The future of financial accounting is green. Are you ready to embrace it?
As sustainability takes centre stage in business, accountants find themselves at the crossroads of finance and environmental stewardship. Are you keeping up? Whether you’re motivated by these financial benefits or a future for yourself and your children in which all living things can thrive, the opportunities for accountants in carbon accounting are massive!
In his insightful piece on AccountingWeb, Tom Herbert lays out the future-facing role of accountants in driving the net-zero transition. You can read the full article here.
Here’s a short excerpt
“A wave of sustainability legislation and supply-chain requirements may mean that in future, carbon accounting will occupy a more visible place in the accounting profession. What tools are available to accountants looking to track emissions or provide carbon accounting as a service to their clients?”
Since 2019, the UK’s Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR) policy has made it mandatory for large organisations to disclose energy usage and carbon emissions. But even if you’re a smaller firm, carbon accounting is likely headed your way, especially if you work within supply chains connected to public or private sector giants. For example, the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap will soon require suppliers to publish carbon reduction plans. And financial institutions are now offering better rates to businesses demonstrating low carbon intensity—an incentive no one can afford to ignore.
But it’s not just about compliance. As Peter Ellington of Triple Bottom Line Accounting emphasizes, accountants are crucial to helping businesses navigate this evolving landscape:
“If someone says ‘reduce your carbon footprint’ to a small business owner, they won’t just go ahead. It might be financial suicide. The first place they’re likely to go is their accountant. If you can say, ‘Here are ten ways to approach carbon reduction, and you can afford 2, 3, and 4,’ you’ll be providing an essential service.”
And that’s the game-changer. Energy efficiency and greenhouse gas reduction are not just environmental concerns—they’re critical components of smart financial planning. Imagine helping your clients save money, cut emissions, and grow their business in tandem. For instance, purchasing from local suppliers might increase costs slightly but will ultimately expand the local economy and, thereby, your client base.
The future of financial accounting is green. Are you ready to embrace it?
Fran joined TBLA in 2019 after a long career in teaching. Her roles include human resources management, ESG and Marketing. During 2020 and 2021 she developed the TBLA Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) impact service. As part of the process, she has carried out an impact analysis of the TBLA social and governance profile and a whole company carbon calculation with accompanying target setting, carbon reduction action plan and impact narrative. Fran is now working alongside the growing ESG team to help more SMEs plan for Net Zero around the UK. Fran is also on the board of the Norwich Business Climate Leaders hoping to accelerate the transition to Net Zero.
