지속가능성 공시에서 중요성 기준의 적용가능성에 대하여

[Purpose] The materiality concept is the basis for identifying whether specific informationis subject to disclosure in financial reporting practice. The sustainability reporting standardsin the recent enactment process actively borrow the materiality standards in traditionalfinancial reporting. The application of reliable materiality criteria is a prerequisite to ensurethe relevance of sustainability information. Therefore, we aim to review the methods inwhich the materiality criteria have been applied in traditional financial reporting and toreview the applicability to sustainability reporting. [Methodology] This study identified and analyzed the contents of IFRS, K－IFRS, U.S. GAAP, U.S. Supreme Court rulings, accounting audit standards, and the FinancialSupervisory Service’s review and supervision results. [Findings] The requirements for judging the materiality of traditional financial reporting areexpressed differently for each standard. There is no consistent guideline for the materialityjudgement due to its conceptual nature that both quantitative and qualitative criteria mustbe considered. Therefore, in practice, the simple rule of thumb is applied. However, sincethe ratio of financial information is used as a criterion for the simple method, it is difficultto be applied for determining the materiality of non－financial information. The International Sustainability Disclosure Standards recognize these difficulties and refer to the SASB(Sustainability Accounting Standards Board) Standards. [Implications] This study identifies the extent to which the definition of materiality is agreedin traditional financial reporting standards, recognizes the limitations of applying it tosustainability disclosures, and forms a consensus on the need for alternatives, such as theapplication of SASB materiality maps. Recognizing the limitations of the traditional materialityguidance also calls for the need to systematically disclose how each entity referred to themateriality guidance for sustainability reporting. We expect that this paper makes a timelycontribution to the process of establishing sustainability disclosure standards.