KUALA LUMPUR: Companies in Asean countries which produce sustainability reports, outlining the impact their activities are having on the environment, should be rewarded by markets and steps should be taken by governments to toughen existing laws and rules to ensure more companies publish these reports, said the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

The report, The Rise of the Report and the Regulator, which ACCA commissioned CSR Asia to produce looks at sustainability reporting among selected Asean countries and the response from stakeholders.

It recommends that further studies be undertaken to demonstrate the benefits of reporting to other organisations.

It also calls for companies to be given support to help them comply with improved existing disclosure requirements.

It also recommends support for organisations which monitor reports to enable them to ensure that adequate checks and balances are in place and that the benefits of using internationally accepted reporting guidelines need to be communicated.

The report, which drew extensively on information provided by CorporateRegister.com, focused on companies which produce sustainability reports in Malaysia, Indonesia,  the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.

Over 120 companies are reporting — or have reported — on sustainability issues in the past decade and the report says that not only will the number of companies reporting increase, but that the quality of reporting will also improve.

The report also looks at the rise of the report writer and the report reader, with their views that sustainability reports would become available online; that reports would be real time; would be integrated with the annual report; that more international standards would be used and that reports would be increasingly issue-focused.

Jennifer Lopez, country head of ACCA Malaysia, said: “It is heartening to note that Malaysia is leading in terms of having the highest number of reporters among Asean countries.

Indeed, the sustainability development in Malaysia has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, especially with the commitment of the Malaysian government, regulators and authorities to having good CR (corporate responsibility) and sustainability practices.”

She said companies which produce a sustainability report are known to gain a competitive edge when attracting and retaining capital, dealing with global clients and managing relationships with governments.

Lopez hopes current practices among Malaysia companies would be further reflected in the entries or report submitted for the ACCA Malaysia Sustainability Reporting Awards (ACCA MaSRA) this year.

Bursa Malaysia requires listed companies to provide a description of the corporate social responsibility activities or practices undertaken, while the Stock Exchange of Thailand intends to introduce reporting guidelines.

This article appeared in The Edge Financial Daily, May 27, 2010.