Materiality Reporting Workshop for Financial Services Sector Scheduled for November 20, 2013 by ISOS Group & G&A Institute

New York, October 30, 2013 /3BL Media/ - The dramatic growth in reporting by U.S. companies on their sustainability and responsibility efforts has increased the focus on the "material" content of such reporting.  Companies are engaging with both internal and external stakeholders to discuss topics that are considered to be material as well as identifying issues specific to company finances, operations, environmental management, supply chain and procurement, and other aspects of their operations to consider their materiality.

The guidelines of choice for most companies in the United States and around the world are those of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which has its roots in the U.S. dating back to the 1990s and is now currently headquartered in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.  As the not-for-profit GRI updates the guidelines for reporting on ESG issues (environmental, social issues, corporate governance) from the present G3.1 to G4 (fourth generation), the emphasis on materiality as a process and as reporting disclosure is increasing.

What is material?  The question is settled in terms of traditional financial accounting and reporting by public companies, but with the increasing emphasis on "sustainability" issues and the need for reliable and comparable metrics for ESG strategies and performance, corporate managers are seeking information and advice on next steps in their materiality processes.

Asset managers and financial analysts as well are seeking guidance on the materiality processes and disclosures of companies that they invest in, or analyze and monitor.

Materiality Workshop - Financial Services Sector

To meet these needs, two of the leading GRI consulting firms have teamed up to provide information and advice on what companies in North America, and around the globe, are addressing as material Aspects in their disclosures.  ISOS Group is a GRI Certified training partner in the U.S. and Governance & Accountability Institute is the exclusive data partner for GRI in the U.S. 

Together they will conduct a one-day workshop on November 20th to share information on the G4 Guidelines rollout and emphasis on materiality and G&A Institute will share the results of their year-long analysis of materiality reporting by companies in 33 sectors worldwide. 

The November workshop will focus on the disclosure and reporting practices of companies in the Financial Services Sector.  As the new GRI G4 framework is rolled out over the coming months, it is clear that an increasing focus on materiality and "what" is material...and "why"...and "how" will this affect investment decision making or corporate sustainability reporting, strategy, and results.  One of the first steps in setting an organization’s strategy and preparing a GRI report is to conduct a thorough materiality process to determine the most important issues, Aspects, and Key Performance Indicators for internal interests, investors and other stakeholders. 

This one day workshop is designed to enable corporate managers and investors to get a head start on the important process of identifying and prioritizing material issues with the help of findings from G&A Institute's research on the results of materiality processes of over 1,500 companies across the globe. 

In the first half of the day ISOS Group, a GRI-Certified training partner, will walk through the new focus on materiality in the GRI G4 framework.  This will inform the group about the complexities of this process, what it means and why it matters so much to companies and investors. 

For the second half of the day, Governance & Accountability Institute will discuss the results of their research on the materiality processes of companies in the financial sector already using the GRI framework to report on their Sustainability strategies, performance, achievements, and other elements of their sustainability journey. Companies in the sector have been challenged by the events of recent years, including the sub-prime mortgage debacle, passage of reform legislation Dodd-Frank Act), shareholder lawsuits, federal prosecutions of managers, and a general decline in trust by investors, customers and stakeholders.

The training partners will supplement the hard data analysis with case studies and examples of actual corporate disclosure practices, implications, and results of leading companies in the Financial Services sector.

This is an interactive and data-driven workshop designed to save managers time, effort and money, to provide participants with the information to effectively report on their sustainability progress and to achieve a leadership role in the Financial Services Sector.   

Details:
One-day workshop, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., November 20, 2013
Manhattan location / to be announced
Registration fee:
Individual: $500.00;
Team of 3: $1,000.00.

As a bonus for all participants of this workshop, you will receive G&A’s full analysis of Financial Services Sector reporting results, valued at $500.00.

Registration:
http://isosgroup.com/gri-certified-reporting/trainings/materiality/

Meet the Governance & Accountability Institute [“G&A”]

G&A was chosen by GRI to be the exclusive GRI Data Partner for the United States of America, The United Kingdom, and The Republic of Ireland. This means that we are responsible for finding, analyzing, and sharing important details of every sustainability report from every organization headquartered in these three countries. Our data feeds into multiple important endpoints used by various stakeholders (investors, NGOs, data providers, media, clients etc), we communicate and announce every report via our communications channels, and the details are combined with the other global data partners in the GRI reporting database.

This year the G&A Institute researchers analyzed over 1,500 reports for their disclosure levels on all 84 GRI G3.1 performance indicators.  With this comprehensive data set, for the first time ever, we can combine the materiality processes of over 1,500 reporters and give you a comprehensive overview into which GRI indicators are found to be most material for your sector.

Contact:

Governance & Accountability Institute | E-mail: info@ga-institute.com | Office: 646.430.8230

Meet ISOS Group [“ISOS”]:

ISOS Group is a leading sustainability consultancy company with big project experience that blends a passion for corporate social responsibility reporting with educating the next generation of sustainability professionals. ISOS is a GRI Certified Training Partner in the U.S. in which capacity we have individually trained the highest number of sustainability professionals in the world. 

Our approach to GRI training uses proven methods tested with previous clients, knowledge in the field and the best standard for sustainability reporting, the Global Reporting Initiative’s (GRI) G4 Framework. Our team of GRI Certified practitioners has unmatched experience working with a wide range of businesses, which allows us to share best practices and valuable insights across all sectors. We specialize in GRI and CDP sustainability reporting, external assurance of CSR reports and verification of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate data, which gives us a holistic understanding of reporting, and assurance.

ISOS Group is a Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Certified Training Partner and a Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) Silver Consultancy Partner in the U.S.

Contact:

ISOS Group | E-mail: info@isosgroup.com | Office: 619.246.1122