By Bianca Sampaio
Social Communication
The Latin American Group of Emisores de Normas de Información Financiera (Glenif) publishes results of the survey on the level of adoption of the International Sustainability Information Standards – NIIS S1 and S2, which were issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), in June 2023.
The objective of the research was to identify the current stage of knowledge and adoption of the sustainability standards issued by the ISSB in a record time since the creation of the entity, in November 2021. Although many jurisdictions in the Latin American region have not yet started the discussion on the adoption of these norms, the result was satisfactory.
As these are rules that must be followed by accountants and because they are linked to the process of disclosing financial statements, the results of their adoption have a relevant impact on the accounting profession, not only from the point of view of understanding and applying these rules, but also of all professional obligations involved in the exercise of the profession.
The result of the research pointed out that, in general, the application of NIIS S1 and S2 is still in the process of engaging stakeholders. The investigation indicates that 55% of the countries in the Latin American region will adopt the ISSB regulations, on a mandatory or voluntary basis, and that 45% of the countries have not yet defined how they will adopt the standards. In this context, it is possible to state that a process has already been adopted, which reveals a great acceptance of the ISSB standards.
At this current stage, it is necessary to create favorable conditions for engaging stakeholders, involving not only professional bodies, issuers of standards and regulators, but also areas of government, academia and social organizations representing the sustainability theme. Thus, it will be possible to obtain the necessary support to move forward on the path of adoption that allows the reporting of relevant information and criticism on the sustainability aspects that affect the companies’ operations.