Management Commentary Guidance Aims to Help With ESG Reporting

The International Accounting Standards Board on Thursday issued new guidelines for the management commentaries in companies’ annual reports, including general guidance on how to report environmental, social, and governance issues.

The IASB said the guidelines, which are voluntary, were designed to help investors gauge companies’ long-term prospects, including information about “intangible resources and relationships and about sustainability matters.” The demand for more reporting on ESG issues has led to some confusion about what, and how, businesses should report sustainability matters.

• The guidelines cover sustainability and strategy reporting, but they don’t set any detailed metrics for areas such as carbon ...