Collaboration and sharing experience across different stakeholders and sectors is key to advancing sustainability reporting, according to a high-level meeting in Azerbaijan.  

Opening a symposium on sustainability reporting, Kanan Ahmadzada, Leader of the BCCA Sustainability and Energy Committee, and Firuza Abdullayeva, Head of the Accounting Policy Department of the Ministry of Finance of Azerbaijan, highlighted the importance of collaboration and sharing experience across different stakeholders and sectors to advance sustainability reporting.

ACCA and the British Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan (BCCA) brought together representatives of business, the financial sector, regulators, professional bodies and international institutions for a panel discussion on sustainability reporting in Baku on 4 November.

The event, Sustainability Reporting in Azerbaijan: Tracking Progress and Building Readiness, drew on ACCA’s global research, Sustainability reporting: track your progress to create decision-useful information. The research reflects the views of more than 1,000 finance professionals across 113 jurisdictions and examines organisations’ progress, readiness and key challenges in producing sustainability-related information.

Firuza Abdullayeva, Head of the Accounting Policy Department at the Ministry of Finance of Azerbaijan, said:‘The Ministry is taking steps towards adopting sustainability disclosure standards and introducing reporting requirements based on them. This includes preparing draft legislation to support their application. Building institutional capacity will be essential. Companies will need the skills and expertise to prepare high-quality sustainability reports.’

Presenting the key findings and moderating the discussion, Gaukhar Ashirbekova, ACCA’s Public Affairs Lead for Eurasia, said:‘This is our first joint event on sustainability reporting in Azerbaijan with the British Chamber of Commerce in Azerbaijan, and we hope it will mark the beginning of a broader dialogue on sustainability agenda across the business community, public sector and professional bodies.

‘Our aim is to guide organisations and professional accountants to understand how to prepare for sustainability reporting and the important role they play in creating and using sustainability-related information. ACCA’s global research helps us track organisations’ progress in implementing sustainability reporting and identify where further support and capacity-building may be needed.’

The discussion took place against the backdrop of Azerbaijan’s growing sustainability agenda following its hosting of COP29.  

The panel brought together Goshgar Ahmadov, Deputy Chair of the Chamber of Auditors; Ali Ahmadzada, Economist at the Central Bank; Zeynab Gadirova, Lead Specialist in SOCAR’s ESG Standards Implementation Division; Gunay Asgarova, Director for Broader Assurance Services at PwC Azerbaijan; and Samra Talishinskaya-Abbasova, Sustainability Manager at Unibank.

ACCA’s research finds that 53% of respondents globally have started creating and using sustainability information and continue to improve their approach. Regulation is the key driver, cited by 71% of respondents. 16% said their senior leaders and boards use sustainability information in decision-making.

The panel examined Azerbaijan’s evolving sustainability reporting and assurance landscape, companies’ practical experience of reporting, and the role of sustainability information in financing decisions. The discussion also focused on regulation, the growing role of finance professionals in sustainability reporting, the need for upskilling and stronger collaboration.

The dialogue underscored the importance of collaboration across Azerbaijan’s regulatory, corporate, financial and professional communities. ACCA and BCCA will continue to support knowledge-sharing and capacity-building to help organisations create decision-useful sustainability information and support long-term value creation.

Access the report here

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