Abstract
Sustainability assurance is a voluntary undertaking in most countries. As a result, there is no restriction on who can provide sustainability assurance services or the approach to assurance. This chapter explores the different types of sustainability assurance providers operating in the market. These assurance providers can be segregated into two broad categories comprising of accounting sustainability assurance providers and non-accounting sustainability assurance providers. The similarities and differences in approach to sustainability assurance undertaken by accounting and non-accounting sustainability assurance providers are discussed. The chapter also explores the differences in practitioners’ approach to conducting the sustainability assurance engagement. The discussion highlights the challenges faced by assurance providers and assurance seekers (i.e. sustainability reporters) in the market for this new form of assurance.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
AccountAbility. (2008a). AA1000 AccountAbility Principles Standard 2008. Available at: http://www.accountability.org/images/content/0/7/074/AA1000APS%202008.pdf. Accessed 17 Feb 2014.
AccountAbility. (2008b). AA1000 Assurance Standard 2008. Available at: http://www.accountability.org/images/content/0/5/056/AA1000AS%202008.pdf. Accessed 17 Feb 2014.
AccountAbility. (2015). About us. Available at: http://www.accountability.org/about-us/index.html. Accessed 25 Aug 2015.
Ackers, B. (2009). Corporate social responsibility assurance: How do South African publicly listed companies compare? Meditari Accountancy Research, 17, 1–17.
Adams, C. A., & Evans, R. (2004). Accountability, completeness, credibility and the audit expectations gap. The Journal of Corporate Citizenship,14(Summer), 97–115.
Ball, A., Owen, D. L., & Gray, R. (2000). External transparency or internal capture? The role of third-party statements in adding value to corporate environmental reports. Business Strategy and the Environment,9(1), 1–23.
Belal, A. R. (2002). Stakeholder accountability or stakeholder management? A review of UK firms’ social and ethical accounting, auditing and reporting practices. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management,9, 8–25.
Cooper, S. M., & Owen, D. L. (2007). Corporate social reporting and stakeholder accountability: The missing link. Accounting, Organisations and Society,32(7), 649–667.
CorporateRegister.com Limited. (2008). Assure view: The CSR assurance statement report. Available at: http://www.corporateregister.com/pdf/AssureView.pdf. Accessed 21 Aug 2015.
Dando, N., & Swift, T. (2003). Transparency and assurance: Minding the credibility gap. Journal of Business Ethics,44(2), 195–200.
Deegan, C., Cooper, B. J., & Shelly, M. (2006a). An investigation of TBL report assurance statements: Australian evidence. Australian Accounting Review,16, 2–18.
Deegan, C., Cooper, B. J., & Shelly, M. (2006b). An investigation of TBL report assurance statements: UK and European evidence. Managerial Auditing Journal,21, 329–371.
Edgley, C., Jones, M. J., & Atkins, J. (2015). The adoption of the materiality concept in social and environmental reporting assurance: A field study approach. The British Accounting Review,47, 1–18.
Elliott, R. K. (1998). Assurance services and the audit heritage. Auditing: A Journal of Theory & Practice, 17, 1–7.
Farooq, M. B., & De Villiers, C. (2017). The market for sustainability assurance services: A comprehensive literature review and future avenues for research. Pacific Accounting Review, 29(1), 79–106.
Gillet, C. (2012). A study of sustainability verification practices: The French case. Journal of Accounting & Organisational Change,8, 62–84.
Gray, R. (2000). Current developments and trends in social and environmental auditing, reporting and attestation: A review and comment. International Journal of Auditing,4, 247–268.
Hasan, M., Roebuck, P. J., & Simnett, R. (2003). An investigation of alternative report formats for communicating moderate levels of assurance. Auditing: A Journal of Theory & Practice, 22(2), 171–187.
Huggins, A., Green, W. J., & Simnett, R. (2011). The competitive market for assurance engagements on greenhouse gas statements: Is there a role for assurers from the accounting profession? Current Issues in Auditing, 5(2), 1–12.
IAASB. (2013). International standard on assurance engagements 3000 (revised): Assurance engagements other than audits or reviews of historical financial information. Available at: https://www.ifac.org/publications-resources/international-standard-assurance-engagements-isae-3000-revised-assurance-enga. Accessed 19 Feb 2014.
Jones, M., & Solomon, J. (2010). Social and environmental report assurance: Some interview evidence. Accounting Forum,34, 20–31.
Junior, R. M., Best, P. J., & Cotter, J. (2014). Sustainability reporting and assurance: A historical analysis on a world-wide phenomenon. Journal of Business Ethics,120(1), 1–11.
Kolk, A., & Perego, P. (2010). Determinants of the adoption of sustainability assurance statements: An international investigation. Business Strategy and the Environment,19, 182–198.
KPMG. (2013). The KPMG survey of corporate responsibility reporting 2015. Available at: https://assets.kpmg.com/content/dam/kpmg/pdf/2016/02/kpmg-international-survey-of-corporate-responsibility-reporting-2015.pdf. Accessed 19 Oct 2017.
KPMG. (2015). The KPMG survey of corporate responsibility reporting 2015. Available at:https://home.kpmg.com/xx/en/home/insights/2015/11/kpmg-international-survey-of-corporate-responsibilityreporting-2015.html. Accessed 1 Jan 2018.
Manetti, G., & Becatti, L. (2009). Assurance services for sustainability reports: Standards and empirical evidence. Journal of Business Ethics,87, 289–298.
Manetti, G., & Toccafondi, S. (2012). The role of stakeholder in sustainability reporting assurance. Journal of Business Ethics,107, 363–377.
Mock, T. J., Rao, S. S., & Srivastava, R. P. (2013). The development of worldwide sustainability reporting assurance. Australian Accounting Review, 23, 280–294.
Mock, T. J., Strohm, C. J., & Swartz, K. M. (2007). An examination of worldwide assured sustainability reporting. Australian Accounting Review,17, 67–77.
Moroney, R., Windsor, C., & Aw, Y. T. (2012). Evidence of assurance enhancing the quality of voluntary environmental disclosures: An empirical analysis. Accounting and Finance,52, 903–939.
O’Dwyer, B. (2011). The case of sustainability assurance: Constructing a new assurance service. Contemporary Accounting Research,28, 1230–1266.
O’Dwyer, B., & Owen, D. L. (2005). Assurance statement practice in environmental, social and sustainability reporting: A critical perspective. The British Accounting Review,37, 205–229.
O’Dwyer, B., & Owen, D. L. (2007). Seeking stakeholder-centric sustainability assurance: An examination of recent sustainability assurance practice. The Journal of Corporate Citizenship,25(Spring), 77–94.
O’Dwyer, B., Owen, D., & Unerman, J. (2011). Seeking legitimacy for new assurance forms: The case of assurance on sustainability reporting. Accounting, Organisations and Society,36, 31–52.
Park, J., & Brorson, T. (2005). Experiences of and views on third-party assurance of corporate environmental and sustainability reports. Journal of Cleaner Production,13(10), 1095–1106.
Perego, P. (2009). Causes and consequences of choosing different assurance providers: An international study of study of sustainability reporting. International Journal of Management,26, 412–425.
Perego, P., & Kolk, A. (2012). Multinationals’ accountability on sustainability: The evolution of third-party assurance of sustainability reports. Journal of Business Ethics,110(2), 173–190.
Segui-Mas, E., Bollas-Araya, H.-M., & Polo-Garrido, F. (2015). Sustainability assurance on the biggest cooperatives of the world: An analysis of their adoption and quality. Annals of Public and Cooperative Economics,86(2), 363–383.
Simnett, R., Vanstraelen, A., & Chua, W. F. (2009). Assurance on sustainability reports: An international comparison. The Accounting Review,84(3), 937–967.
Smith, J., Haniffa, R., & Fairbrass, J. (2011). A conceptual framework for investigating ‘capture’ in corporate sustainability reporting assurance. Journal of Business Ethics,99(3), 425–439.
Wallage, P. (2000). Assurance on sustainability reporting: An auditor’s view. Auditing: A Journal of Practice & Theory, 19, 53–65.
Wong, R., & Millington, A. (2014). Corporate social disclosures: A user perspective on assurance. Accounting, Auditing and Accountability Journal,27(5), 863–887.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 The Author(s)
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Farooq, M.B., de Villiers, C. (2019). Sustainability Assurance: Who Are the Assurance Providers and What Do They Do?. In: Arvidsson, S. (eds) Challenges in Managing Sustainable Business. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93266-8_6
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-93266-8_6
Published:
Publisher Name: Palgrave Macmillan, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-93265-1
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-93266-8
eBook Packages: Business and ManagementBusiness and Management (R0)