Episode highlights

You’ve both been involved in creating iLOQ’s sustainability report. What roles did you play?

Sanna: CtrlPrint is a collaborative platform that focuses on the layout process of the report. Brandkind’s team was responsible for the design, and the client was able to produce content through the platform. This aims to streamline the process and make it more efficient.

Niina: At Brandkind, I was responsible for the team and sustainability reporting, working with our designers. We planned the latest report to be as easy as possible for the client. That’s why we recommended CtrlPrint to gather experiences and prepare for stricter reporting requirements. We’ve been pleased with the ease of making and commenting on the report.

What benefits does a client get from the collaboration between a creative agency and a reporting platform provider?

Niina: Commenting and editing are easy because, with CtrlPrint, both you and your team, whether client or agency, can modify numbers and comment without email traffic. This speeds up the process and increases accuracy.

Sanna: Collaboration clarifies roles and improves understanding. Reporting processes are under time pressure, but we provide customer service at the right time, so questions can be resolved quickly. This avoids the “broken telephone” phenomenon where information transfer slows down. In the future, a new format can be smoothly added to the existing process.

Many companies report financial figures and sustainability in the same report. How does financial management intertwine with reporting?

Sanna: Reporting becomes part of financial communication. The information required by the sustainability reporting directive will be included in the official financial statements and the board’s report, which requires speeding up the process. Financial statement schedules and verification layers will increase, so reporting must start earlier. Internal roles and processes need to be adjusted, and audits must be considered.

Reporting should not be just a compliance exercise. The reported matters should be integrated into the company’s strategy. Although computers analyze data, people also read reports. Visual clarity and a clear presentation are crucial to make the data easily understandable.

EU requirements are still unclear in many respects, but reporting will require a lot of resourcing and data collection. What advice would you give to companies?

Sanna: It’s worth considering who participates in the process and reassigning responsibilities. Internal processes need to be adjusted, and the report’s final outcome should be carefully planned. Visual communication is essential and worth investing time in. A general rehearsal helps to streamline the process before the final report.

Niina: It is important to allocate the right resources and anticipate the process. We’ve also had a good experience with another client, where the whole organization has been involved, and new elements have been added to the report. The enthusiasm for sustainable business and reporting has grown within the organization.

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Please note that the podcast is in Finnish.

Niina Pippuri & Sanna Laakso