The measures are due to be debated by the European parliament next month. If passed, the the Accounting Directive will be amended to require all public interest entities with more than 500 employees to provide non-financial statements on the impact of their activities relating to environmental, social and employee matters in their management reports. The new rules will  apply to some 6,000 large undertakings across the EU.

The legislation will also require large listed companies to publish information on their diversity policy for administrative, management and supervisory boards, including information on the age, gender and educational and professional backgrounds of their members.

Companies that do not disclose these issues are required to explain the reason for this, and member states are to ensure there are effective means to guarantee disclosure of non-financial information in compliance with the provisions of this directive. In order to lessen the administrative burden, companies will only have to disclose information relevant to understanding the development, performance, position and impact of their undertakings.

Helen Brand, ACCA chief executive, said: 'ACCA welcomes this endorsement that represents an essential move towards enhancing transparency and contributing to smart and sustainable growth. It is an important moment in creating long-term competitiveness in Europe and restoring trust of investors and stakeholders. At the same time it needs to be ensured that the administrative burdens are kept to a minimum for public interest entities that would fall under the scope of the directive.

Research from ACCA’s Understanding Investors series found that 93% of investors expressed support for the concept of non-financial reporting in company information.