Sustainability Regulation Propelling Transformation in Corporate Reporting, According to New Survey by Workiva

The majority (81%) of companies not subject to the European Union’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) intend to partially or fully align their sustainability disclosures with its requirements, according to an independent survey commissioned by Workiva Inc. (NYSE:WK). The third annual 2024 ESG Practitioner Survey polled more than 2,000 people involved in corporate reporting, including finance and accounting, sustainability, risk, and internal audit professionals across North America, Europe, and Asia.

“The adoption of the CSRD was a pivotal moment, marking the first major regulation calling for integrated financial and sustainability disclosures with third-party assurance. Now, as companies around the world gear up for their first mandated CSRD reports in 2025, we’re seeing CSRD’s impact extend far beyond those subject to the regulation,” said Paul Volpe, Senior Vice President of Growth Solutions at Workiva. “The CSRD has initiated a global shift toward assured integrating reporting, with business leaders recognizing the market demand for contextual, transparent, and credible data that aligns with stakeholder expectations.”

Practitioners Embracing Change Despite Challenges

Across disciplines, respondents nearly unanimously cite complying with new mandates as the most pressing challenge facing reporting teams and the volume of requirements they must contend with as their top compliance concern. Still, the majority of practitioners also attest to the value in reporting, with 88% agreeing that having a strong ESG reporting program will give their organization a competitive advantage.

Likewise, 84% of respondents say integrated financial and sustainability data enables better decision-making that can improve a company’s financial performance, and 88% believe integrated reporting will have a positive impact on a company’s long-term value creation, mirroring similar sentiments expressed by institutional investors in Workiva’s 2024 Executive Benchmark on Integrated Reporting. Additionally, 88% of practitioners agree that obtaining assurance over ESG data increases the likelihood that a company will achieve its goals.

“What struck me from the 2024 ESG Practitioner Survey is that regulation is serving as a catalyst for innovation. Companies are seizing the opportunity to improve their sustainability disclosures, effectively making assured integrated reporting the gold standard in corporate reporting,” said Paul Dickinson, a member of Workiva’s ESG Advisory Council and the Founder Chair of CDP. “It's a testament to practitioners’ adaptability as we navigate a new era in corporate transparency. However, the survey also revealed that while the majority of respondents have confidence in their data, regulation poses significant hurdles for their teams.”