IFAC and IIRC publish vision for accelerating integrated reporting assurance
By Anne Adrain, Head of Sustainability and Reporting
3 March 2021
We highlight the first installment of the IFAC and IIRC vision for accelerating integrated reporting assurance in the public interest.
An increasing number of global businesses have turned to integrated reporting as a route to long-term value creation and sustainable development. Consequently, the demand for assurance services on such reports is expected to rise accordingly.
To help meet this demand, and to increase confidence in integrated reporting, the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) are launching a new joint initiative, Accelerating Integrated Reporting Assurance in the Public Interest (“the Initiative”).
The Initiative recognises that new thinking is necessary to determine how assurance on integrated reporting should be comprised and how to best deliver it, given integrated reporting’s broad and forward-looking focus on value creation.
The Initiative, which will be rolled out in installments, is designed to heighten awareness of key issues, drive constructive conversation with and among key stakeholders, and encourage providers and users of assurance services in particular to lend their voices to the effort.
The first installment has now been released and sets out what integrated reporting assurance involves for organisations, auditors, and others. This installment also addresses the difference between the two types of assurance - limited and reasonable - and what is required of auditors and organisations to achieve the ultimate objective of reasonable integrated reporting assurance.
Feedback on the initiative and the first installment can be sent to stathisgould@ifac.org. All comments are welcome, especially those that address:
- perceived or actual opportunities and challenges for progressing integrated reporting assurance; and
- areas in which additional thought leadership and guidance would be useful for organisations, auditors and assurance providers.