‘'Sustainability is not just a ‘green’ issue'’

The recent CIMA World Conference in Cape Town, South Africa provided so much food for thought that it could have been described as a financial feast.

The conference presented an ideal opportunity to showcase the institute’s cutting-edge research and share experiences with some of the most progressive organisations in the world. It was inspiring to hear so many sharp minds debating some of the key issues of our times.

One of CIMA’s key objectives is to ensure that management accountants have the right tools to help companies move towards long-term business sustainability.

Although many organisations are starting to develop sustainability strategies, many are failing to uncover the latent value such
strategies can offer or to link it explicitly to business performance.
Without clear signposts it is difficult for companies to picture what a sustainable organisation will look like.

Our members are in an ideal position to use their unique tool box to flag up how sustainable strategies not only help to combat climate change, but add value at every level. The theme of this year’s conference was, “Business in tomorrow’s world – a sustainable future” and keynote speaker Jan Bebbington provided a fascinating insight into what the companies of the future might look like.

Jan is professor of accounting and sustainability at the University of St Andrews in the UK and her report, “Strategic responses to global climate change”, provides a well-structured road map for businesses to consider when planning ahead.

The ten-step guide includes more than a dozen case studies of public and private sector organisations that are rising to the challenge. I’m confident that Jan’s report will help make the path to businesses’ sustainability a lot less bumpy.

The conference also saw the publication of the results of CIMA research looking at sustainability and the CFO. Introduced by CIMA chief executive Charles Tilley, the report, “Sustainability performance management: how CFOs can unlock value”, was compiled by global management consultants Accenture in conjunction with CIMA, and shows how senior finance professionals can be the leading agents for change.

Clearly, CFOs can ensure that organisations stay on the right track by linking sustainability to business performance and overseeing effective implementation, accurate measurement and credible reporting. This is the kind of top-level business partnering that CIMA will be promoting vigorously in the future.

Although business sustainability was one of the hottest topics at the two-day event, several other themes dominated discussions among the 600-plus delegates.

The future of public sector organisations was another talking point. Even though public sector structures vary from country to country, they often present common challenges.

A third cutting-edge CIMA report published at the conference highlighted how a policy of robust strategic performance management can help public organisations achieve an effective line of sight from policy formation to front-line delivery of services.

The report also provides a specific solution to one of the biggest public sector challenges of all – the alignment of policy to outcomes. This report will be an invaluable aid to government bodies all over the world.

Along with the launches of CIMA’s new advanced diploma in Islamic finance and a unique collaborative report between the marketing and finance communities, which looks at valuing intangibles, the steady flow of ground-breaking work presented at the conference produced a refreshingly positive outlook at a time when it’s often hard to see through the fog of uncertainty.

In closing, I urge members and students to check out these reports on the CIMA website and to use them as a fast-track route to developing their portfolio of cutting-edge tools and techniques.