For more context, read How do climate risks affect company value?.
Climate reporting under AASB S2 is a financial reporting obligation. If you're in finance, much of the discipline is familiar: define your reporting boundary, document your judgements, reconcile the numbers and keep an audit file.
What's new is the subject matter, and how much of the information sits outside the finance function. You need contributions from operations, risk, strategy, procurement and leadership. But you don't need to start from a blank page.
We've put together Five steps to a confident start on climate reporting for finance and reporting teams preparing for their first disclosure. It's a practical self service guide to help you establish what is required, what information you already have, who needs to be involved and where further work is needed.
The first management decision is how to organise the work: what Finance can coordinate, what other functions must contribute, and which gaps need specialist support. The aim is a manageable starting plan, not a completed disclosure.
The five steps
- Understand what's being asked. Confirm your reporting group and timing, understand the four disclosure pillars, and identify who needs to be involved. It's mostly about how climate affects your business, not just emissions.
- Take stock of what you have. Your annual report, website, strategy, risk register, asset records and supplier information are a useful first draft. Ask management to confirm and correct it.
- Run it like a financial reporting project. Document positions and materiality judgements, assign owners, build your evidence trail and plan for assurance.
- Start emissions at the ledger. Use existing financial records to identify energy, fuel and purchasing activity. Work from quantities where available, and refine estimates as better data arrives.
- Look for the opportunity and the value. Connect the material risks and opportunities to costs, revenue, capital, resilience and performance. Decide what follows.
What each step should produce
You do not need a complete analysis to make a start. Each step should produce something management can review and use to plan the next stage.
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| Step | Initial output | Suggested management owner | Next action |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Understand what's being asked | Confirmed reporting group, first reporting year and initial responsibility map | CFO or Finance lead | Confirm requirements and agree who will coordinate the work |
| 2. Take stock of what you have | Inventory of existing business information, sources and gaps | Finance, with Risk, Sustainability and Operations | Ask information owners to verify what is current and reliable |
| 3. Run it like a financial reporting project | Initial workplan, decision record and evidence register | Finance or Reporting lead | Assign responsibilities, review points and evidence requirements |
| 4. Start emissions at the ledger | Initial activity data inventory and a record of missing quantities or estimates | Finance, with Operations, Sustainability and Procurement | Identify available activity data and the calculations requiring further work |
| 5. Look for the opportunity and the value | Initial list of risks, opportunities and potential business consequences | Strategy or executive management, supported by Finance | Select which matters need further evidence, financial analysis or management decisions |
These are suggested starting responsibilities, not a prescribed operating model. The accountable executive and contributing functions will depend on the organisation's structure and capabilities.
What you can do this month
Start by confirming your reporting group and first reporting year. Bring together the business information you already use and identify who can verify it.
As you review the information, distinguish between:
- Verified information: Records and evidence that management has checked and can explain.
- Working assumptions: Reasonable starting positions that still need testing or confirmation.
- Evidence gaps: Information that is missing, incomplete or not yet reliable enough for the intended use.
Record who owns each unresolved matter and when it needs to be addressed. Not every gap needs to be closed immediately. Prioritise the information and judgements that matter to your reporting requirements and business decisions.
The guide includes self service starters for each step, a readiness self check and options for keeping the work in house or getting targeted help.
FREE PDF GUIDE
Five steps to a confident start on climate reporting
Use the practical checklist and self service starters with your finance and reporting team.
Do it yourself, or get support?
If you've got the capacity, use the guide to make a start yourself. If you're stuck on a judgement or evidence gap, bring in support for that issue. If you need a coordinated start, our AASB S2 Fast Track works from what you already have, so management confirms rather than creates.
My suggestion: start with the information you trust, record what you don't yet know, and give the right people clear questions to answer.
At the end of your first month, aim to have a confirmed reporting timetable, named responsibilities, an initial evidence inventory and a prioritised workplan. You should also know which judgements require executive attention and where specialist advice may be useful.
You won't have resolved every uncertainty. What matters is knowing which ones could affect your disclosure or business decisions, and having a clear process for resolving them.
General information only. Requirements, thresholds and assurance arrangements may change; check the current position before relying on the guide's dates.
Source note: The downloadable guide is the companion resource. Confirm current reporting requirements and the guide’s approval before publication.