CIPC Establishes Working Group on ISSB Sustainability Reporting Standards

Posted 13 August 2026 Written by Acts Online
Category Sustainability Reporting

Brought to you by SA Accounting Academy: The Companies and Intellectual Property Commission (CIPC), in conjunction with the Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (the dtic), has announced the establishment of the National Adoption Readiness Working Group (ARWG) on Sustainability Reporting under CIPC Customer Notice 37 of 2026.

The ARWG has been constituted to support the CIPC in its regulatory capacity and to facilitate alignment between South Africa’s existing corporate reporting requirements and International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards. The primary objective is to deepen regulatory coherence across financial, non-financial, and sustainability disclosures, thereby enhancing market confidence and data comparability.

The key deliverables and operational directives of the ARWG include:

  • Formulating a consolidated draft national adoption roadmap for sustainability reporting in South Africa;
  • Recommending a structured, practical approach for implementation that will serve as the foundation for future legislation administered through the dtic’s Regulation Branch; and
  • Ensuring that upcoming sustainability reporting mandates are proportionate, evidence-based, digitally enabled, and aligned with national legislative and developmental priorities.

Click here to download CIPC Customer Notice 37 of 2026.

What this means for you, your business, or your clients

  • For yourself: Professional accountants, auditors, and company secretaries must upskill on ISSB disclosure standards (IFRS S1 and IFRS S2) to prepare for statutory reporting shifts.
  • For your business: Accounting and advisory practices must assess internal systems and auditing tools to support client readiness for digitally enabled, standardized sustainability reporting.
  • For your clients: Corporate clients and reporting entities should perform a gap analysis between current non-financial disclosures and ISSB standards prior to mandatory legislative rollout by the dtic.

Originally published at https://accountingacademy.co.za/news/read/cipc-establishment-of-the-national-adoption-readiness-working-group-arwg-on-sustainability-reporting

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