Sustainability Reporting and Analysis: Accounting for a Changing World

This course examines the expanding role of sustainability reporting within financial reporting, corporate governance, andthecapital markets. Assustainabilityissues increasingly influence corporate performance and stakeholder decision-making, accountants play a critical role in measuring, reporting, and assuring non-financial information. The course develops a rigorous understanding of how sustainability information is produced,disclosed, evaluated, and used.We begin by exploring the economic foundations and evolution of sustainability reporting, including stakeholder and shareholder perspectives, regulatory developments, and the institutional ecosystem of standard setters, investors, and rating agencies. Students examine major reporting frameworks and standardsincluding GRI, IFRS/SASB, ISSB, TCFD, and ESRSwith particular emphasis on materiality concepts and their implications for financial reporting.The course provides applied exposure to environmental reporting topics such as greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting, climate risk disclosure, biodiversity, water, and waste. We also analyze social and governance reporting, including labor practices, occupational health and safety, supplier oversight, and board governance structures. Through the Return on Sustainable Investment (ROSI)methodology, students evaluate how sustainability initiatives may create value and influence firm performance.In the finalportionof the course, we examine external assurance of sustainability information, ESG ratings and indices, and the role of sustainability information in investment strategies. We also consider how emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, are reshaping sustainability measurement and reporting.The course emphasizes analytical reasoning, measurement challenges, comparability, and the reliability of non-financial information in capital markets. It is designed for students pursuing careers in accounting, finance, consulting, asset management, or corporate leadership roles where sustainability reporting increasingly intersects with financial decision-making.