Sustainabilty & Audit
When discussing the impact that increased scrutiny on sustainability practices will have on your audit requirements it can seem quite daunting. Throughout the following section we will discuss the requirements that are currently in place and what will be following in subsequent years.
To understand the requirements at its basic level, refer to the following publication from IAASA:
Reporting-Climate-Change-25jan22.pdf?ext=.pdf
EU Auditors
What does the EU’s CSRD proposal say about the audit of sustainability information?
The proposal would for the first time introduce a general EU-wide audit (assurance) requirement for reported sustainability information. This will help to ensure that reported information is accurate and reliable. It should go a long way towards addressing the concerns of investors and other stakeholders about the reliability of the sustainability information that companies report today. The Commission is proposing to start with a ‘limited' assurance requirement.
https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_21_1806
FRC Guidance for UK Auditors
Auditor responsibilities under ISA (UK) 720 in respect of climate related reporting by companies required by the Financial Conduct Authority.
The FRC has published a new FRC Staff Guidance, Auditor responsibilities under ISA (UK) 720 in respect of climate related reporting by companies required by the Financial Conduct Authority. This staff guidance also includes a brief reminder of auditor’s responsibilities under ISA (UK) 720 in respect of the company’s Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (‘SECR’) disclosures.
https://www.frc.org.uk/frc-esg-work-and-climate-reporting#guidance-for-auditors
Basic technical elements linked to audit issues
In order to ascertain how sustainability changes will impact on your company/client’s audit going forward, refer to point 2.3 & 2.4 of the below link which has been taken from IAASA’s Observations on selected financial reporting issues.
IAASA-Observations-paper-2021.pdf?ext=.pdf
Disclosure requirements for climate change
The growth in scrutiny in the area of financial and non-financial disclosures has significance from both an internal and external stakeholder perspective. The following information will help your company/client to understand these factors from a documentation perspective and to formulate key performance indicators to guide overall performance: