CPDStore Ireland

In today’s rapidly evolving corporate landscape, sustainability reporting has evolved from beyond a mere ethical choice or a nice to have to a core business requirement. In an era of increasing scrutiny on business transparency and responsible practices and more demand from investors and other stakeholders for sustainability information, reporting with clarity is essential to maintain trust, enhance compliance and competitive advantage and create long term value and impact for businesses. With the Omnibus Simplification Package, more companies in Europe fall outside of the scope of reporting with the ESRS standards. Hence the Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for SMEs (VSME) has emerged as a veritable reporting tool for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises who fall outside of the mandatory scope of the CSRD. 

This course is designed and tailored for professional accountants and other finance professionals who are at the intersection of coordinating non-financial reporting for organisations. 

The course will explore what sustainability reporting means, why companies should report, and the skills and tools needed to enhance reporting for resilience and impact. It will deep dive into the VSME standards, how to use it and the core data requirements. In addition, it will provide insights into common challenges encountered in sustainability reporting and practical strategies and tools to overcome them. 

Benjamin Okpara covers the following topics during this course:

• Introduction to Sustainability and Non-Financial Reporting – Understanding why sustainability reporting is important for businesses and the role of the accountant in driving impact reporting
• Regulatory Context and the VSME Standard: Overview of the regulatory landscape, the impact of the Omnibus Simplification Package, and the emergence of the Voluntary Sustainability Reporting Standard for SMEs (VSME) as a key tool for micro, small, and medium-sized enterprises outside CSRD scope.
• Practical Application of the VSME Standards: Detailed exploration of the VSME standards, including guidance on how to use them and the core data requirements for effective non-financial reporting.
• Skills and Tools for Enhanced Reporting: Identifying the skills and tools necessary for professional accountants and reporting coordinators to improve the quality and resilience of sustainability disclosures.
• Common Challenges and Solutions: Insights into frequent obstacles faced in sustainability reporting and practical strategies and tools to overcome these challenges for greater impact.