ABSTRACT
A materiality assessment is a systematic analysis of societal needs and expectations, enabling the identification by a company of those issues that are crucial for both internal and external stakeholders, as well as gaps between business and society priorities. The lack of a definition of what a robust materiality process is leads to an even deeper limitation of current materiality assessments, being that the purpose of the analysis is predominantly restricted to reporting only. In words, a materiality assessment should go beyond the sole purpose of identifying issues that should be included in the non-financial report. All evidence leads to the fact that companies should carry out a continuous data-driven materiality analysis, no longer confined in the reporting area but thoroughly embedded in risk management processes. The sooner an organization understands this, the sooner it will be able to future-proof its strategy and stay ahead of the competition.
