The Philippines have been designated as one of the beneficiary countries nominated to implement the United Nations Development Account Project on Strengthening sustainability reporting to foster sustainable finance and investment in selected developing countries in Asia and Latin America in the Asian region. The target country requires support to put in place the necessary elements of the sustainability reporting ecosystem to promote high quality sustainability reporting. Due to the fast pace of constant changes in the global sustainability reporting environment, comprising new standards on sustainability reporting for listed entities, spillover effects for SMES, development of sustainability reporting standards for public sector entities, assurance standards for those reports, ethics provisions for sustainability reporting, comprehensive capacity building is required to support preparers in adopting these standards. The Accounting Development Tool (ADT) developed by UNCTAD will be implemented in the course of the Project to assess the national reporting infrastructure, provide relevant recommendations for its further advancement as well as develop guidance on how to address the gaps identified.
Through the Accounting Development Tool UNCTAD assists countries in developing strategies and prioritizes their efforts to ensure high quality reporting based on international requirements, good practices, standards and codes. In the framework of the Project, ADT assessment will be conducted in the Philippines to assess the legal, regulatory and institutional framework as well as human capacity and capacity building and provide recommendations on further effective development of the national infrastructure for financial and sustainability reporting.
The Kick-off Meeting marked the start of national-level activities and brought together key institutions involved in financial and sustainability reporting, as well as those involved in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals. The meeting gathered 60 participants representing regulators, governmental institutions, line ministries, professional associations, academia and international organizations.
