Joint Meeting of the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Regions

Effectively Teaching the Accountant’s Role in ESG Reporting

• In Event: Integrating ESG into Your Classroom

Abstract

The SEC recently proposed a new rule, The Enhancement and Standardization of Climate-Related Disclosures for Investors. CPAs will play a substantial role in helping public companies comply with this rule. In this poster session, we will show educators how they can effectively prepare students for their role in ESG reporting. Some of the proposed required disclosures will be inside the audited financial statements, so students will need to know how to effectively accumulate and evaluate sufficient appropriate evidence to support these disclosures. In addition, the proposed rule will require public companies to disclose greenhouse gas emissions, and to obtain outside assurance on these disclosures – this outside assurance can come from CPAs and is potentially a huge growth area for accounting firms.

While most public companies already provide some type of ESG, Sustainability, Corporate Responsibility, or similar type of report, the proposed rule with standardize required disclosures. In this poster session, we will describe how we have been effectively teaching Accounting and other business majors how they can prepare for this new rule and what their role may be. We have found that Accounting majors are surprised to learn how they may be able to tailor their careers into an ESG role.

If the SEC passes this proposed rule in its current form, some of the required disclosures will be mandatory starting in FY2023. As such, there is no time to waste in bringing accounting students up to speed with the new requirements. We will detail how we are currently doing this at our university.

Authors

• Maria H. Sanchez, Rider University

• Margaret O'Reilly-Allen, Rider University