Domain A · Area A-CA1 · Reporting purpose, users and authoritative sources
A.1Analyse reporting purpose, users and decision context
Working Draft version 1.1
Purpose and scope
This unit covers the capability to determine why sustainability information is being prepared, who is expected to use it and which decisions it is intended to inform, and to translate that analysis into implications for reporting scope, materiality perspective, information quality, content, channel and timing. It applies to public and targeted reporting and disclosure, including impact-focused, investor-focused, regulatory, contractual and other decision contexts.
Applied competency statement
Can analyse the purpose, intended users and decision context of a sustainability reporting assignment and translate that analysis into clear implications for scope, information quality, content, timing and communication.
Boundary and escalation
This unit does not constitute investment advice, stakeholder representation or a determination of materiality. Management and governance bodies remain responsible for the organisation's reporting objectives, and specialist capital-markets, legal or stakeholder-engagement input may be required.
Key quality risks
Treating all users as having the same information needs; confusing intended-user analysis with stakeholder engagement; allowing promotional objectives to override reporting purpose; failing to identify conflicting decision contexts; or translating assumed rather than evidenced user needs into reporting design.
A.1-K01
Understands the principal purposes and forms of mandatory, voluntary, contractual, public and targeted sustainability reporting and disclosure.
Knowledge Type: Concepts and distinctions · Normative Weight: Core
A.1-K02
Understands the principal categories of intended users and the decisions that sustainability information may inform, including investor and creditor decisions, impact-related decisions, regulatory oversight and counterparty assessment.
Knowledge Type: Users and decisions · Normative Weight: Core
A.1-K03
Understands the distinction and relationship between impact-focused, sustainability-related financial and other special-purpose information needs, and why one perspective does not automatically satisfy another.
Knowledge Type: Reporting perspectives · Normative Weight: Core
A.1-K04
Understands how relevance, completeness, neutrality or balance, comparability, timeliness, understandability and verifiability or traceability affect reporting for different users.
Knowledge Type: Information quality · Normative Weight: Core
A.1-K05
Understands the relationship between reporting purpose, reporting basis, materiality perspective, scope, level of aggregation, publication channel and reporting timetable.
Knowledge Type: Reporting design · Normative Weight: Core
A.1-K06
Understands the limits of user-needs analysis and when capital-markets, stakeholder-engagement, legal or other specialist input is required.
Knowledge Type: Professional boundary · Normative Weight: Core
A.1-S01
Analyse an organisation's reporting mandate, external context and publication channels to identify intended users, decision contexts and reporting objectives.
Skill Type: Core applied capability · Observable Output or Result: Reporting purpose and user analysis
A.1-S02
Distinguish primary and other users and identify where their information needs are complementary, different or in tension.
Skill Type: Analysis · Observable Output or Result: User-decision and information-needs map
A.1-S03
Translate user and decision needs into reporting design and information-quality implications without pre-empting materiality conclusions.
Skill Type: Design translation · Observable Output or Result: Reporting design implications note
A.1-S04
Document assumptions, exclusions, user priorities, unresolved conflicts and the rationale for the proposed reporting focus.
Skill Type: Documentation and judgement · Observable Output or Result: Assumptions and decision trail
A.1-S05
Explain the analysis to management, governance bodies and contributors and obtain specialist input where the decision context exceeds the practitioner's competence.
Skill Type: Communication and escalation · Observable Output or Result: Validated reporting-purpose brief
A.1-B01
Does not privilege promotional objectives or a favoured user group without an explicit and supportable reporting rationale.
Behaviour Type: Objectivity and balance · Non-compensable Requirement: No
A.1-B02
Distinguishes evidenced user needs from assumptions and represents materially different user perspectives fairly.
Behaviour Type: Transparency of judgement · Non-compensable Requirement: No
A.1-B03
Escalates unresolved conflicts in reporting purpose, market sensitivity or intended use rather than resolving them through unsupported drafting choices.
Behaviour Type: Accountability and escalation · Non-compensable Requirement: No
Typical tasks · 4
A.1-T01
Review the reporting mandate, applicable reporting basis, publication channels, prior reporting and identified user groups.
Primary Output Link: A.1-O01
A.1-T02
Map intended users, decision contexts, information needs, reporting perspectives and channels.
Primary Output Link: A.1-O02
A.1-T03
Identify conflicts, gaps and dependencies and translate them into implications for scope, content, quality, timing and communication.
Primary Output Link: A.1-O03
A.1-T04
Present the analysis for management or governance validation and record decisions, limitations and update triggers.
Primary Output Link: A.1-O01
Level 1 · Foundation
A.1-L1-01
Can, for a defined assignment and using specified sources, identify the reporting purpose, principal intended users, relevant decisions and basic implications for the reporting output.
Indicator Dimension: Task execution
A.1-L1-02
Can prepare a clear purpose-and-user map under supervision, distinguish fact from assumption, identify materially different user needs and escalate conflicts beyond the assigned method.
Indicator Dimension: Quality, judgement and accountability
Level 2 · Practitioner
A.1-L2-01
Can independently analyse a multi-user reporting context and determine implications for scope, materiality perspective, content, channel, timing and information quality.
Indicator Dimension: Task execution
A.1-L2-02
Can reconcile routine tensions between user needs, document the reporting rationale and explain the resulting design choices and limitations to management and contributors.
Indicator Dimension: Quality, judgement and accountability
Level 3 · Advanced Practitioner
A.1-L3-01
Can design or critically review the methodology for analysing reporting purpose and users in complex multi-channel, group or multi-jurisdictional contexts.
Indicator Dimension: Method design and review
A.1-L3-02
Can advise governance bodies on material trade-offs, challenge the use of reporting for unsupported promotional purposes and establish organisation-wide expectations for user-focused reporting quality.
Indicator Dimension: Leadership and governance
Illustrative evidence · 6
A.1-E01
Completed reporting purpose and user analysis for a real or simulated reporting assignment.
Evidence Type: Work product
A.1-E02
User-decision and information-needs map linked to reporting channels and information-quality implications.
Evidence Type: Work product
A.1-E03
Reporting design implications note showing scope, content, timing and quality consequences.
Evidence Type: Work product
A.1-E04
Source, assumption and decision trail identifying evidenced needs, inferred needs and unresolved conflicts.
Evidence Type: Process evidence
A.1-E05
Documented management or governance review, challenge and validation of the proposed reporting purpose.
Evidence Type: Review evidence
A.1-E06
Observed explanation and defence of the analysis in a case interview, workshop or workplace setting.
Evidence Type: Observed performance
Assessment · 3
A.1-A-L1
Knowledge examination, situational judgement and limited source-based work sample
Correct classification of reporting purposes and users; recognition of different decision contexts; basic design implications; identification of assumptions and escalation needs.
A.1-A-L2
Integrated case study, written professional memorandum and/or simulation
Depth of user and decision analysis; defensibility of design implications; treatment of conflicting needs; clarity of documentation and communication.
A.1-A-L3
Complex case, portfolio and oral defence
Method design; governance integration; resolution of high-risk conflicts; quality expectations; challenge of misleading or promotional framing; oral defence.
| From | To | Type | Rationale |
|---|---|---|---|
| A.1 | A.3 | Feeds into | Reporting purpose and intended users inform the reporting-basis analysis and the significance of voluntary or special-purpose outputs. |
| A.1 | C.5 | Strong linkage | Impact-focused user and decision contexts inform but do not replace impact-materiality assessment. |
| A.1 | C.6 | Strong linkage | Investor and creditor decision contexts inform but do not replace financial-materiality assessment. |
| A.1 | D.1 | Feeds into | The purpose-and-user analysis is translated into reporting strategy and reporting-basis design. |
| A.1 | G.5 | Feeds into | User and decision analysis informs disclosure architecture and drafting instructions. |
| A.7 | A.1 | Feeds into | Each external request should be linked to its user, decision context and intended use. |
| C.6 | A.1 | Method, data and analytical linkage | Financial materiality should reflect the intended user and decision context of the applicable reporting basis. |
| D.1 | A.1 | Prerequisite | Reporting purpose, intended users and decision context are primary inputs to the reporting strategy. |
| Role | Target level | Relevance | Evidence expectation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Corporate Sustainability Reporting Practitioner | Practitioner | Required? | A case or work sample demonstrating independent performance, documented judgement and a reviewable professional output. |
| Sustainability Reporting Manager or Lead | Advanced Practitioner | Role-defining? | A complex case or verified portfolio, supplemented by oral or observed defence, demonstrating design, challenge and governance capability. |
| Sustainability Reporting Adviser or Consultant | Advanced Practitioner | Role-defining? | A complex case or verified portfolio, supplemented by oral or observed defence, demonstrating design, challenge and governance capability. |
| Sustainability Data, Systems and Controls Specialist | Foundation | Supporting? | A supervised or defined work sample showing correct application, traceability and recognition of escalation needs. |
| Assurance Readiness and Reporting Quality Specialist | Practitioner | Required? | A case or work sample demonstrating independent performance, documented judgement and a reviewable professional output. |
| Investor, Capital Markets and Ratings Disclosure Specialist | Advanced Practitioner | Role-defining? | A complex case or verified portfolio, supplemented by oral or observed defence, demonstrating design, challenge and governance capability. |