FR04/23 Report on International Work to Develop a Global Assurance Framework for Sustainability-related Corporate Reporting

IOSCO recently released a report detailing the need for a global assurance framework for sustainability-related corporate reporting.
The report reveals that stakeholders have expressed strong support for IOSCO’s leadership in coordinating and promoting consistency in sustainability-related reporting. IOSCO encourages engagement and capacity building within the reporting ecosystem to support the development of the global assurance framework.
Currently, some issuers seek independent assurance over sustainability-related reporting, particularly for GHG emissions or in compliance with the TCFD recommendations. Larger issuers are more likely to seek assurance on their sustainability-related reporting, with most seeking limited assurance. Assurance is provided by either audit or non-audit firms, with different standards being used for more specialized information.
The regulatory landscape regarding sustainability-related reporting varies across jurisdictions, with some indicating an intention to consider voluntary or mandatory assurance in the future, while others have already set requirements for limited assurance. IOSCO has observed growing demand among investors for high-quality assurance over sustainability-related information, with reasonable assurance seen as a long-term target for metrics related to GHG emissions.
To meet the needs of investors and other stakeholders, standard setters are developing profession-agnostic standards for assurance and ethics to support sustainability-related corporate reporting. The emerging standards will apply to all reporting frameworks and be designed to ensure consistent and comparable application of assurance and ethics standards. Both standard setters aim to issue exposure drafts by the end of 2023, with finalization by late 2024.
IOSCO welcomes the standard setters‘ progress and will continue to engage with reporting, assurance, and ethics standard setters, while also supporting capacity building on sustainability-related information across the ecosystem. IOSCO will also support securities regulators and other relevant authorities‘ consideration of assurance and ethics standards to ensure a robust and effective global framework for assurance that meets investors‘ needs and expectations.