Finance Teams Prioritize ESG Reporting but Lack Adequate Technology, According to insightsoftware Report

Accounting | February 3, 2025

Finance Teams Prioritize ESG Reporting but Lack Adequate Technology, According to insightsoftware Report

A new report highlights the growing complexities that global organizations face in ESG reporting, including the challenges finance leaders experience gathering, integrating, and analyzing data from multiple sources.

Isaac M. O'Bannon

A new report highlights the growing complexities that global organizations face in ESG reporting, including the challenges finance leaders experience gathering, integrating, and analyzing data from multiple sources.

With the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) set to take effect in the EU in 2025, the research explores how unprepared organizations are to meet the new regulatory requirements. The 2025 ESG Insights and Challenges Report from insightsoftware shows that 52% of businesses rely on data from more than five sources for ESG reporting, underscoring significant hurdles to achieving compliance.

This report reveals that while many organizations across the EU and the UK express confidence in their ability to comply with regulations like the CSRD, they struggle to find the right tools to accomplish the necessary compliance tasks. In fact, 58% of organizations are already exploring new technology to enhance their ESG reporting capabilities. Complying with regulations like the CSRD and overcoming reporting roadblocks remain highly important for global organizations to meet their ESG goals.

Key findings from the report include:

  • Technology capabilities are lacking: With 92% of organizations concerned that their ESG reporting processes won’t scale to meet future regulatory demands, organizations are finding it increasingly difficult to identify the necessary tools tailored to their operational needs. They cite data security and privacy concerns as the most prevalent issue (59%), given the sensitive nature of ESG data and regulatory scrutiny.
  • The compliance path forward is uncertain: Companies that do business in the EU need to comply with CSRD, however more than half of decision-makers remain heavily uncertain and confused about its requirements (52%). The primary goal of ESG reporting is to improve transparency and stakeholder engagement say 49%, and 86% of ESG decision-makers overwhelmingly value data visualization and dashboards as the most valuable features in an ESG technology solution.
  • Complex, timely processes hinder ESG reporting success: Amidst the digitalization wave, organizations fight against a steady influx of data. Data collection is the biggest hurdle, responded 95% of decision-makers. In fact, over half (52%) report spending more than four weeks each year solely on collecting data.

“Without the proper tools, global businesses risk hampering their organization’s ability to comply with ESG regulatory requirements,” said insightsoftware General Manager, EPM & Controllership, Monica Boydston. “This is why tools like the insightsoftware ESG Reporting Solution are crucial to enable teams to seamlessly collect, consolidate, analyze, and disclose ESG data from any source, reducing the risk of non-compliance and costly reporting errors.”

Leveraging established technologies in close and consolidation, disclosure management, and business intelligence (BI) that are trusted by thousands of customers worldwide, insightsoftware ESG provides the controls, audit trails, and security necessary for delivering investor-grade data and meeting regulatory filing requirements. It enables businesses to effectively measure the impact of their ESG initiatives, helping to attract ESG-focused investors.

Download the complete findings of the 2025 ESG Insights & Challenges Report here to learn how finance decision-makers can begin to address their ESG reporting challenges.

To explore insightsoftware ESG and how it can better support an organization’s sustainability goals from data collection to compliance and stakeholder communication, visit here.

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