Accountants call for more "sustainability"

Europe’s banks must remake themselves in the wake of the financial crisis, so that they embed a culture of ’sustainability in business practice’.

This is the view of the European Federation of Accountants (FEE), which has released a new policy statement on the issue.

The report also placed some of the blame for the crisis on the short-term, unsustainable business models pursued by financial services firms.

In turn, the crisis has led to a downturn in the global economy which has been especially acute in the UK.

Analysts at the Ernst & Young Item Club forecast that Britain’s GDP would shrink by 4.5 per cent this year.

’Organisations need to focus on long-term sustainability of their business – they need to ensure their financial sustainability and operate responsibly,’ the FEE report stated.

’In doing so, they need to take account of the wider social and environmental systems within which they operate.’

The FEE also said that responsible accounting services would help to provide impetus for change across the financial services sector as a whole.ADNFCR-2318-ID-19272588-ADNFCR