Assurance on sustainability reports: An International Comparison (1)
Archival study ! global compustat
I. Abstract
Identify the factors associated with:
Decision to voluntary purchase assurance
The choice of the assurance provider
A company needs to enhance credibility through assurance and choice of assurance provider will be a function of company, industry and country related factors.
Findings:
Companies seeking to enhance the credibility of their reports and build their corporate reputation are more likely to have their sustainability reports assured, although it doesn’t matter whether the assurance provider comes from the auditing profession.
Companies domiciled in more stakeholder-oriented countries are more likely to choose a member of the auditing profession
II. Introduction
Purpose ! understand emerging assurance market and the role of assurance in establishing corporate credibility
Why buy assurance?
Increased stakeholder or user confidence in the quality of the sustainability information provided
Increased stakeholder trust in the level of organizational commitment to sustainability agendas III. Literature review on voluntary assurance
Why report?
Informing stakeholders ! reducing information asymmetry
Reporting also attests to organizational commitment, risk management, and a desire to build a corporate reputation
Demand for assurance stems from the need to mitigate information asymmetry with institutional creditors.
The auditing profession has well developed global standards, a body of ethics and independence requirements, as well as quality control mechanisms at both the firm and engagement levels that help ensure that the assurance provided is of a consistently high quality. IV. Development of Hypothesis
Assurance confers several benefits. It helps reduce agency costs and confers greater user confidence in the accuracy and validity of the information