The market for sustainability assurance services

Muhammad Bilal Farooq · Charl de Villiers

121 citations0/0 files storedPacific Accounting Review

No readable copy stored yet — this record is metadata only.

No open-access location is known for this record yet.

Literature note Cite in a project Citation map

Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting Auditing, Earnings Management, Governance Accounting and Financial Management

Abstract

Purpose This paper focuses on the market for sustainability assurance (SA) services. The aims of this paper are to review academic efforts in the field, highlighting ground covered, provide a comprehensive understanding of the market for this new form of assurance and identify potential avenues for future research. Design/methodology/approach These objectives were met through a review of 50 academic journal articles identified as relevant to the SA field. Findings SA is a voluntary exercise in most jurisdictions, and engagements are structured to meet the needs (demands) of the market and the capabilities (supply) of assurance providers. This has given rise to a diverse landscape with engagements of differing scopes and objectives. From a demand side, the literature reveals a number of drivers (both at the macro and micro levels) and inhibitors for SA services. From a supply side, the literature sheds light on the assurance providers operating in the market and the standards they use when undertaking SA services. These practitioners include accountants (the big four) who use ISAE3000 and non-accountants who prefer AA1000AS. The review reveals five broad areas which have been the focus of existing studies. Finally, the study identifies seven avenues for future research in the SA field. Originality/value The findings of this paper will prove valuable to practitioners as it will assist them in understanding this new form of assurance. Researchers will benefit from an understanding on ground covered and future avenues for research.

Paper brief

Loading…

Cite this work

Citation unavailable for this work.

BibTeX RIS CSL-JSON

No public copy is stored for this record, so only the metadata is cited.

Citations in this library

Citation map →

Stored only when both papers are in the corpus — 121 citations exist upstream.

References

2009Assurance on Sustainability Reports: An International Comparison 2007Corporate social reporting and stakeholder accountability: The missing link 1964The philosophy of auditing.2005Assurance statement practice in environmental, social and sustainability reporting: a critical evaluation 2011Seeking legitimacy for new assurance forms: The case of assurance on sustainability reporting 2012Multinationals’ Accountability on Sustainability: The Evolution of Third-party Assurance of Sustainability Reports 2000The new social audits: accountability, managerial capture or the agenda of social champions?2004How Do Investors Assess the Credibility of Management Disclosures?

Cited by

2020Voluntary assurance of sustainability reporting: evidence from an emerging economy 2021Examining the extent of and determinants for sustainability assurance quality: The role of audit committees 2022A review and synthesis of contemporary sustainability accounting research and the development of a research agenda 2019How sustainability assurance engagement scopes are determined, and its impact on capture and credibility enhancement

Explore the map →

Papers that cite the same references — the relational fallback while embeddings are still backfilling.

Imported from OpenAlex (CC0) — nothing here is generated.