How should I report on my sustainability data if my fiscal year doesn’t match my calendar year?
General Guidance
When preparing ESG reports, always verify the specific reporting year requirements outlined by the applicable regulation, standard, framework, or data request. It is best practice to align your data submission with the designated reporting year to ensure compliance and consistency.
If your fiscal year does not match your calendar year for reporting:
1. Confirm Reporting Requirements
- If possible, reach out to the relevant reporting body to clarify their expectations. Some may require all data to be collected strictly in line with their defined reporting year, regardless of your internal practices, while others allow more flexibility.
2. Adjust Data Collection and Reporting
- Establish a system to track ESG data by calendar year if your fiscal year differs.
- Where necessary, use estimation methods (e.g., prorating or extrapolating) to align fiscal-year data with reporting-year requirements and document these adjustments.
- Transparency is critical when reconciling differences between fiscal and reporting years. Include a section in your ESG report explicitly addressing these differences and the steps taken to ensure data alignment.
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