Implementing impact accounting: opportunities and challenges

This research note explores the opportunities and challenges involved in the implementation of Impact Accounting (IA). Based on interviews with practitioners and secondary sources, the study finds that while IA remains in an early phase, leading organizations increasingly view it as a strategic tool to inform resource allocation, generate differentiation and leadership, clarify trade-offs, enhance transparency and stakeholder communication, improved data comparability and relevance and complement ESG reporting frameworks, such as the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Nevertheless, IA faces some difficulties, such as its still limited adaptation, mainly due to challenges around data availability, methodological inconsistency, and operational complexity. To overcome these barriers, companies are piloting IA on a small scale, improving internal data systems, and aligning impact valuation with existing ESG data. Participation in standard-setting initiatives, such as the Value Balancing Alliance, is helping address the lack of methodological convergence, while internal use cases, such as scenario analysis and product-level insights, are building confidence and utility. In the absence of regulatory mandates, IA adoption is being driven by leadership ambition and peer influence. As data infrastructure improves and methodologies mature, IA has the potential to move beyond internal experimentation and become a critical tool for aligning financial performance with long-term societal value.