Episode 44 - Doug Hileman: Part 1

<p>In this episode of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLjV4MJQWLV_bioTkc_Hg2zu9bKfGiM1tv" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer"><em><strong>Auditors Save the World</strong></em></a><em>, </em>podcast host <a href="https://yellowbook-cpe.com/about" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Leita Hart-Fanta, CPA</a> interviews audit superhero, <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/douglas-hileman-fsa-crma-cpea-p-e-6abbb71/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">Doug Hileman</a>.</p><p><br /></p><p>In a world where the stakes stretch beyond borders, and where rising tides, shifting climates, and unseen risks threaten the balance, one brave leader doesn’t just watch the horizon. He redraws it.</p><p><br /></p><p>Meet our hero, Doug. From the shadowy trails of conflict minerals to the high-stakes halls of global industry (where even giants like Volkswagen faced the reckoning), he stood at the intersection of accountability and consequence. A guardian not just of rules, but of the planet itself.</p><p><br /></p><p>Then, when the call came from <a href="https://www.coso.org/" target="_blank" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer">COSO</a>, the architects of internal control, they didn’t ask for a participant. They called for a protector. A mind built for the big picture, a voice that echoes across continents, and a force for sustainability, integrity, and action.</p><p><br /></p><p>Because when Doug takes on a mission, it’s not just about compliance. It’s about the future.</p><p><br /></p><p><strong>CHAPTERS:</strong></p><p>01:00 — Environmental regulation history</p><p>03:00 — ESG as a taxonomy, not a state of being</p><p>05:00 — Voluntary frameworks and climate financial disclosures</p><p>08:00 — How Doug fell into this career path</p><p>10:00 — Conflict minerals: what the law requires and why it matters</p><p>13:00 — The Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act explained</p><p>15:00 — The Volkswagen monitorship: watching in real time</p><p>19:00 — Carbon reporting and finding his niche post-pandemic</p><p>22:00 — The COSO sustainability guidance document</p><p>26:00 — Why "sustainability" may be the wrong word</p><p>29:00 — SASB: industry-specific sustainability risk done right</p><p>35:00 — Financial disclosure vs. financial reporting</p><p>40:00 — B2B sustainability pressure in the supply chain</p><p>44:00 — Climate risk as a government audit opportunity</p><p><strong>ABOUT DOUG HILEMAN</strong></p><p>Douglas Hileman (FSA, CRMA, CPEA, P.E.) brings over four decades of experience in sustainability compliance, risk, reporting, and audit. Among his most notable contributions, he is an author of COSO’s groundbreaking document “Achieving Effective Internal Controls over Sustainability Reporting (ICSR).” Earlier in his career, he served as the senior environmental management and auditing specialist on the Volkswagen Monitor Team and spent six years at a Big 4 firm. From there, Doug led his boutique consultancy for 16 years, focusing on climate-related programs and GHG emissions reporting, sustainability policies, reporting and audits, and other specialty needs.</p><p><br /></p><p>Beyond his consulting work, he has been active in the <a href="http://www.theiia.org/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Institute of Internal Auditors</a> for over a decade, contributing to supplemental guidance, and currently leads a Governance and Controls work group for the <a href="http://www.imanet.org/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Institute of Management Accountants</a>. Mr. Hileman submitted detailed comments to the SEC on the proposed climate disclosure rule. In the final rule (released March 6, 2024), there are 42 references to his comments. See <a href="http://www.douglashileman.com/" rel="ugc noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">www.douglashileman.com</a>.</p>