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MONITOR, REVIEW REPORT - assurance of reporting - MRR4
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Key Questions
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‘How credible and transparent is our reporting?’
‘Does impartial assurance add value to our reporting process?’
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Alignment with principles
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Organisations should ensure that:
| Their reporting is in line with the principles for sustainable development that the organisation has adopted, in principles particular the principle of accountability to stakeholders. |
| Their reporting is transparent and meets best practice requirements (e.g. relevance, materiality, completeness and reliability of reported data, timeliness and transparency and responsiveness to stakeholder inputs and feedback). |
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When
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Following the Tactical and Strategic Review process – typically following an annual cycle.
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Who
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Project Champions, Board Members and Senior Management Team, Implementation Team, Legal departments, Corporate Affairs and Communications departments and Assurance Providers.
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Reviewing the need for assurance
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Key activities
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| Reviewing the findings from stakeholder engagement and previous reporting exercises to determine the need for impartial assurance of reporting |
| Agreeing the level of assurance required for reporting purposes, and reflecting this in the assurance statement |
| Understanding the level of added value that assurance brings - including the enhancement of transparency and credibility, |
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Suggested resources
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Outcomes & outputs
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| Agreement on the level of assurance required for reporting purposes. |
| Agreement on the need for internal and external assurance. |
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Preparing for assurance
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Key activities
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Preparing for assurance includes the following:
| - | Preparing report data and indicators for assurance |
| - | Providing any supporting evidence to the report data |
| - | Agreeing the objectives and scope of the assurance |
| - | Assigning and training impartial internal assurance teams |
| - | Engaging and briefing a competent, independent and impartial external assurance provider |
| - | Agreeing the logistics for the assurance |
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Suggested resources
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| 'Sustainability Reporting Guidelines' Global Reporting Initiative (August 2002) www.globalreporting.org |
| WBCSD 'Sustainable development reporting - Striking the balance' (January 2003)Available from: www.wbcsd.ch |
| FEE Discussion Paper: Providing Assurance on Sustainability Reports (April 2002) www.fee.be |
| AA1000 Assurance Standard· ISO 19011 - Guidelines for quality and/or environmental management systems auditing |
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Outcomes & outputs
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Complete set of reporting data and measures. |
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Compiled set of supporting evidence to reporting data. |
| Trained internal assurance team. |
| Appointment of external assurance provider. |
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Documented and communicated internal assurance process, including consideration of the level of assurance and depth of assurance required. |
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Assurance plan. |
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Executing the assurance
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Key activities
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| Gathering objective evidence - physical, documentary and testimonial evidence |
| Reviewing materiality, completeness, responsiveness, transparency, relevance and quality of report data and supporting evidence |
| Comparing report data with the known needs of stakeholders, the organisation's vision and mission for sustainable development and any other operating principles the organisation subscribes to |
| Reporting on the assurance process and recommending any amendments to be made to the report data by the reporting organisation and any amendments or performance improvements required to improve the effectiveness and coverage of reporting |
| Producing the assurance statement |
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Suggested resources
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| FEE Discussion Paper: Providing Assurance on Sustainability Reports (April 2002) www.fee.be |
| AA1000 Assurance Standard |
| ISO 19011 - Guidelines for quality and/or environmental management systems auditing |
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Outcomes & outputs
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Assurance working papers |
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Assurance report and statement |
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Key Issues
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Useful documents:
| Reports from industry or sector peers or leaders (to illustrate a range of assurance approaches). |
Real-world tips:
| An impartial review of the findings from stakeholder engagement will usually provide a good indication of the level of assurance required and the extent to which external assurance is required. |
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Assurance levels usually depend on the extent and quality of the following:
| - | The level of information available in the report data |
| - | The sufficiency of supporting evidence |
| - | The maturity and robustness of systems and processes that underpin the reporting process |
| - | The existence, quality and coverage of internal audit, assurance or assurance programmes |
| - | Any existing assurance processes or approaches for specific aspects of performance reporting (e.g. greenhouse gas emissions reporting) |
| - | The competencies of those providing the assurance |
| - | Any legal or commercial constraints affecting the reporting process |
| - | The resources allocated to the assurance process |
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When assessing the report data those responsible for providing assurance of reported data should assess the organisation’s performance against the following performance parameters:
| - | Compliance with legal, contractual and regulatory requirements |
| - | Performance against agreed organisational policies |
| - | Performance against stakeholder priorities and needs |
| - | Industry sector benchmarks or best practice |
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The assurance statement should include:
| - | The objectives, level and scope of the assurance |
| - | Details of the assurance activities undertaken |
| - | A description of the standards or methodologies used as the basis for assurance |
| - | A description of the systems and processes underpinning the reporting process |
| - | Key findings, recommendations for improving the organisation’s reporting and conclusions from the assurance |
| - | Note that the report being assured can be used by the reporting organisation’s stakeholders. |
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