Sustainability Reporting and Assurance Practices of Largest Global Companies Continue to Mature

The largest global companies are providing more detail and breadth in their sustainability reporting, and are obtaining a greater scope of assurance on those disclosures, according to an updated report from the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), AICPA & CIMA.
• 98% of companies reported some level of detail on sustainability.                                                                                                                                                     • 69% obtained assurance on at least some of their sustainability disclosures.
• The mix of reporting standards used by companies, remains fragmented.

The report, The State of Play: Sustainability Disclosure and Assurance 2019-2022, Trends and Analysis, including data from 2019-2022, and containing the full methodology, is available on:
https://www.ifac.org/knowledge-gateway/contributing-global-economy/discussion/state-play-sustainability-assurance?utm_source=Main+List+New&utm_campaign=a3f9d7c818-IFAC-release-State-of-Play-2.22.24&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_-a3f9d7c818-%5BLIST_EMAIL_ID%5D

Among the study’s highlights are:
• Almost all companies (98%) report some information on sustainability. Use of standalone sustainability reports has declined by 27% in the past three years.
• Some 69% of companies obtained assurance on at least some of their sustainability disclosures.
• Accountancy firms (as opposed to consultants or other service providers) handled 58% of the assurance engagements related to sustainability in 2022.