Blueprint 2: Accounting

Laying the foundations for future-ready reporting

How can accounting and corporate finance be transformed to serve a new purpose? How can it serve a multi-capital green & inclusive economy definition of success and value-creation in a circular economic setting? How can accounting be redefined as being not only about recording financial transactions, but about tracking of both financial and extra-financial data and their forward-looking interpretation in an appropriate context? This includes a context of addressing risks and opportunities associated with diverse (e.g. social, natural) capitals. Answering these questions include consideration of new innovations such as the development of integrated reporting, contextualization, monetisation and internalisation, as well as new integrated statements such as alternative P&L accounts and balance sheets. It also includes working with new interpretations of materiality, related thresholds and appropriate timeframes in decision-making. Evidently mainstream financial managers, accountants, and assurance providers vary considerably in their preparedness for these transformative changes.