Beyond the GAAP - June 2022

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On 22 June, and after political negotiations, the European Council and Parliament reached a provisional agreement on a slightly revised version of the European Commission's initial proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), published in April 2021. In this issue, Beyond the GAAP presents the highlights of this provisional agreement so far, bearing in mind that the final text is due to be published in a few days’ or weeks’ time.

All the initial key features of the CSRD proposal are confirmed, in particular the requirement to publish a sustainability report in accordance with European Sustainability Reporting Standards prepared by EFRAG and subsequently endorsed by the European Commission, and the mandatory audit of such reports in all EU Member States, initially on a limited assurance basis and subsequently on a reasonable assurance basis. The European rules for sustainability reporting are ultimately very ambitious and will affect a wider range of companies than the earlier Non-Financial Reporting Directive. The timetable for implementation has therefore been pushed back (to the 2024 reporting period, at the earliest) and phased over time to give entities enough time to prepare.