Sustainability assurance alert: Third-party assurance over sustainability information

We have issued an update to our previously published Sustainability Assurance Alert: A CPA’s Role in Third-Party Assurance over Sustainability Information to raise awareness to assurance providers about the impact of increased interest in and reporting and assurance on sustainability information. There has been significant progress in the development of a global baseline for sustainability disclosure standards. In June 2023, the International Sustainability Standards Board  (ISSB) issued its first two IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards – IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information (IFRS S1) and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures (IFRS S2).

Significant efforts are also underway both internationally and domestically to address the need for sustainability assurance standards that support the consistent performance of high-quality sustainability assurance engagements, and current or impending regulatory requirements for assurance over sustainability information. The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board  (IAASB) is developing a comprehensive, stand-alone sustainability assurance standard – Proposed International Standard on Sustainability Assurance 5000, General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements (ISSA 5000). This global standard will apply to sustainability information reported across any sustainability topic and prepared under multiple frameworks, including IFRS S1 and IFRS S2. The Canadian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB) has approved a project to adopt ISSA 5000 concurrently in Canada as Canadian Standard on Sustainability Assurance (CSSA) 5000, General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements (subject to certain local modifications).

As the sustainability landscape continues to evolve, assurance providers will need to respond to their clients’ changing business activities and assurance needs.

Read this alert to learn about:

• sustainability reporting approaches and increasing demands for disclosure 
• movement towards global sustainability standards, regulation and related assurance 
• considerations for assurance over sustainability information, including: 
  • auditor’s current responsibilities over sustainability information 
  • need for and value of third-party assurance over sustainability information 
  • engagement options that exist today