Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD)

ESG

The new CSRD Directive is applicable from the financial year 2024 and foresees the gradual expansion of the group of companies obliged to prepare a Sustainability Report. This includes all unlisted companies that exceed two of the following three criteria: Turnover > € 40 Million; Total assets > € 20 Million; Average annual employees > 250

WITH THE CSRD DIRECTIVE, SUSTAINABILITY REPORTING ENTERS THE ANNUAL FINANCIAL STATEMENTS. THIS NOVELTY ENTAILS A RADICAL CHANGE IN THE REPORTING PROCESS, FROM THE INCREASED INVOLVEMENT OF CORPORATE BODIES TO MANDATORY AUDITING. OBLIGED COMPANIES MUST HAVE A SYSTEM OF INTERNAL CONTROLS TO ENSURE THE RELIABILITY OF INFORMATION

The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the new draft directive published in April 2021, which updates the current NFRD that introduced the Non-Financial Declaration (NFD), expands the number of companies obliged to publish Sustainability Reports from the current 11,000 to around 50,000. With the CSRD, the European Commission defines for the first time a common reporting framework for sustainability data. The draft directive envisages mandatory publication of sustainability information from 2024 for existing CSRD obligated entities and from 2025 for large unlisted companies. From 2026, the obligation will also extend to listed small and medium-sized companies, small credit institutions and captive insurance companies. Measuring ESG data is therefore the challenge European companies will have to face in the coming years.

Our Services

Supporting companies in preparing the first Non Financial Reporting (CSRD)

The process leading up to the publication of the first non-financial/sustainability report must be managed in a structured manner so that a reporting methodology can be defined from the outset that can also be used in subsequent years. Within the groups, the support includes the implementation of the non-financial reporting process at the Italian and foreign subsidiaries.

RSM's accounting platform for the collection and management of ESG data

Sustainability data will be reported in the financial statements and will be increasingly requested by banks and market participants. The reporting of ESG information will become a matter of financial statements and as such will invoke the responsibilities of directors, supervisory bodies and statutory auditors. The adoption of an ad hoc application allows a company to guarantee high reliability requirements and to make the new process efficient.

RSM can equip companies with an application solution to be integrated into the information system for the effective collection and management of ESG data. RSM's accounting platform services include:

Account activation with annual licence and initial set-up of the RSM accounting platform
Updating and maintenance of the application system
Outsourcing for companies wishing to outsource ESG accounting platform activities at an early stage

Other supplementary services in the construction phase of the accounting system (CSRD)

To complement the services on the ESG accounting platform, RSM is able to provide specialised professional support in the following areas:

ESG training to internal resources and corporate bodies
Specific training on CSRD and ESRS reporting standards
Materiality procedures and stakeholder engagement
Implementation of the Co2 measurement model
Implementation of the sustainability business plan
Guidance in obtaining sustainability certifications (e.g. B-Corp) and ESG rating
Preliminary assessment for the adoption of a risk measurement model related to ESG factors