Day 4: Transparency takes center stage

The keynote speaker today was Sir Michael Rake - former KPMG boss and four weeks into his chairship of the British telecomms giant BT.

Several months ago, in his position as aruguably the most influencial accountant in the world, Sir Mike started to stir up the business, accounting, and investment community by saying its time for a new sort of business reporting - and the past should not be used as a road map for the future. He called for a redesign in reporting standards, and the incorporation of metrics that show a more three dimensional view of a company - including economic, environmental, and social risks.

Sir Mike gave a thought provoking speech today at the conference - addressing a wide ranging number of topics such as how to rebuild trust in the corporate sector to how companies can use their products and services to gain buainess advantage while tackling some of the worst global development and environmental issues.

But I was glad to hear during the question answer period his reference to the GRI and the role that disclosure can play in building trust, and also to justify atttention and expenditure on social and environmental risks.