30 January, 2025
Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand (CA ANZ) welcomes further certainty for the accountancy profession, business and retail investors when it comes to sustainability and climate risk assurance in Australia.
The Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) approved the Australian Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ASSA) 5000 General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements and ASSA 5010 Timeline for Audits and Reviews of Information in Sustainability Reports under the Corporations Act 2001 on Tuesday (28 January 2025).
“The approval of sustainability assurance standards by the AUASB this week is a watershed moment for sustainability and climate risk assurance in Australia,” said Amir Ghandar, CA ANZ Reporting and Assurance Leader.
“Voluntary reporting on sustainability issues has sometimes been dismissed as a glossy market exercise, but robust reporting standards and a clear pathway to mandatory assurance moves these critical topics into the domain of investment grade market information.
“Australian investors have increasingly demanded reliable and consistent reporting on climate and sustainability – with dependable assurance key to increasing confidence in the reporting.
“CA ANZ’s 2024 Investor Confidence survey showed that nearly 80 per cent of investors would be more confident in sustainability information if it was mandatorily prepared and assured in accordance with agreed standards.”
The newly mandated climate reporting and assurance standards will require corporates and professional audit firms to focus on the resourcing required to prepare and audit a whole new set of information alongside financial reports.
“There will be demand for talent who have the skills to undertake assurance across the thousands of entities that will come into the mandatory climate-related disclosure regime in the coming five years.
“While most of the very large companies captured by the legislation in the next two years have been already working to get ahead of the curve on climate reporting and assurance, there is a sizable cohort of smaller, private businesses reporting from 2027 that will have a much bigger gap to bridge in developing the resourcing, internal capabilities and systems.
“CA ANZ has been closely engaged with the government and the standard setters, and we recognise they’ve listened and offered some transitional reprieve, such as slightly relaxing timelines for reasonable assurance over the transitional period.
“CA ANZ has also focused on education and training to ready the profession for this vital role. For example our sustainability assurance playbook, a sustainability assurance micro course, and an elective module in the CA Program; Sustainability for Accountants,” said Mr Ghandar.
The approved standards take effect for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025, with earlier application permitted.
ENDS
About Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand
Chartered Accountants Australia and New Zealand represents nearly 140,000 financial professionals, supporting them to make a difference to the businesses, organisations and communities in which they work and live. Chartered Accountants are known as Difference Makers. The depth and breadth of their expertise helps them to see the big picture and chart the best course of action.
www.charteredaccountantsanz.com
For more information contact:
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AUSTRALIA Gillian Bowen, Public Affairs Manager Australia M +61 411 485 421 gillian.bowen@charteredaccountantsanz.com
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