Sustainability disclosure standards needed to access external financing

Banks and financial institutions need to embrace global sustainability disclosure standards to access international financing and promote private sector development, said Mizanur Rahman, a commissioner of the Bangladesh Securities and Exchange Commission (BSEC).

He said the sustainability reporting guideline recently introduced by the Bangladesh Bank should be mandatory for banks and financial institutions to ensure accountability and transparency.

This is because Bangladesh requires an audit system to meet global standards in order to secure international financing for private sector development, he said.

Rahman made the comments while speaking at a webinar on "Updates in Corporate Reporting, Auditing, and Ethics Standards" organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB) on Monday.

The BSEC commissioner suggested accounting professionals enhance their understanding of auditing to ensure the production of quality and standard corporate reports.

He, however, raised concerns about the risk to the auditing profession as the use of artificial intelligence in accounting and auditing is increasing.

Regarding disputes at family-run businesses, Rahman said good governance and standard accounting practices can address these challenges.

He said the local currency has depreciated by almost 50 percent against the US dollar over the past 24 months. Alongside inflation, this has created an unfavourable business environment.

Therefore, there is a need for accounting professionals to address these challenges through standard reporting and adherence to professional ethics, he said.

Md Tazul Islam, a partner at Rahman Rahman Huq Chartered Accountants, suggested technologies be adopted for sustainability reporting.

MBM Lutul Hadee, vice-president of the ICAB, emphasised the need for formulating ethically standard audit reports.

He also called for understanding the changing trend in the reporting system using artificial intelligence.

The webinar was chaired by Muhammad Farooq, a council member and past president of the ICAB. SK Ashik Iqbal, a partner at Nurul Faruk Hasan & Co, made a keynote presentation at the event while AKM Azhar Haque, a director for audit and assurance at the firm, also spoke.