Professor Sidharta Utama joined the IFAC Board in November 2022, nominated by the Institute of Indonesia Chartered Accountants (IAI).

He is a professor of Accounting at Universitas Indonesia (UI). He serves as an independent commissioner, chair and member of audit committee in a number of listed companies. He is the chair of the advisory board of the Indonesia Institute for Corporate Directorship and the secretary of the National Committee on Governance Policy, Coordinating Ministry for Economic Affairs. He has been the vice rector on finance and general affairs at UI and the chairman of the Indonesia Commodity Futures Trading Regulatory Agency.

Prof. Utama serves as the member of the management board at IAI, the oversight board at the Indonesian Institute of Chartered Public Accountants, the steering committee on Financial Accounting policy of the central bank, and the Committee on Public Accountant Profession, Ministry of Finance. He represents IAI as the council member of ASEAN Federation of Accountants. He was also a member of the International Accounting Education Standards Board and the Indonesian Accounting Standards Board.

Prof. Utama obtained his undergraduate degree in accounting from UI, MBA in finance and information system from Indiana University, and PhD in accounting from Texas A&M university. He is a Chartered Accountant and Chartered Financial Analyst and has published research papers in accounting, corporate governance, and finance.

Kathryn Byrne joined the IFAC Board in November 2022 having been nominated by the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants. She previously served as a member of IFAC’s Nominating Committee (2018-2021), chair of the Compliance Advisory Panel (2016-2017), and member of the Compliance Advisory Panel (2010-2015).

Ms. Byrne has more than 35 years of experience delivering services to domestic and foreign corporations, ensuring they are following US GAAP and International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). She is a member of the Group Governance Council of Mazars Group and was a Signature Bank board member for over 16 years until April 2022. During this time, she served as Lead Director and was a member of the examining, compensation, risk, and nominating committees. She is also chair of Women@Mazars, is a Trustee of The Bolger Foundation, a mentor to a Liberian student for SHE-CAN and serves on the James Madison University College of Business Board of Advisors.

Ms. Byrne graduated from James Madison University with a Bachelor of Business Administration in Accounting and Finance. She also completed the Mazars Next MBA Program.

Today, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) released a new report providing insight into climate-related disclosure. Getting to Net Zero: A Global Review of Corporate Disclosures focuses on corporate emissions reduction reporting. It finds that inconsistency and incomparability of target disclosures may pose challenges for investors, regulators, and other stakeholders who require actionable information. The report’s findings strongly support the movement in global policy towards rapidly enhancing the usefulness of disclosures on climate-related targets and transition plans.

Getting to Net Zero is based on 2020 corporate reporting and provides a useful benchmark for climate disclosures which are under development by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), and the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), among other initiatives. The report also comes during the COP27 conference in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt, where delegates from over 190 countries, many of which have proposed or set net-zero targets for around mid-century, gather to discuss and progress climate actions.

“With COP27, this is perfect time to dig into what is being disclosed and explore how emissions disclosures need to become more decision-useful,” said IFAC CEO Kevin Dancey. “The accountancy profession is well positioned to drive improvements in climate reporting, ensuring information is trusted and decision-useful for management and boards, investors, and all stakeholders.”

Some key takeaways from Getting to Net Zero include:

• 66% of the large, exchange-traded companies IFAC reviewed included some type of emissions reduction target in their corporate disclosures.
• These emissions targets used a variety of terminology and only 39% incorporated Scope 3 emissions.
• Most companies (90%) who disclose emissions targets also provide a disclosure about how they plan to reach their target.
• Only 24% of companies with a plan include some past expenditure or future estimate of expenditures to implement plan actions.

About IFAC

IFAC is the global organization for the accountancy profession dedicated to serving the public interest by strengthening the profession and contributing to the development of strong international economies. IFAC is comprised of 180 members and associates in 135 countries and jurisdictions, representing more than 3 million accountants in public practice, education, government service, industry, and commerce.

Do you want to learn more about the $1 trillion USD sustainable debt market and other sustainability developments that will impact CPAs in practice and their clients? Join CPA Canada and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) for an:

To view all installments of Exploring the IESBA Code, visit the series landing page here.