How The ESG Push Is Reshaping Roles In Accounting And Finance

It's no news for a finance professional to scroll through quarterly numbers when the CEO drops an unexpected bombshell. However, this question skips past profits and revenue, landing squarely on carbon emissions and supplier diversity. Scenes like this are exploding across boardrooms nationwide. Financial reporting's old playbook is getting torn up, and number-crunchers now operate where finance collides with climate action, social impact, and corporate accountability. The accounting world is changing and seeing a massive shift in what counts as material information and how companies define value today.

India's ESG assets under management have exploded past ₹11,000 crore (roughly US $1.5 billion) by mid-2025, according to IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation). Rewind to January 2020, and that figure sat at just ₹2,747 crore (US $330 million). That nearly fourfold leap tells the story of how ESG has crashed into the mainstream of Indian financial markets.

Understanding ESG in the Context of Financial Reporting
ESG accounting weaves environmental, social, and governance data into financial reports and strategic choices. The environmental piece tracks carbon output, clean energy adoption, and waste reduction systems. Social metrics measure workforce diversity, employee treatment, and community engagement. Governance examines leadership makeup, pay structures, and crisis management protocols. This shift answers investor pressure, customer demands, and tightening regulations. Finance professionals mastering these skills evolve into power players rather than box-ticking bureaucrats. The ability to track and translate these metrics has become make-or-break for companies hunting capital and fighting for market share in an era where stakeholders refuse to choose between sustainability and profits anymore.

New Competencies Required for Modern Finance Professionals
The profession now demands capabilities that extend beyond traditional financial analysis. Data management skills for non-financial metrics become critical, particularly when dealing with intangible factors that resist simple quantification. Mastering frameworks like GRI, SASB, and TCFD lays the groundwork for reporting that people actually trust. Finance professionals now work across teams, pulling and checking ESG data from operations, supply chains, and workforce systems, turning silos into collaboration zones where real insights emerge. The skill to detect trends and warning signs in messy data separates the competent from the exceptional. Technology proficiency for ESG software platforms and data visualisation tools enables efficient reporting processes. The ability to assess the materiality of various ESG factors for specific industries and business models requires both technical knowledge and strategic thinking. Communication skills to translate complex performance metrics into stakeholder-ready reports complete the essential competency framework.

Expanding Service Opportunities in Practice
The rise of ESG creates substantial opportunities for accounting professionals to expand their service offerings. ESG audit and assurance services represent a growing practice area as organisations seek external validation of their sustainability claims. Advisory services help companies build governance boards and ESG committees with proper oversight structures. Professionals can guide clients in pinpointing key performance indicators that match their business strategy. Implementing data collection and management systems requires expertise that finance professionals are uniquely positioned to provide. Tax optimisation opportunities related to green incentives and sustainable business practices offer tangible financial benefits. Risk assessment services that incorporate environmental and social factors provide comprehensive protection strategies. Strategic consulting on integrating ESG metrics into enterprise decision-making positions finance professionals as valuable business partners rather than back-office support functions.

A 2025 CFA Institute survey reveals that 60% of Indian investors now consider ESG funds attractive, a stark contrast to the global average of 29%. This heightened domestic interest, combined with systematic investment plan inflows that surged from $31 billion in 2019 to $124 billion in 2024, indicates substantial demand for ESG advisory and assurance services among Indian companies and investment firms.
Navigating Implementation Challenges

Despite growing interest, ESG implementation presents considerable obstacles. The absence of standardised metrics creates complexity in measurement and comparison across organisations and industries. Technological gaps in software infrastructure hamper efficient data collection and reporting. Cultural resistance within organisations often slows the adoption of new measurement paradigms. Quantifying intangible factors like community relations or brand reputation remains problematic. Resource limits choke comprehensive data collection across sprawling supply chains. The regulatory landscape keeps moving, requiring constant learning and flexibility from practitioners. Professionals must balance thorough work with practical deadlines while ensuring real commitment rather than shallow box-checking exercises.

Preparing for Professional Relevance
Finance professionals who build ESG expertise early unlock major career leverage. Specialised courses and certifications in sustainability accounting offer clear learning roadmaps. Staying sharp on regulations and voluntary frameworks demands continuous investment in professional growth. Building cross-functional collaboration skills enables effective data gathering and reporting. Technology adoption accelerates efficient ESG reporting processes. Those who position themselves as value creators rather than compliance officers will find greater opportunities for advancement. ESG skills are becoming the edge in career climbs as companies realize these capabilities matter in leadership positions. The profession is being rewritten in real time. Those who invest in building these skills today will ride this and also direct where it crashes next. The next chapter will not focus on whether ESG will reshape finance; instead, it will stand as witness to the leaders who are willing to transform the industry, rather than scrambling to catch up.

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