Metrics in use for ESG Reporting- 1 Best and complete read

Metrics in use for ESG Reporting

Here is a list of Metrics in use for ESG Reporting that companies can use to start communicating on the ESG issues. The metrics have been divided into four categories:

Each category contains recommended disclosure metrics (both qualitative and quantitative) that have been marked either as minimum disclosures (relevant to all companies) or additional disclosures (that might not be relevant to all companies).

The selection of recommended disclosure metrics has been informed by relevant regulatory initiatives i.e. the CSRD and the ESRS as well as the Warsaw Stock Exchange corporate governance code. Moreover, to address increasing investors’ data needs, they have been also aligned with the mandatory PAI indicators for corporate investments required by the SFDR (see mapping in the Appendix – Relevance of the Guidelines to investors). References have been added below each section to other frameworks and resources that companies may also consider (Appendix – Alignment with EU regulations and other frameworks).

It should be emphasized that the Guidelines do not provide an exhaustive list of indicators and topics. Rather they aim to offer less advanced companies a minimum set of carefully selected disclosure metrics that will help them to prepare for the upcoming requirements stemming from the CSRD and the ESRS and better respond to investors’ ESG data needs. Companies in scope of the CSRD should use the ESRS to prepare their disclosures on material sustainability topics.

Metrics in use for ESG Reporting – General information

General information metrics provide essential context to understand the company business activities and value creation model, it’s material ESG impacts, risks and opportunities, and how it is managing them.

General information

What should be disclosed:

I

M 1

Business model

  • Short description of the company business model and value chain.
  • Whether the company is active in the following sectors: fossil fuel (coal, oil and gas), controversial weapons along with related revenues.

Companies may consider including the following characteristics when describing their business model: economic activities; products and services offered; markets of operation, company size (in terms of workforce, business locations, revenue, etc.)

I

M 2

Sustainability integration

  • Whether and how sustainability matters are integrated in the company strategy and business model.
  • Resilience of the company strategy and business model(s) to material sustainability risks.
  • Policies and actions adopted to manage material sustainability matters.
  • Targets related to management of sustainability matters.

I

M 3

Sustainability governance

  • Governance bodies roles and responsibilities with regard to sustainability matters (e.g. in relation to risk management, target setting, sustainability disclosure).
  • Whether governance bodies are informed about sustainability matters, and how they are addressed by administrative and/or management bodies.
  • Whether incentive schemes are offered to members of governance bodies that are linked to sustainability matters.

I

M 4

Material impacts, Risk and Opportunities

  • The processes used to identify material impacts, risks and opportunities.
  • Sustainability due diligence process.
  • Outcome of the materiality assessment (identified material impacts, risks and opportunities).
  • How material impacts, risks and opportunities interact with the company strategy and business model.

I

M 5

Stakeholder engagement

  • Description of the company main stakeholders, and how the company engages with them.
  • How the interests and views of stakeholders are taken into account by the undertaking’s strategy and business model.

Metrics in use for ESG Reporting- Environmental disclosures

Environmental metrics cover issues that arise from or impact the natural environment.

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Low credit risk operational simplification

Low credit risk operational simplification

IFRS 9 contains an important simplification that, if a financial instrument has low credit risk, then an entity is allowed to assume at the reporting date that no significant increases in credit risk have occurred. The low credit risk concept was intended, by the IASB, to provide relief for entities from tracking changes in the credit risk of high quality financial instruments. Therefore, this simplification is only optional and the low credit risk simplification can be elected on an instrument-by-instrument basis.

This is a change from the 2013 ED, in which a low risk exposure was deemed not to have suffered significant deterioration in credit risk. The amendment to make the simplification optional was made in response to requests from constituents, including regulators. It is expected that the Basel Committee SCRAVL consultation document will propose that sophisticated banks should only use this simplification rarely for their loan portfolios.

For low risk instruments, the entity would recognise an allowance based on 12-month ECLs. However, if a financial instrument is not considered to have low credit risk at the reporting date, it does not follow that the entity is required to recognise lifetime ECLs. In such instances, the entity has to assess whether there has been a significant increase in credit risk since initial recognition that requires the recognition of lifetime ECLs.

The standard states that a financial instrument is considered to have low credit risk if: [IFRS 9.B5.22]

  • The financial instrument has a low risk of default
  • The borrower has a strong capacity to meet its contractual cash flow obligations in the near term
  • Adverse changes in economic and business conditions in the longer term may, but will not necessarily, reduce the ability of the borrower to fulfil its contractual cash flow obligations Low credit risk operational simplification

A financial instrument is not considered to have low credit risk simply because it has a low risk of loss (e.g., for a collateralised loan, if the value of the collateral is more than the amount lent (see collateral) or it has lower risk of default compared with the entity’s other financial instruments or relative to the credit risk of the jurisdiction within which the entity operates.

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The Statement of Cash Flows

Statement of Cash Flows

IAS 7.10 requires an entity to analyse its cash inflows and outflows into three categories:

  • Operating;
  • Investing; and
  • Financing.

IAS 7.6 defines these as follows:

Operating activities are the principal revenue producing activities of the entity and other activities that are not investing or financing activities.’

Investing activities are the acquisition and disposal of long-term assets and other investments not included in cash equivalents.’

Financing activities are activities that result in changes in the size and composition of the contributed equity and borrowings of the entity.’

1. Operating activities

It is often assumed that this category includes only those cash flows that arise from an entity’s principal revenue producing activities.

However, because cash flows arising from operating activities represents a residual category, which includes any cashStatement of cash flows flows that do not qualify to be recorded within either investing or financing activities, these can include cash flows that may initially not appear to be ‘operating’ in nature.

For example, the acquisition of land would typically be viewed as an investing activity, as land is a long-term asset. However, this classification is dependent on the nature of the entity’s operations and business practices. For example, an entity that acquires land regularly to develop residential housing to be sold would classify land acquisitions as an operating activity, as such cash flows relate to its principal revenue producing activities and therefore meet the definition of an operating cash flow.

2. Investing activities

An entity’s investing activities typically include the purchase and disposal of its intangible assets, property, plant and equipment, and interests in other entities that are not held for trading purposes. However, in an entity’s consolidated financial statements, cash flows from investing activities do not include those arising from changes in ownership interest of subsidiaries that do not result in a change in control, which are classified as arising from financing activities.

It should be noted that cash flows related to the sale of leased assets (when the entity is the lessor) may be classified as operating or investing activities depending on the specific facts and circumstances.

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Contingencies – Best and complete 2 read

Contingencies

Contingencies are an interesting subject in accounting because for example within IAS 37 the term ‘contingent’ is used for liabilities and assets that are not recognised because their existence will be confirmed only by the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain future events not wholly within the control of the entity.

So contingencies may exists as to the recognition or disclosure of assets and liabilities, but also for contingent consideration in IFRS 3 Business combinations, contingent settlement provisions included in financial instruments (arising on liquidation or in puttable instruments) and/or contingently issuable shares in IAS 33 Earnings per share, just to name a few.

Recognition criteria for provisions and contingent liabilities

Provisions can be distinguished from other liabilities (e.g. trade payables and accruals) due to the uncertainty concerning the timing or amount of the future expenditure required in settlement.

In a general sense, all provisions are contingent because they are uncertain in timing or amount. However, within IAS 37 the term ‘contingent’ is used for liabilities and assets that are not recognised because their existence will be confirmed only by the occurrence or non-occurrence of one or more uncertain future events not wholly within the control of the entity.

IAS 37.14 requires a provision be recognised when all of the following apply:

  • an entity has a present obligation (legal or constructive) as a result of a past event
  • it is probable that an outflow of resources embodying economic benefits will be required to settle the obligation
  • a reliable estimate can be made of the amount of the obligation

Provisions are measured at the best estimate of the expenditure required to settle the present obligation at the reporting period:

  • including any considerations for risks and uncertainties
  • including time value of money (if material)
  • including future events when there is sufficient objective evidence that they will occur
  • excluding gains from the expected disposal of assets

Provisions are to be reviewed at the end of each reporting period and adjusted to reflect the current best estimate.

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11 Best fair value measurements under IFRS 13

11 Best fair value measurements under IFRS 13

Several IFRS standards provide guidance regarding the scope and application of the fair value option for assets and liabilities. Here they are from 1 to 11…….

1 Investments in associates and joint ventures

Investments held by venture capital organizations and the like are exempt from IAS 28’s requirements only when they are measured at fair value through profit or loss (FVPL) in accordance with IFRS 9. Changes in the fair value (FV) of such investments are recognized in profit or loss in the period of change.

The IASB acknowledged that FV information is often readily available in venture capital organizations and entities in similar industries, even for start-up and non-listed entities, as the methods and basis for fair value measurement are well established. The IASB also confirmed that the reference to well-established practice is to emphasize that the exemption applies generally to those investments for which fair value is readily available.

2 Intangible assets

Subsequent to initial recognition of intangible assets, an entity may adopt either the cost model or the revaluation model as its accounting policy. The policy should be applied to the whole of a class of intangible assets and not merely to individual assets within a class11 Best fair value measurements under IFRS 13, unless there is no active market for an individual asset.

The revaluation model may only be adopted if the intangible assets are traded in an active market; hence it is not frequently used. Further, the revaluation model may not be applied to intangible assets that have not previously been recognized as assets. For example, over the years an entity might have accumulated for nominal consideration a number of licenses of a kind that are traded on an active market. 11 Best fair value measurements under IFRS 13

The entity may not have recognized an intangible asset as the licenses were individually immaterial when acquired. If market prices for such licenses significantly increased, the value of the licenses held by the entity would substantially increase. In this case, the entity would be prohibited by IAS 38 from applying the revaluation model to the licenses, because they were not previously recognized as an asset.

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Excellent Study IFRS 9 Eligible Hedged items

IFRS 9 Eligible Hedged items

the insured items of business risk exposures

Although the popular definition of hedging is an investment taken out to limit the risk of another investment, insurance is an example of a real-world hedge.

Every entity is exposed to business risks from its daily operations. Many of those risks have an impact on the cash flows or the value of assets and liabilities, and therefore, ultimately affect profit or loss. In order to manage these risk exposures, companies often enter into derivative contracts (or, less commonly, other financial instruments) to hedge them. Hedging can, therefore, be seen as a risk management activity in order to change an entity’s risk profile.

The idea of hedge accounting is to reduce (insure) this mismatch by changing either the measurement or (in the case of certain firm commitments) FRS 9 Eligible Hedged itemsrecognition of the hedged exposure, or the accounting for the hedging instrument.

The definition of a Hedged item

A hedged item is an asset, liability, firm commitment, highly probable forecast transaction or net investment in a foreign operation that

  1. exposes the entity to risk of changes in fair value or future cash flows and
  2. is designated as being hedged

The hedge item can be:

Only assets, liabilities, firm commitments and forecast transactions with an external party qualify for hedge accounting. As an exception, a hedge of the foreign currency risk of an intragroup monetary item qualifies for hedge accounting if that foreign currency risk affects consolidated profit or loss. In addition, the foreign currency risk of a highly probable forecast intragroup transaction would also qualify as a hedged item if that transaction affects consolidated profit or loss. These requirements are unchanged from IAS 39.

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Note 1 Cash and cash equivalents

Definition of cash and cash equivalents

IAS 7.6 includes the following definitions:

Cash’:

  • Cash on hand (physical currency held), and
  • Demand deposits.

Cash equivalents’:

  • Short-term, highly liquid investments that are readily convertible to known amounts of cash and which are subject to an insignificant risk of changes in value.

IAS 7.7 then notes that cash equivalents are held for the purpose of meeting short term cash commitments rather than for investment or other purposes. IAS 7.7 also notes that:

‘…an investment normally qualifies as a cash equivalent only when it has a short maturity of, say, three months or less from the date of acquisition.’

Demand deposits

Demand deposits are not defined in IFRS. However, in order to qualify as cash, the related balance needs to have the same liquidity as cash itself, and so funds on ‘demand deposit’ need to be capable of being withdrawn at any time without penalty.

In general, deposits which can be withdrawn without penalty within 24 hours, or one working day, are regarded as being demand deposits. These include amounts deposited at financial institutions (such as funds in a bank current account), and may extend to cover deposits at non-financial institutions such as legal advisers, if funds are held for client in separate and designated accounts that can be called upon by the client at any time.

If a deposit does not qualify to be regarded as cash, it may qualify to be classified as a cash equivalent.

Consider this!

Questions arise about whether investments that can be withdrawn on demand (e.g. money market funds) could qualify to be regarded as cash equivalents.

In general, this is possible, but only in very limited circumstances.

This is because, in addition to the existence of the demand feature, all of the other requirements of IAS 7 need to be met. An interest bearing deposit at a financial institution might result in the amount of cash that would be received being known, and there might be an insignificant risk of changes in value (in particular in the current low interest rate environment), even if there is an early withdrawal penalty.

However, it is also necessary for it to be demonstrated that the investment is being held for the purpose of meeting short-term cash commitments rather than for investment or other purposes (IAS 7.7).

It may be difficult to reconcile this last requirement to the characteristics of the investment, particularly as its maturity (excluding the demand feature) increases.

Short term maturity

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Determining a leases discount rate

Determining a leases discount rate

The definition of the lessee’s incremental borrowing rate states that the rate should represent what the lessee ‘would have to pay to borrow over a similar term and with similar security, the funds necessary to obtain an asset of similar value to the right-of-use asset in a similar economic environment.’ In applying the concept of ‘similar security’, a lessee uses the right-of-use asset granted by the lease and not the fair value of the underlying asset.

This is because the rate should represent the amount that would be charged to acquire an asset of similar value for a similar period. For example, in determining the incremental borrowing rate on a 5 year lease of a property, the security for the portion of the asset being leased (i.e. the 5 year portion of its useful life) would be likely to vary significantly from the outright ownership of the property, as outright ownership would confer rights over a period of time that would typically be significantly greater than the 5-year right-of-use asset contained in the lease.

In practice, judgement may be needed to estimate an incremental borrowing rate in the context of a right-of-use asset, especially when the value of the underlying asset differs significantly from the value of the right-of-use asset.

An entity’s weighted-average cost of capital (‘WACC’) is not appropriate to use as a proxy for the incremental borrowing rate because it is not representative of the rate an entity would pay on borrowings. WACC incorporates the cost of equity-based capital, which is unsecured and ranks behind other creditors and will therefore be a higher rate than that paid on borrowings.

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What Is Fintech reporting IFRS 15

What Is Fintech or Financial Technology And Its Benefits?

New and fast-growing technologies like Financial Technology or Fintech have the potential benefits to collect and process data in real-time. This transforms how all businesses are working, how products and services are creating in the new economy, and how customers are engaging in this process. Every professional and commercial industry is affecting due by this change in workflows and business processes. The financial and economic sector is no exception.

Financial Technology or Fintech?

Fintech, short for Financial Technology, is a growing field and is now an economic revolution by the tech-savvy. It is the development of new technology to transform traditional institutions such as banks and insurance companies by uplift how they handle their finances and economic services. The process is not only digitizing money but also monetizing data to fit into the digitized world.

FinTech solutions have huge potential benefits for all businesses, especially new and existing small businesses. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are essential for economic maturity and employment. However, others may find it difficult to get the financing they need to survive and thrive.

Example

Automated drafting of portfolio management commentaries – Analytics & Reporting (October 2018, Societe Generale Securities Services)

Addventa Fintech exclusive partnership for automated drafting of portfolio management commentaries based on artificial intelligence solutions.

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