Sustainable Knowledge into Educational Standards
The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) incorporates sustainable knowledge educational standards, aiming to provide sustainable training for accounting professionals.
The IFAC believes that demand for sustainable information from stakeholders is rapidly growing, and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board, Global Reporting Initiative, and International Sustainability Standards Board have incorporated sustainable information into disclosure frameworks.
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Revision of International Education Standards
The IFAC released a draft of International Education Standards in April 2024, aimed at soliciting participants’ opinions on the inclusion of sustainable knowledge in education standards. Most participants support this revision, believing that it meets the market’s requirements for accountants’ sustainable skills. The IFAC officially approved this revision in February 2025 and released the revised international education standards in March.
The purpose of this revision is to equip accountants with the necessary skills and knowledge to handle sustainable information. As the application of sustainable information varies in different jurisdictions, this revision provides global minimum standards to avoid excessive training burden. Each jurisdiction may add relevant sustainable content based on its actual situation.
This revision mainly involves the following aspects:
- Sustainable Concepts: Sustainable concepts can help professionals understand sustainable information, and new concepts include related information, sustainable indicators and goals, value chain and scenario analysis, etc.
- Sustainable Assurance: Sustainable assurance can meet the requirements of regulatory agencies and investors, and professionals need to understand the differences between reasonable and limited assurance, as well as how to conduct sustainable information review.
- Sustainable Strategy: Sustainable strategy can help professionals make informed decisions, including global sustainable development and how sustainability affects business models.
- Sustainability Skills: Sustainability is a necessary condition for professionals to complete sustainable work, including collaborative communication, evaluating information, and adapting to changing environments.
The new international education standards will come into effect in July 2026. The International Federation of Accountants encourages its members to apply the new standards in advance, plans to update the International Education Standards Handbook this year, and develop supporting materials in the future to provide more detailed sustainable knowledge.
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