Auckland-based consulting firm, Mosaic Financial Services Infrastructure, has launched a new line of climate risk training courses targeting senior executives and boards on both sides of the Tasman.
Mosaic partner, Tracey Berry, said the four-course program takes participants from the basics of climate risk through to more pragmatic steps such as scenario analysis.
Berry said with mandatory disclosure already in place in NZ – and coming soon to Australia – senior executives and company directors need to grasp both the theory and practical implications of climate risk for their businesses.
“In order to comply with climate risk disclosures both board and management have to understand the concepts. It can be a steep learning curve,” she said. “We want to help bridge those knowledge gaps in a succinct way.”
The Mosaic course materials have been developed in collaboration with Australian partner firm, Informed.cities, with the ability to tailor content to individual business needs.
And the experiences of NZ climate-reporting entities, which already have one year of mandatory disclosures in the bag, should also benefit Australian counterparts ahead of a similar regime due to kick in there next year.
Earlier this month Mosaic participated in a climate risk webinar for Australian firms organised by trans-Tasman legal firm, Dentons, Berry said.
“Dentons has a wide audience in Australia where a large number of businesses will have to produce climate risk reports,” she said.
Under a law passed earlier in September, more than 6,000 Australian entities will be required to publish climate-risk disclosures during a phased process beginning from the July 1, 2025, financial year.
The NZ legislation captures about 200 entities including insurers, banks, NZX-listed firms and licensed fund managers with at least $1 billion of assets.
Australian investment managers (including superannuation schemes) with A$5 billion or more of assets must issue climate disclosure statements from the 2026 tax-reporting period.
Berry said the Mosaic climate-risk courses involve 60-90 minutes of presentation, preferably in-person but they can be delivered online.
Meanwhile, the External Reporting Board (XRB) has flagged some relief for NZ entities caught by the climate disclosure rules following push-back from participants concerned about the cost and complexity of compliance.
For example, as reported last week, the Boutique Investment Group (BIG) asked government to delay carbon footprint assurance statements for fund managers that were due to come into force next year.
In a statement, XRB chief, April Mackenzie, said the accounting standards body would issue a consultation on proposed “transitional” relief on some climate-related disclosures by year-end.
According to the XRB release, the proposed changes would cover ways “to ease certain disclosure and assurance requirements to allow time for improvements in data availability and quality”.
“With the first wave of Climate Statements now published by many entities (CREs), we’re pleased with the overall level of effort made to meet the objectives of the climate standards,” Mackenzie said. “Ultimately, a balance must be found between supporting entities to disclose, while systems, processes and data quality improve over time.”