Project Report On “Organizational Readiness for IFRS S2 Adoption: Evidence from Bangladesh’s Listed Companies.”

Abstract

This study examines the organizational readiness of listed companies in Bangladesh for adopting IFRS S2: Climate-related Disclosures. Given Bangladesh's climate vulnerability and integration into global capital markets, understanding corporate preparedness for this international standard is critical. Analyzing annual reports and sustainability disclosures of 45 companies across seven sectors from 2022-2024, the study finds that while climate reporting has increased (96% in 2024 vs. 73% in 2022), quality remains shallow. Current practices achieve only 31.5% of full IFRS S2 compliance, with a 68.5% preparedness gap. Critical deficiencies include near-absence of scenario analysis (0.16), Scope 3 emissions (0.20), and external assurance (0.16). Banking leads in readiness (0.97) due to regulatory pressure; cement and ceramics lag (0.39). Large-cap companies (0.75) outperform mid-cap (0.48). Export-oriented firms show no advantage over domestic counterparts. Only 4% mentioned IFRS S2 in 2024 reports, indicating extremely low awareness. Key challenges include regulatory uncertainty, data limitations, and expertise shortages. Hypothesis testing confirms governance (r=0.89), strategy (r=0.92), risk management (r=0.91), and metrics (r=0.87) significantly impact readiness. Regulatory pressure shows the strongest effect.