Introduction
The world today has become a stage for a real time stress test of institutions, businesses, governance constructs and our normal ways of life. It has exposed the fragility innate in many of our current practices and constructs. While the world continues to reel under the impact of the crisis, this pandemic has stimulated lateral thinking and has nudged institutions and leaders to rethink and reimage their vision for success.
As businesses gear up to ease into the post COVID-19 world, they are expected to be faced with increased scrutiny from informed minds who now look at the new possibilities for operational optimisation and robustness. Sustainability reporting would be more vital than ever to bolster trust among all stakeholders.
The most important point for consideration in reporting during and post a crisis is to ensure the reliability of the information presented. Stakeholders must be provided with transparent, balanced and complete information which is void of window dressing.
Recalibrating to a post COVID-19 compatible reporting strategy
The corporate experience and response through the progression of the pandemic can be bucketed into: Respond, Relief, Recover and Resilience. This approach can anchor a company’s transition from the current corporate reporting scheme to a post COVID-19 compatible reporting scheme aligned to the shift in stakeholder requirements.
