What does DMA stand for?
| Full form | Double Materiality Assessment |
|---|---|
| Category | Business & work · Finance & economics |
| Type | Initialism |
The initialism DMA stands for Double Materiality Assessment in sustainability-reporting discussion. It concerns the impact and financial materiality perspectives.
EFRAG’s implementation guidance distinguishes effects on people and the environment from financial effects on the undertaking, while explaining that the perspectives interact. A matter may be material from the impact perspective, financial perspective or both; double does not mean both must always be met. The exercise here identifies which perspective a fictional sentence describes. It does not decide whether a real matter crosses a materiality threshold or establish a company’s reporting duties.
Meaning in context
- Double Materiality
- The two interrelated impact and financial perspectives, rather than an automatic both-at-once test.
- Assessment
- The evaluation process. Merely recognizing a perspective is not a completed materiality determination.
Practical examples
Read the two perspectives
- Before
A matter counts only if it is material under both perspectives.
- After
EFRAG’s guidance describes impact materiality, financial materiality or both.
The word double identifies the two perspectives; it does not make their intersection the only relevant result.
Separate vocabulary and judgment
- Before
This sentence mentions environmental effects, so the tool has proved the matter material.
- After
The sentence illustrates the impact perspective; an actual assessment still needs evidence and relevant criteria.
Classifying a fictional statement is a reading exercise, not a threshold or reporting decision.
Original illustrative examples, not quotations or reports of actual events.
Use DMA with clarity
Does double materiality mean a matter must be material from both perspectives?
See all guidance
Read the impact perspective
Look for effects on people or the environment.
The fictional sentence concerns effects of activities on a river ecosystem.
Read the financial perspective
Look for financial effects on the undertaking.
The fictional sentence concerns effects on the undertaking’s cash flows.
Read a combined account
Keep both perspectives visible and avoid assuming an outcome.
The example describes both environmental effects and separate financial effects.
Identify the perspective described by each sentence before considering any assessment outcome.
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By AcronymIndex Editorial Team · Editorial policy