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On 2 August 2023 the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) issued for public comment its proposed International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000, General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements. As the project page explains ISSA 5000 will be the most comprehensive sustainability assurance standard available to all assurance practitioners across the globe. It will apply to sustainability information reported about any appropriate sustainability matter and prepared under any suitable framework. It will also apply for both limited and reasonable assurance engagements. Watch this short video for an introduction to the proposed standard. The IAASB invites feedback on the proposed standard until 1 December 2023.

The IESBA also plans to issue a public consultation on standards for sustainability ethics later this year as explained here. This means both boards are on track to have their respective standards completed in time for when EU companies start reporting under the CSRD in 2025 (for financial year 2024): the CSRD requires sustainability reports of companies within its scope to be subject to assurance, initially limited and in due course reasonable, performed either by the company’s auditor or another independent assurance provider.

Sustainability assurance standards will be the subject of an EC Delegated Act, in the same way as ESRS is for sustainability reporting. But unlike reporting there is no EU entity to develop sustainability assurance standards, making it vital that European stakeholders input to the ISSA 5000 consultation to help ensure it is ‘fit for purpose’ in the EU as well as scalable and proportionate for the benefit of SMEs. In the meantime, assurance providers can continue to use ISAE 3000 or appropriate national standards.