With corporate sustainability firmly embedded in MHA’s activities, Zoya Malik, Editor-in-Chief, International Accounting Bulletin reached out to Mark J Lumsdon-Taylor, Head of Sustainability at MHA (a Baker Tilly firm) to learn about their ESG advisory services and why it’s critical to align with UK and international climate impact and risk assessment guidance and programmes

Zoya Malik: Kindly describe the topic you are presenting at IAFA 2025 and how this will impact your clients’ business and growth

Mark J Lumsdon-Taylor:  MHA offers a class-leading suite of ESG and sustainability services across advisory and technical reporting. When building our services suite, we noted that many businesses that are mandated to report their greenhouse gas emissions, did so reluctantly, whilst smaller companies avoided ESG and sustainability engagement.

Many saw the value for the planet, but the value to their business was less clear. We determined to break that cycle.

We adopted a mantra informing everything we developed and delivered: Purpose with Profit, ensuring the benefits to a company are as clear as those for the planet. That as I say, ‘Corporate sustainability does not have to come at the cost of corporate profitability’.

This approach means we qualify every sustainable action with the business benefits it delivers.

We identified 10 real-world benefits for smaller companies, often undecided about their sustainability journey:

1. Your company forms part of the Scope 3 emissions of your customers – non-compliance can mean lost business
   
   
2. Government procurement requires demonstrable ESG commitment
   
   
3. Sustainability programmes can deliver enormous efficiency gains
   
   
4. Better loan terms can be offered to more sustainable businesses
   
   
5. Sustainability can deliver enormous competitive advantage
   
   
6. Non-compliance can be costly in terms of fines and business losses
   
   
7. Investment criteria now include sustainability dimensions
   
   
8. Attracting and retaining staff often requires a strong business sustainability profile
   
   
9. Sustainability can provide compelling content for marketing and PR
   
   
10. Leaders stand out, so ESG and sustainability leadership can attract conquest business

We also co-developed a unique business sustainability assessment tool called Activate.

With Activate we can assess any company’s sustainability position, embryonic or in progress, under E (Economic), and ESG headings. From there we are able to inform a company’s ESG and sustainability planning, including their route to net zero.

As part of the global Baker Tilly International network, we deliver our services throughout the world, from CSRD reporting in Europe, SECR and ESOS compliance in the UK, to advising and reporting for countries across the world.

ZM: Do tell us about the trends in the market that will impact the accounting industry and your business segment over the next 24 months in your growth markets.

MLT: With climate change impacting all business risk assessment, our sustainability offering has grown exponentially in importance to our company and to our clients.

The legal obligation for the UK and other countries to meet the aims of the Paris Agreement, the EU publicly declaring it wants to lead the world in sustainability, the European Green deal and its Fit for 55 enabling mechanisms, as well as national programmes across the globe, means there is increasing pressure on companies of all types to make and deliver on their sustainability commitments and obligations.

As some countries return to higher GHG emissions, that need increases amongst other territories, and at MHA our robust suite of services is designed to galvanize enthusiastic commitment.

ZM: How do you value your presence at IAFA 2025 and with IAB & The Accountant ? What is the objective this year for you and your business attending IAFA 2025?

MLT: Billed as ‘where innovation meets integrity in Accounting’ the IAFA International Accounting Awards sum up the very essence of our approach to corporate sustainability at every level.

We need a sustainable planet, and responsible business sustainability must go hand in glove with that.