ESG news — First we are going to discuss ESG in accounting. ESG is being discussed more and more in finance and accounting. There have been a few new stories out about ESG that I think might interest readers.

SEC Creates Task Force

The SEC has created a task force to identify misconduct in environmental, social and governance reporting.

They say this is because the Biden administration is focused on combatting climate change as evidenced by rejoining the Paris Climate agreement. They will also utilize the office of the whistleblower to help combat fraud.

They did this as a result of some news out of the Global ESG Monitor that U.S. companies in the Dow Jones earned miserable scores in reporting their progress towards ESG goals. They also did this because growth in popularity of ESG funds.

PwC ESG Survey

The SEC and the Global ESG Monitor are correct that ESG is not a priority in the United States. According to a survey from PwC, ESG reporting is sixth on their list of priorities for their finance function.

1. Establishing finance function as a strategic business partner
2. Increasing automation
3. Cost management nv
Enhancing ESG reporting came in at sixth in priorities for CFO’s. Maybe this was the wrong question to ask CFO’s. They should have asked the CEO or maybe the head of HR.

Investors Souring on ESG Funds

According to an article, ESG investors are also souring on the idea of ESG in corporate america. Jeff Uben who previously praised companies like Blackrock for ESG investing are now sceptical. Now Uben is saying that blackrocks esg investments will not address climate change.

Jeff Uben who is an ESG minded investor and recently joined the board of Exxon, said that Blackrocks passive investments won’t reward carbon-intensive companies that are reducing emissions.

It’s because these funds hold traditional investments like oil and gas companies and big tech companies like Microsoft and Amazon.

Deloitte Revenues Increasing From Government Work

According to InnovationAus.com deloitte’s government work in Australia grew by 35%. Their revenue grew from 156.7 million to 214 million. The biggest contracts came from Services Australia and Digital Transformation Agency.

This comes on the heels of Deloitte building a government AI institute in the United States.

As governments exerc`1 ise more power over people and public health during the pandemic, you can expect big 4 revenues to go up.