Getting CSRD-Compliant with Confidence

Manageable & Scalable CSRD workloads powered by RegAI

More and more companies must comply with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), reporting on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) matters under the new ESRS standards. The first reporting cycle proved demanding; heavy reliance on consultants, ad-hoc tools, and stretched teams led to steep challenges: data complexity, stakeholder misalignment, and deadline stress.

Now, annual updates are relentless. Without automation, today’s one-off effort becomes tomorrow’s repeat climb. The question is: can your current process scale and withstand scrutiny?

CSRD compliance is not a one-time exercise

It’s a recurring, evolving requirement. Many organizations feel overwhelmed by shifting standards, the burden of data collection, and the pressure to integrate sustainability into core business reporting. Without the right systems, non-compliance risks are real: regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and wasted resources on inefficient processes. To succeed, companies need a structured approach that reduces manual work, ensures traceability, and frees capacity to focus on ESG strategy and stakeholder value.

Key CSRD Compliance Challenges

Reporting burden & resource strain

Many institutions found the first CSRD cycle demanding, relying on ad hoc teams, consultants, and one-off tools that affected day-to-day work. Moving to more automated, reusable processes with clear ownership and a steady reporting calendar reduces recurring effort and protects core operations.

Data complexity & auditability

CSRD brings extensive data needs across portfolios, subsidiaries, and value chains. Spreadsheets and manual steps can be difficult under assurance expectations. A more controlled data model and a central evidence trail can support traceability and strengthen audit readiness over time.

Governance & stakeholder alignment

Coordinating departments, regions, and functions is challenging, especially as ESRS timelines and updates evolve annually. A clear governance approach can improve alignment while allowing room to adapt as requirements and priorities develop.

Materiality & scope challenges

Double Materiality Assessments span financial and environmental impacts across financing portfolios, often extending to non-EU subsidiaries, branches, and supply-chain partners. Defensible scoping, transparent assumptions, and periodic refreshes keep outcomes consistent and manageable.

Strategic & financial risks

When teams focus on manual reporting, it can be harder to progress a forward-looking ESG strategy. As lenders and investors increasingly consider ESG performance, stronger CSRD delivery and decision-grade KPIs can help preserve flexibility on funding while turning compliance data into strategic insight.

Global & evolving regulatory landscape

CSRD operates alongside changing requirements, data points, and evidence expectations across jurisdictions. Harmonised controls, mapped disclosures to other frameworks, and ongoing monitoring improve consistency and comparability while enabling timely adjustment.

Achieving CSRD Success with Confidence

Organizing CSRD effectively requires the right combination of practical experience and smart technology to streamline the process.

Combining human expertise with innovative technology

CSRD Expertise & Experience – ACE combines CSRD project management, audit coordination, and data preparation with expert stakeholder engagement and practical guidance to ensure effective CSRD report delivery.
ACE’s GenAI-enabled workbench RegAI – RegAI supports in assessing, interpreting and analysing CSRD requirements into traceable data requirements, accelerating the recurring CSRD cycle and support the embedment in your organisation.

Based on this dual combination of our CSRD experience and RegAI capabilities we support an organisations by establishing targeted interventions to transition from a one-off report to a reoccurring capability utilising ACE’s CSRD Readiness Maturity Model; mapping governance & ownership, process integration, data & system readiness, people & capabilities, and change resilience. The ACE team can not only highlight our clients pinpoints but we can also show how RegAI can accelerate maturity across domains.

We simplify complexities with tailored CSRD compliance advisory.

We structure your sustainability strategy, ESG data collection, and ensure audit-quality disclosures.

We integrate compliance into your processes, making it part of your business operations, not a one-off project.

Turning Insight into Action with RegAI

Once we’ve mapped your current maturity and identified pain points through our CSRD Readiness Maturity Model, we can help you move from insight to action. RegAI provides 3 powerful capabilities, each designed to address recurring CSRD challenges and embed reporting as a sustainable business process.

1. Regulatory Nexus: Your single source of truth for CSRD

Regulatory Nexus is a searchable library covering all 12 ESRS standards. It enables you to filter by sub-topic, business domain, or requirement type, giving instant clarity on what’s in scope. With clear definitions, milestones, and a live regulatory timeline, Regulatory Nexus becomes the foundation for compliance. It provides consistency across teams. Supports governance, and ensures everyone has a shared, up-to-date understanding of CSRD requirements.

2. Impact Assessment

2a. Previous CSRD Report: Build on what you have already done

Instead of reinventing the wheel each reporting cycle, this module reuses your last CSRD report as a structured baseline. RegAI compares your prior disclosures against updated ESRS requirements, instantly flagging what is new, what has changed, and what is still covered. With color-coded indicators (red = not covered, yellow = partially covered, green = fully covered), you gain a clear line of sight into reporting gaps. Each datapoint is backed by traceable evidence and GenAI-powered reasoning, so you know exactly why something is flagged.

2b. CSRD Policy Adherence: Align policies with regulation automatically

Beyond past reports, financial institutions also need to prove that their internal policies align with CSRD’s evolving requirements. This capability automatically matches your “policy house” (sustainability policies, governance documents, codes of conduct, etc.) against current CSRD disclosure rules. With instant coverage maps and GenAI-supported explanations, you can quickly see where policies fully comply, partially comply, or fall short. Instead of manual re-checks every time the regulation shifts, the tool continuously keeps policy alignment transparent and audit-ready. This ensures not just compliance on paper, but clear integration of CSRD/ESRS standards into the way your institution operates.

3. ESG BDM Creator: Building a Single Source of ESG Data

The ESG BDM (Business Data Model) Creator ensures every CSRD datapoint is linked to a unique, traceable definition before sourcing begins. RegAI automatically drafts data definitions, maps the across business units, and aligns calculation logic to create a unified ESG data foundation. This “single source of truth” eliminates redundancy, reduces manual alignment work, and guarantees consistency across subsidiaries, systems, and processes, supporting our clients in an audit-ready reporting setting.

ACECAST

ACECAST, our podcast on regulation, risk and change in the financial sector. In each episode, experts share practical insights on making compliance smarter and more effective.

Why is data collection the biggest bottleneck for CSRD? In this short clip, we explore how ad hoc Excel use, unclear ownership and fragmented definitions slow down ESG progress. The key takeaway: build data hygiene step by step, not just for CSRD, but for your entire risk framework.

“You don’t have to be perfect right away. Know where you stand and take the next step toward ESG data hygiene.”

Find more ACECAST here

Want to know more about CSRD?

Complete the form and we will reach out.