The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has issued its proposed International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000, General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements, for consultation until 1st December.
ISSA 5000 is a principles-based, overarching standard suitable for both limited and reasonable assurance engagements on sustainability information reported across any sustainability topic and reporting framework, the IAASB said.
As such the standards will be suitable under the European ESRS regime, the ISSB standards and the GRI standards, but also any future reporting frameworks developed at jurisdictional level.
“The standard is profession agnostic, supporting its use by both professional accountant and non-accountant assurance practitioners when performing high quality sustainability assurance engagements,” the IAASB said.
“Our proposed ISSA 5000 is a crucial step in enhancing confidence and trust in sustainability reporting. This proposal directly responds to the International Organization of Securities Commissions recommendations and complements the work of other standard setters, including the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants,” IAASB Chair Tom Seidenstein said. “Corporate reporting, whether financial or sustainability focused, is more trusted when it receives external and independent assurance based upon globally accepted standards independently developed in the public interest.”
The IAASB will conduct an high-level outreach during the consultation period, including a series of four roundtables beginning in September.
IAASB Vice-Chair and Sustainability Task Force Chair Josephine Jackson said: “Receiving the broadest range of views from our stakeholders will improve both the quality of and trust in the final standard. Our unprecedented commitment to outreach will allow us to engage directly with a much wider group of stakeholders to gather the valuable insights we need to finalize a high-quality robust standard.”