UNCTAD is the United Nations focal point on accounting and reporting issues, which are both critical for attracting investment and promoting financial stability.

This intergovernmental working group is dedicated to assists member States to improving quality and international comparability of financial reporting and non-financial disclosure, such as environmental issues, corporate governance and corporate social responsibility.

Items to be considered by the intergovernmental working group at its 39th session include the following:

• Good practices in and approaches to the practical implementation of sustainability reporting requirements.

• Review of practical implementation of international standards of accounting and reporting in the private and public sectors.

Since the thirty-eighth session of the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts, significant developments have taken place in its main area of work, namely, financial and sustainability reporting by enterprises. Delegates at the thirty-ninth session will review the main developments and the implications for States, particularly from the perspective of the practical implementation of accounting and sustainability reporting standards that are being promulgated at the global level.

In November 2021, the International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation Trustees announced the formation of the International Sustainability Standards Board. Since then, the Board has issued two exposure drafts for public comments. This process will culminate in the issuance of two sustainability reporting standards that will have practical implementation implications in many States. Similar developments have been taking place in the European Union.

In anticipation of these developments, UNCTAD has been facilitating consultations on identifying good practices in and approaches to the practical implementation of sustainability reporting requirements. Insights gained from UNCTAD technical assistance activities implemented in the last two years have enriched the consultations. Delegates at the thirty-ninth session will deliberate on recent developments in sustainability reporting and articulate good practices with regard to regulatory, institutional and human capacity development dimensions.

In addition, in the past two decades, international financial reporting standards and international public sector accounting standards have been widely implemented in States. Periodic reviews have been conducted by the Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts with a view to facilitating the implementation of the standards by States. Delegates at the thirty-ninth session will review the developments in and the practical implementation of the standards in the last two years and address practical application issues, particularly in the context of developing countries.