Connected reporting: How CAs can make connectivity happen

As sustainability reporting expectations evolve, organisations must show how sustainability-related risks, opportunities and targets connect with business strategy, financial performance and decision-making. Getting these connections right can lead to better decisions and more credible reporting.

Connectivity in Governance and Processes is the second report in the Global Accounting Alliance (GAA) three-part Connectivity in Reporting series. Building on the initial report (The Connected Reporting Landscape), the second report explains how effective governance, integrated processes and reliable data can turn connected thinking into connected reporting. 

Making connectivity happen 

Connected reporting starts within an organisation, not when it prepares its annual report. It depends on how the organisation sets strategy, manages risk, allocates capital and monitors performance throughout the year. 

Organisations should embed sustainability-related risks, opportunities, targets and costs in strategic planning, budgeting and forecasting. These considerations should also inform investment and performance management rather than sit within a separate compliance or annual disclosure exercise. 

Considering financial and sustainability measures together in routine management reporting helps organisations identify emerging risks, understand trade-offs and make better-informed decisions. For example, comparing energy costs with emissions and production levels can reveal changes in operational efficiency. 

Transition plans, capital expenditure, financial statement estimates, sustainability targets and external disclosures should reflect the same underlying decisions and assumptions. Shared assumptions, clear data ownership and documented methods help financial and sustainability reporting tell a coherent story. 

This also supports the wider effort to modernise corporate reporting. “Simplicity and coherence” is one of the principles shaping the proposals in the UK Government’s ongoing Modernising Corporate Reporting consultation. 

Finance, sustainability, risk and strategy teams should work together, supported by effective governance and oversight from boards and audit committees. 

Governance, systems and processes   

The report identifies three areas that organisations should consider. 

1. Strategy and governance   

Sustainability targets and commitments should be reflected in business plans, budgets, investment decisions and performance measures. Boards and audit committees need an integrated view of strategy, risk, capital allocation and reporting, with clear responsibility for overseeing connections between financial and sustainability information. 

The eight-step ICAS Sustainability Governance Toolkit offers a practical way to assess these arrangements, identify gaps and decide how to improve sustainability governance. 

2. Internal reporting and decision-making   

Integrating sustainability measures into management reports, forecasts and dashboards helps organisations understand their effect on financial and operational performance. Decisions are therefore made with reference to a complete and comprehensive set of financial and non-financial considerations. 

3. Systems and processes   

Reliable, connected reporting depends on consistent data, assumptions, reporting periods and methods. Integrated systems and suitable data architecture can bring financial and sustainability reporting closer together. Technology and artificial intelligence (AI) can automate data collection, improve traceability and identify inconsistencies. 

Technology alone cannot deliver connectivity. Professional judgement remains essential for interpreting information, challenging assumptions and explaining what the evidence means. 

Leading the way   

Chartered Accountants (CAs) are well placed to help organisations deliver connected reporting. 

Skills already central to accountancy, including measurement, estimation, professional judgement, reconciliations, internal controls and assurance readiness, can improve the reliability of sustainability information and clarify its financial implications. 

Organisations don’t need to wait for perfect systems. They can start with the most material connections, agree shared assumptions and strengthen controls around the data supporting key decisions. They can then build on these practices over time. 

For example, CAs can connect a transition plan with planned investment, budgets, forecasts and related financial statement estimates. This helps organisations assess whether commitments have sufficient resources and track progress. 

CAs can also bring finance, sustainability, risk and operational teams together so relevant information reaches decision-makers when they need it. 

Fiona Donnelly CA, Director of Sustainability, said: “A well-run business requires its board and management to make a thorough assessment of strategy and plans and progress.   

"That means making commitments with a clear understanding of their financial and wider impacts.  Connected reporting is the outcome of this joined-up thinking, not an outcome in itself.”  

Embedded in the CA syllabus 

Recognising the opportunity sustainability presents to the profession, we’ve integrated it throughout the CA syllabus, giving every student an understanding of the subject across the qualification.

CA students can also specialise by choosing the Sustainability for Accountants course as an elective. The first students to complete the new syllabus qualified as CAs in September 2026, taking this knowledge into organisations across the UK. 

By applying established accounting disciplines to sustainability information, CAs can improve decisions, strengthen reporting credibility and build trust with investors and other stakeholders. 

Read the report

Connectivity in Governance and Processes examines how organisations can embed connectivity in strategy and governance, internal reporting and decision-making, and supporting systems and processes. 

Read Connectivity in Governance and Processes to explore practical ways to strengthen connectivity and make connected reporting a reality. 

ICAS is one of the 10 professional accountancy bodies that make up the GAA, whose members represent more than 1.4 million accountants in over 180 countries. ICAS supported the research and development of the series.