ESG Assurance and Sustainability Report Auditing

Course overview

Course outline

1. 1Day One: The ESG Reporting and Assurance Landscape

   • Why ESG information matters to investors and stakeholders
   • Overview of major sustainability reporting frameworks and standards
   • Regulatory developments in sustainability disclosure
   • Assurance standards for sustainability information in overview
   • Roles of management, internal audit and external assurers
   • Common weaknesses in published sustainability reports
   • Exercise: comparing two published sustainability reports
2. 2Day Two: Planning an ESG Assurance Engagement

   • Limited versus reasonable assurance and their implications
   • Understanding the subject matter and reporting criteria
   • Assessing materiality and double materiality concepts
   • Identifying risks of material misstatement in ESG data
   • Scoping sites, metrics and reporting boundaries
   • Planning evidence, sampling and team skills
   • Workshop: planning an assurance engagement
3. 3Day Three: Reporting Processes and Data Controls

   • Mapping the flow of ESG data from source to report
   • Controls over data collection, estimation and consolidation
   • Systems, spreadsheets and third-party data sources
   • Data quality, completeness and consistency checks
   • Governance and oversight of sustainability reporting
   • Testing the design and operation of ESG controls
   • Exercise: evaluating controls over a metrics data pack
4. 4Day Four: Testing Environmental, Social and Governance Metrics

   • Greenhouse gas emissions scopes and calculation methods
   • Recalculating emissions and checking emission factors
   • Energy, water and waste metrics testing
   • Workforce, health and safety and diversity metrics
   • Supply chain and human rights disclosures
   • Governance, ethics and remuneration disclosures
   • Exercise: testing an emissions inventory
5. 5Day Five: Greenwashing, Conclusions and Reporting

   • Recognising greenwashing and misleading sustainability claims
   • Evaluating targets, transition plans and forward-looking statements
   • Forming assurance conclusions and evaluating misstatements
   • Writing assurance reports and management letters
   • Preparing the organisation for external assurance
   • Building internal audit capability in ESG
   • Personal action plan for ESG assurance work