On 22 October 2014 the directive 2014/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council amending the directive 2013/34/EU as regards disclosure of non-financial and diversity information by certain large undertaking and groups has been adopted.
The Directive introduces significant changes related to the extension of the scope of the non-financial information with respect to which a statement needs to be included in the management report.
From 1 January 2017 this obligation will concern environmental issues, but also social and employee matters, respect for human rights, anti-corruption and bribery matters.
The information to be disclosed will include:
- a description of the policies pursued by the undertaking in this respect,
- the outcome of those policies,
- the principal risks related to those matters and
- non-financial key performance indicators relevant to the particular business.
It shows that the expectations are very precise. Thus, in order to comply with this new obligation it is necessary to start preparation well ahead.
New rules will concern large undertakings which are public interest entities exceeding on their balance sheet dates the criterion of the average number of 500 employees during the financial year.
The new obligation will be implemented to the Polish law through respective change of the Accountancy act dated 29 September 1994. The works on the implementing law are currently underway. The draft amendment will most probably be published by the end of March 2016.
However, even right now it is possible to say that non-compliance in the above scope will be associated with risk of criminal penalty for the management.
Dentons is the world's first polycentric global law firm. A top 20 firm on the Acritas 2015 Global Elite Brand Index, the Firm is committed to challenging the status quo in delivering consistent and uncompromising quality and value in new and inventive ways. Driven to provide clients a competitive edge, and connected to the communities where its clients want to do business, Dentons knows that understanding local cultures is crucial to successfully completing a deal, resolving a dispute or solving a business challenge. Now the world's largest law firm, Dentons' global team builds agile, tailored solutions to meet the local, national and global needs of private and public clients of any size in more than 125 locations serving 50-plus countries. www.dentons.com.
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.
