Panama raises its technical requirements by adopting a new standard for reporting sustainability-related risks and opportunities with financial impact.

Panama raises its technical requirements by adopting a new standard for reporting sustainability-related risks and opportunities with financial impact

With Official Gaceta No. 30480 dated March 11, 2026, Panama adopts the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB).

The resolution is issued under the authority of the Technical Board of Accountancy and draws on commitments and frameworks already embraced by Panama, including the Paris Agreement, the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) agenda, and the evolution of international sustainability disclosure standards linked to financial reporting.

What you need to know

  • Panama has adopted a technical accountability framework for the preparation of general purpose financial reports that incorporate information on sustainability-related risks and opportunities.

  • The resolution states that these disclosures must provide a fair and transparent view of sustainability matters that could affect the entity in the short, medium, and long term.

  • This shifts the conversation from a reputational or voluntary approach to one centered on governance, strategy, risk management, and financial reporting discipline.

  • The resolution adopts the framework as of January 1, 2026; however, the first mandatory sustainability report for regulated entities will apply to accounting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2030, in accordance with the requirements established by supervisory authorities.

  • For non-regulated entities, the signal is also clear: any sustainability disclosure linked to financial reporting must align with a new technical reference standard.

  • The resolution also provides for the incorporation of new standards or amendments issued by the ISSB once they become effective, subject to an assessment for their full or partial application in Panama.

  • Panama’s decision to make IFRS S1 and S2 mandatory means integrating sustainability into the core of corporate financial reporting. Beyond communicating sustainability initiatives, companies must disclose—using technical criteria—which sustainability-related risks and opportunities (including climate-related ones) may affect cash flows, access to financing, cost of capital, resilience, and value creation.

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What does this change imply?

  • Companies will need stronger capabilities to demonstrate how environmental, social, or governance matters may affect their operations, costs, access to financing, and business continuity.
  • Key audiences—including regulators, investors, banks, clients, and partners—will increasingly expect information that is more robust, comparable, and clearly connected to business reality.

In practice, this requires companies to ask more strategic and demanding questions:

  • Which environmental, social, or governance risks could affect operations, costs, continuity, access to financing, or the license to operate?

  • What opportunities for efficiency, differentiation, growth, or value enhancement can the company capture if it manages these issues effectively?

  • Does the organization have sufficient governance, data, metrics, traceability, and executive narrative to support what it discloses?

  • Are senior management and the board prepared to address sustainability as a material business matter rather than as a parallel workstream?

  • Is there consistency between what the company does, what it measures, and what it communicates?

Learn more about our ESG Impact, Sustainability, and CSR services.

At Komunika, we see this decision as a clear market signal: the Panamanian market is beginning to move toward a more technical and strategic conversation around sustainability.

With a specialized consulting team, we help companies prepare for this new environment through strategy, narrative, and management tools that connect sustainability with business, risk, and legitimacy.

If this issue is becoming part of your company’s agenda, contact us. We would be glad to have an initial conversation to identify implications and priorities.

Ana Vásquez
Account Manager
avasquez@komunikalatam.com
LinkedIn: Ana Vásquez

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