If you haven’t had a chance already, now is the perfect time to share your feedback on the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board’s (IAASB) proposed new standard for sustainability assurance—International Standard on Sustainability Assurance 5000 (ISSA 5000), General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements. Your input is integral in shaping this groundbreaking standard, and the window for providing your insights is still open until December 1, 2023. Don’t miss your change to be part of this global conversation.
Understanding Proposed ISSA 5000
During the consultation period, the IAASB is conducting an unprecedented level of engagement with stakeholders. This included webinars detailing the proposed standard, roundtables with leaders from around the world, and additional partner events and webinars. The IAASB’s webinars may be especially useful as they were designed to provide you with the knowledge and context needed to understand ISSA 5000 thoroughly and help you provide feedback. Access the webinar recordings below:
Sept. 6 webinar
September 7 webinar
Additional Resources
To help your understanding and facilitate feedback, we’ve compiled a list of additional available resources.
- Strengthening Confidence and Trust: IAASB Proposes New Standard for Sustainability Assurance shares an overview of the proposed standard and its significance.
- IAASB’s Frequently Asked Questions document provides answers some common questions about the proposed standard.
- ISSA 5000 Exposure Draft in French from CPA Canada; note this is a partial translation of the Exposure Draft, with the remainder of the translated Exposure Draft as well as a translated Explanatory Memorandum expected soon.
- IFAC-Accountancy Europe event, Preparing for High-Quality Sustainability Assurance Engagements, featured discussions and insights on the standard with IAASB leaders.
- IFAC Sustainability Summit–Asia Pacific’s ISSA 5000 session included additional discussions on the standard, with an Asia-Pacific lens. The full recordings for day 1 and day 2 are also available in IFAC’s YouTube.
- Corporate Disclosures’ fireside chat with IAASB Chair Tom Seidenstein and Program & Technical Director Willie Botha (free with registration) includes some technical aspects of the standard as well as the “bigger picture” implications.
Providing Your Feedback
As this standard will become the benchmark for assurance provided on sustainability reporting, feedback from all users of sustainability reporting is crucial.
The IAASB is keen to gather insights from the broadest range of stakeholders possible. To facilitate your response, the IAASB offers two distinct avenues:
- A Response Template allows you to respond to as many or as few questions as are relevant to your expertise and feedback.
- A stakeholder survey designed to accommodate those who may not typically participate in IAASB consultations, including those involved in sustainability information preparation, investors, and other users of sustainability information, standard setters, and academics. The survey questions are available for planning purposes.
The clock is ticking but there is still time. Share your feedback before December 1 and be part of this significant milestone in the world of sustainability assurance.