Prince Charles Welcomes Accountants
January 6, 2009 by Lela Davidson
Filed under Corporate Finance
Last month the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) participated in a forum hosted by none other than His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales (that’s Prince Charles!) on “Accounting for Sustainability: Decision-Making and Reporting in a Resource-Constrained World.” The forum was held December 17th in London at the Royal Family residence at St. James’s Palace.
Fancy!
Prince Charles established Accounting for Sustainability in 2004 to research and develop systems that will help companies and non-profits alike account more accurately for the social and environmental costs of their activities.
Barry Melancon, AICPA president and CEO, who attended the forum says:
“The global accounting profession is an essential voice on the issue of business and sustainability. Ultimately, any integration of sustainability into businesses’ operations will have an impact on the bottom line and communications to stakeholders.”
Others in attendance included Bob Laux, Microsoft Corp. senior director of financial accounting and reporting and a member of the AICPA’s board of directors and 200 other professionals representing the accounting profession from corporations, investors, the public sector, academia and NGOs.
The AICPA presentation was a panel discussion entitled “Connected reporting — a mechanism for change.” Their presentation explored the U.S. perspective on:
- How can connected reporting that links strategy and financial and sustainability performance be developed that will change behavior and decision-making?
- How can organizations overcome the barriers that hinder them from effectively implementing a connected reporting approach that aligns sustainability initiatives to strategy?
- What influence can connected sustainability reporting have on investors’ decision-making and to what extent will regulatory enforcement be required to drive change?
I’d like to know if high tea was served! Lucky bean counters!
