IAASB brings consultation on sustainability assurance standard forward
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has confirmed that it will bring forward the consultation on its proposed new sustainability assurance standard, the International Standard on Sustainability Assurance™ (ISSA) 5000.
The IAASB aims to gain broad and early input into the development of ISSA 5000 by publishing the exposure draft earlier than planned, in June, and opening up for public consultation in July or August.
The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) also published a statement this week, welcoming the accelerated timeline. IOSCO notes the importance of having ISSA 5000 developed and ready by 2024 to support a global baseline for sustainability reporting and assurance standards that meets the public interest.
ISSA 5000 will be a standalone standard suitable for assurance of sustainability information across any sustainability topics. It will enable engagements of sustainability information prepared under multiple frameworks and will be designed for use by both professional accountant and non-professional accountant assurance practitioners. The IAASB will coordinate closely with the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) as the IESBA progresses its project to develop ethics and independence standards for sustainability reporting and assurance.
Assurance standards can play an important role in supporting a strong global baseline for sustainability reporting. As many mandatory and recommended sustainability reporting regimes look to commence at the start of 2024, it will be useful to have assurance standards in place to drive high-quality and reliable disclosures.
