Years ago, when we wanted to know what a company was like, we looked at its turnover and based on these numbers we assessed whether a company was very solid or not. However, the years have shown that a purely financial indicator does not give us all the information about a company either. Times require other types of indicators and in this context the Non-financial Information Statement is born. For this reason, these reports are set apart from those of a financial nature in companies.
With the aim of giving weight to other types of information and assessing the actions within a company that have a positive impact on our society, the Non-financial Information Law, 11/2018 appears. As of January 1, 2021, this report is requested from companies with more than 250 workers and seeks that these companies provide a certain type of information in which they not only say how much they earn but also explain how they do it.
This type of information is not only mandatory but is also important for the investors of these companies since taking into account this element of “how they earn money” allows them to assess whether a company is profitable, sustainable and responds to the need for society to have information and to offer transparency.
So the preparation of this report is another way to contribute to a sustainable world economy, something that is imperative in the current context of climate change and to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals set by the United Nations for 2030.
Is your company ready for this change?
You should bear in mind that the EINF report asks for information related to environmental, social and personnel related issues, in relation to human rights and information related to the fight against bribery and corruption. This report may also have information on supply chains and may even contain actions taken to promote good practices. The most frequent tool, although not the only one, used by companies to follow when preparing their EINF report is the GRI Global Reporting Initiative, as it is the one with the highest international recognition and acceptance.
Once you are clear about what the Non-Financial Information Statement should reflect, you should know that this report must be approved at the shareholders’ meeting and must be validated by conformity assessment companies that comply with the principles of impartiality with the company that prepares the report. and that she is an expert evaluator of conformity in matters of sustainability (sustainability verifiers and with experience in verifications and certifications in the areas of environment, equality, compliance as well as the SDGs. In this case, ICDQ can help you since we are a certification body and conformity assessment verification without conflict of interest in other activities in client companies such as consulting, legal management, accounting actions, training services, … in companies that are considered as conflict of interest in the evaluations of compliance and that could question the verification of the information by other interests before the interest groups.
And how does it benefit companies?
Beyond the obligation to prepare this report, working with this type of information improves the image of our company. In addition, it forces us to make a series of internal reflections that will be beneficial for the entire organization, as well as to have key indicators in the areas of sustainability increasingly considered by stakeholders and investors.
If you need information or verification assistance, please do not hesitate to contact ICDQ, your Reference Conformity Assessor