On the 10th October 2024, Convene sponsored the 2024 Treasury in Housing conference. We’d like to thank the National Housing Federation (NHF) for setting up such an informative event, and for all those in attendance for their engagement in discussing the role of the treasury professional in the social housing sector.

This one-day conference focused on the issues of the sector through the lenses of the treasurer, and how the treasury function has evolved for housing associations. It explored the role of the treasurer in supporting their finance teams to deliver and achieve their business plan.

The conference allowed for treasury professionals to engage in insightful discussions with industry peers, and aimed to put the treasury at the heart of corporate strategy and planning.

Convene attended and sponsored the event with our ESG reporting tool, Convene ESG. Convene ESG is an all-in-one ESG reporting platform, with the aim to alleviate some of the challenges of ESG data gathering, performance tracking, and reporting so organisations can move towards global sustainability and net zero.

Convene ESG can help you report on a range of existing standards including the SRS, an important standard for the social housing sector.

Arturo Dell spoke at a talk for Convene ESG at the conference, discussing moving to an audit standard for ESG reporting. This panel also featured Isabella Kirk from Stonewater, Sarah Forster from The Good Economy, and Neil Hewitson from KPMG, and it was chaired by Janani Paramsothy from Places for People.

The talk explored the growing relevance of assurance and audits of data, especially the non-financial data required in ESG reporting. Janani Parasmothy asked the panellists, considering that it is a time of financial strain for the sector, what is the value of investing in assurance for data sets?.

Sarah Forster spoke about the need to understand environmental and social risks of an organisation, as well as how important it is to have quality data in the first place. Isabelle Kirk explained how ESG has been a high priority for Stonewater, and how the SRS was a good starting place for their reporting and how it helped to strengthen their relationship with suppliers.

Neil Hewitson talked about the trends being seen in the sector, the increasing reporting requirements and the looming inevitability of audit and assurance requirements. He discussed the significant role tools and technology will play in ensuring quality data and reporting.

Arturo Dell shared how Convene ESG started with the goal of making reporting easier, but then evolved as a platform to store metrics and data for organisations. He spoke about how crucial data quality can be, and that assurance and audits can help with that.

The panel then discussed ESG as the responsibility of everyone in an organisation, and the importance of building sustainability into organisational processes. It highlighted that technology can only help so much if the quality of data isn’t there. They also delved into the questions of what counts as assurance, what is practically useful for an association and how can you meet assurance standards.

The panel then explored how worth the investment into assurance can be, as it is a costly process both in time and resources. Neil highlighted that ESG reporting isn’t the endgame, but rather it is important in changing the way organisations operate on a foundational level in regards to sustainability. ESG reporting is just part of that process and accurate and reliable data is good for decision-making and for any organisation in the long run. He also examined the evolution of ESG reporting requirements, looking at the transition from the TCFD and TNFD to the CSRD and ISSB.

The panel ended on a note from Arturo about the importance of thinking about a basis for your reporting, and how you are going to demonstrate reporting overtime. He emphasised the importance of understanding your data journey, and that it is a good time now to start focusing on your non-financial data, ESG reporting and assurances.

We’d like to again thank the NHF for putting on such an information-filled conference, and for all attendees for their insights and discussions into the role of the treasury professional in 2024.