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Highlights of the updated study include:
- The percentage of companies engaged in sustainability reporting remained unchanged at 98%
- 73% of companies obtained assurance on at least some of their sustainability disclosures
- Greenhouse gas emissions remain the most widely assured category of sustainability information
Almost 3-in-4 of the largest global companies sought assurance on some aspect of their sustainability disclosures, according to an updated report from the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and AICPA & CIMA. The study marks the fifth annual benchmark that now includes 2023 data.
73% of large companies from G20 countries obtained assurance on their sustainability disclosures in 2023, up from 69% the previous year, according to the report, The State of Play: Sustainability Disclosure and Assurance, (Five-Year Trends and Analysis, 2019-2023). Five years ago, that number stood at 51 percent. Most of the assurance then and now is of limited scope.
Audit firms—as opposed to consultants or other service providers—continue to lead (55 percent) in providing assurance on sustainability disclosures by large global companies, with broad variations country to country. The report notes the increased use of audit firms over the prior year in several major markets in 2023, including Singapore (+6 percentage points), South Africa (+4), the United Kingdom (+5) and United States (+5).