The local and foreign companies are increasingly looking to assess their competitive position in the market through sustainability reporting and the professional accountants can play a big role in preparation of the report, experts said today.

The sustainability reports give a clear idea of the company's overall financial impacts and create opportunities for strengthening the efforts towards building a prosperous sustainable future, they said.

The sustainability reports help companies build clients' confidence and improve corporate reputations, the experts also added.

They spoke at a webinar on the "Latest developments in the standardization of sustainability reporting: An update from global and local perspective" organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB).

At the webinar, Comptroller and Auditor General of Bangladesh Mohammad Muslim Chowdhury described the accounting profits and the social profit of the organisations from the sustainable reporting.

He said the financial statements are being prepared not only for public accountability but also for the issue of concerning the organisations' sustainable activities, including the financial transactions.

He said the ICAB members need to be aware about the sustainable reporting guidelines and directives so that they could give assurance of the sustainable activities of organisations to the stakeholders.

He also urged the chartered accountants to take up the technological transformation in accounting profession not only for accounting learning but also for social profit with the cost minimize approach.

ICAB President Md Shahadat Hossain said sustainable reporting is mainly based on investor-focused capital market standards of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards and the GRI sustainability reporting requirements set by the Global Sustainability Standards Board compatible with the first designed to meet multi-stakeholder needs.

Ataur Rahman Belal, professor and chairman of accounting at Sheffield University Management School under the University of Sheffield in the UK, presented the keynote paper.