AICPA & CIMA appoint Jeremy Osborn as global head of ESG

Jeremy Osborn, global head of ESG

Osborn’s hire represents AICPA & CIMA’s continued commitment to provide all accounting and finance professionals with the resources, tools and skills they need to support the transition to more responsible business practices, enhance the reliability of ESG-related disclosures and place long-term value creation at the heart of corporate activities and reporting.

In his new role, Osborn will lead the Association’s ESG strategic initiative, which will enhance the broad skillsets of global accounting, auditing and finance professionals, positioning the organisation as the leading voice, influencer and thought leader as sustainability-related financial disclosure reporting standards are crafted and implemented.

Osborn will be based in London and report to Ash Noah, FCMA, CGMA, CPA, the Association’s vice president and managing director for Management Accounting.

“This is a key strategic area for our association and the global accountancy profession,” Noah said. “Jeremy has deep experience in ESG, a strong record of accomplishment and direct experience of engaging with the relevant stakeholders in this category. The main focus of his job will be to help both our management accounting and public accounting professionals integrate ESG matters into their strategy, operations and reporting.”

Osborn joins the Association from the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF)*, for which he served as director of Accountancy Relationships. At the VRF, he worked with accountancy bodies and leading accounting firms to increase the pace and scale of adoption of integrated reporting, integrated thinking and sustainability accounting standards across the globe. Prior to that, Osborn worked at EY, The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) Project and Accenture, supporting a wide range of organisations to connect their sustainability and climate strategies with their core business objectives. Osborn began his career in commercial management with Unilever.

Osborn was previously a volunteer member of the Association’s Corporate Reporting and Development Panel and CIMA’s Technical Committee, which provides strategic guidance to the senior leadership team for management accounting. He has also been a member of CIMA since 2002 and a fellow since 2012. He earned a doctorate in philosophy from the University of Oxford in the history of the British Commonwealth and Empire and holds an undergraduate degree in modern history from there, as well.

“Working for the world’s largest and most influential accounting organisation is a great opportunity for me to help move the needle on ESG management, measurement and reporting, which provide sustainable foundations for long-term value creation by organisations,” Osborn said. “I’m really excited to get started.”

*The Value Reporting Foundation will consolidate into the IFRS Foundation on August 1 this year to support the work of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).