A Literature Review of Competencies, Educational Strategies, and Challenges for Sustainability Reporting and Assurance

Recent years have witnessed a significant shift in stakeholder demands for relevant and reliable sustainability related disclosure, reporting and assurance. In response, the accountancy profession has worked to prepare its professionals to address stakeholder demands and meet the intrinsic needs of society with regard to the disclosure, reporting, and assurance of this information. Implicit in this expanded scope of a professional accountant’s role is the expectation that aspiring and professional accountants will receive adequate learning and development; however, little structure exists around what exactly this training should entail. Further, sustainability reporting is an issue with global consequence but with presently limited alignment globally as to mandatory disclosure
and assurance requirements. Efforts by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), and others are underway to provide a pathway towards globally aligned sustainability standards.

For more information, please access the following link:https://ifacweb.blob.core.windows.net/publicfiles/2024-01/IFAC-sustainability-education-literature-review.pdf

This paper is published by The International Federation of Accountants

Author: Erica L. Neuman