Moroccan Chartered Accountants and ESG Reporting: Towards a Strategic Repositioning in a Context of Regulatory Transition

Experts-comptables marocains et reporting ESG: vers un repositionnement stratégique dans un contexte de transition réglementaire

Elmahdi Tcham, Malika Souaf and Youssef El Wazani
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Elmahdi Tcham: MAPES - Laboratoire de Recherche en Management de la Performance des Organisations Publiques, Privées et de l’Économie Sociale - École Nationale du Commerce et de Gestion d’Agadir,

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Abstract: The gradual generalization of ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting, particularly through AMMC Circular No. 03/19, is engaging Moroccan companies, especially listed firms, in a dynamic process of transparency and sustainability. This regulatory development raises major challenges for accounting professions, notably chartered accountants, who are increasingly called upon to play a key role in supporting organizations in achieving compliance and structuring non-financial information. Based on a qualitative study conducted with fifteen Moroccan chartered accountants, relying on semi-structured interviews analysed through an inductive thematic analysis, this research examines perceptions, emerging practices, and the difficulties encountered in integrating ESG requirements into traditional audit and advisory missions. The findings reveal a growing awareness of the strategic importance of ESG criteria, alongside a lack of adequate training, appropriate tools, and formalized demand beyond listed companies. Nevertheless, some professionals are developing frugal innovation approaches to address these emerging needs, notably through the creation of simplified analytical frameworks, targeted client training, or the gradual adaptation of financial statements to ESG-related issues. The study highlights a reconfiguration of the chartered accountant's role, from a guarantor of financial compliance to a partner in sustainable transformation, particularly within Moroccan entrepreneurial ecosystems undergoing transition.

Keywords: durabilité organisationnelle. JEL Classification : M41 Type du papier : Recherche empirique ESG reporting; chartered accountants; financial regulation; frugal innovation; organizational sustainability Classification JEL : M41; innovation frugale; réglementation financière; experts-comptables; Reporting ESG; Reporting ESG experts-comptables réglementation financière innovation frugale durabilité organisationnelle. JEL Classification : M41 Type du papier : Recherche empirique ESG reporting chartered accountants financial regulation frugal innovation organizational sustainability Classification JEL : M41 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-acc, nep-ara, nep-env and nep-sbm
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Published in International Journal of Accounting, Finance, Auditing, Management and Economics, 2026, ⟨10.5281/zenodo.18393782⟩

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:hal:journl:hal-05491857

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.18393782

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