By expressing issues such as low pay or overuse of carbon as 'externalities', we have let company directors, their auditors and investors off the hook – ignoring actions they could take using existing accounting standards, warns Jeremy Nicholls.

From aircraft safety to finance, we live our lives by standards. But many simply reinforce patriarchy – not least in financial accounting. With developments like AI exacerbating prejudices, there’s an urgent need for change, says Jeremy Nicholls.

Current guidance on how to prepare a financial report ignores their biggest user – one that's interested in much more than just money. It's causing billions in wasted resources, writes our columnist. 

Assurance of sustainability reports is meant to tell us that the reporting has been done properly. Shouldn’t that question be answered from the perspective of the people most affected by an organisation’s actions?

Economic theory depends on accounting – yet it ignores the role of accounting in distributing value. Why does that matter? Because it limits the potential contribution of economics in resolving today's social and environmental crises.

Most companies’ sustainability reports still fail to capture what matters to the people who actually experience the impacts. Assurance can help us put them and their wellbeing high up on the agenda – and push us to keep improving.

PART 3: Figuring out what to include in a sustainability report means accepting higher thresholds for uncertainty. That’s confusing for the user and more difficult for the auditor, writes our columnist – but there is a way to make it work.

PART 2: Assurance and audit might not get your heart racing – but they're fundamental to investment. In the second in this four-part series, columnist Jeremy Nicholls explains what financial audit means for sustainability assurance. 

PART 1: Assurance and audit might not get your heart racing – but they’re at the very heart of how profit-making firms can contribute to sustainability. Our columnist Jeremy Nicholls on why it’s time to fall in love with the nuts and bolts of business.