioners of all levels agreeing they find value in ESG
reporting while managers in the trenches are saying their companies
are not applying the same diligence to ESG reporting as they do to
financial reporting.”
Executives and Employees Don’t See Eye to Eye The survey
uncovered a disparity in perceptions across seniority levels. While
62% of c-level executives strongly agree that their companies apply
the same level of diligence to ESG reporting as they do to
financial reporting, only 32% of managers and senior managers share
the same sentiment. Likewise, 87% of executives say their
organizations have appointed someone to an ESG-specific role,
compared to just 68% of managers who say the same.
This suggests a significant disconnect between senior leadership
and staff and could mean businesses are not fully prepared to
comply with emerging regulation, supporting the results of an
earlier survey commissioned by Workiva and PwC.
Reporting and Technology Fuel Value in ESG Despite this
disconnect, ESG practitioners overwhelmingly agree that there is
value to be found in ESG reporting, with 90% of survey respondents
stating that in the next two years having a strong ESG reporting
program will give their organizations a competitive advantage.
Additionally, results may indicate the longer a company has been
reporting on ESG, the more likely they are to have realized a
return on their ESG initiatives. Respondents from organizations
that have been reporting on ESG for five years or longer are more
likely to say ESG has generated cost savings and improved brand
awareness and/or reputation for their companies, compared to those
that have been reporting on ESG issues for two years or less.
Finally, there is a growing belief among practitioners that
technology is a key component of ESG reporting. Nearly all survey
respondents (95%) agree having adequate technology is critical to
successfully managing the ESG reporting process, a 19% increase
over last year’s survey, and 97% agree that access to technology
and data will play an essential role in making decisions to advance
their ESG strategy.
“The survey reinforces what customers share with us every day at
Workiva. Though investors and regulation remain top of mind,
practitioners know there is more to ESG reporting than responding
to external demand. Done well, ESG reporting unveils opportunity
and empowers executives with a vision for the future that sets them
apart from their competitors in the eyes of their customers,
employees and investors,” said Paul Volpe, Senior Vice President of
Growth and Head of ESG Solutions at Workiva. “But the complexity in
ESG reporting is very real. Practitioners agree that technology is
the linchpin in the ESG reporting process, and it’s up to business
leaders to equip their teams with the tools they need to unlock the
value in ESG.”
Workiva will host a LinkedIn Live featuring Alex Edmans and
exploring key findings from the 2023 Global ESG Practitioner Survey
on September 12. Register at sm.workiva.com/linkedin-live.
About the Survey In collaboration with Workiva, Ascend2
conducted a global, online survey of ESG practitioners in July
2023. Ascend2 polled 926 professionals from teams typically
involved in ESG reporting, including executive leadership, finance
and accounting, ESG operations, internal audit and risk management,
and legal.
Respondents spanned nine major global markets, including the
United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, the
Netherlands, Australia, Japan, and Singapore. All respondents came
from companies with at least $250 million in annual recurring
revenue, and nearly half (45%) came from companies with $1 billion
or more.
To access a full report of the survey’s findings, visit
workiva.com/2023-ESG-Survey.
About Workiva Workiva Inc. (NYSE:WK) is on a mission to
power transparent reporting for a better world. We build and
deliver the world’s leading cloud platform for assured integrated
reporting to meet stakeholder demands for action, transparency, and
disclosure of financial and non-financial data. Workiva offers the
only unified SaaS platform that brings customers’ financial
reporting, Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG), and
Governance, Risk, and Compliance (GRC) together in a controlled,
secure, audit-ready platform. Our platform simplifies the most
complex reporting and disclosure challenges by streamlining
processes, connecting data and teams, and ensuring consistency.
Learn more at workiva.com.
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Media: Rotha Brauntz Lauren Covello
press@workiva.com
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