IOSCO today congratulated the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) on achieving an important milestone by publishing for consultation their Proposed International Ethics Standards for Sustainability Assurance (IESSA) and Other Revisions to the Code Relating to Sustainability Assurance and Reporting (the Paper).
IOSCO also acknowledged IESBA’s extensive outreach program conducted during the exposure draft development and during the consultation period.
Based on its review of the Paper and additional stakeholder engagement, IOSCO outlined its general observations and its six key priority areas for IESBA’s consideration in developing its final standard:
- Definition of sustainability information
- Scope of International Independence Standards
- Non-compliance with laws and regulations
- Group Sustainability Assurance engagements
- Value Chain
- Transparency when reporting on PIEs
Jean-Paul Servais, Chair of the Board of IOSCO, commented: “I congratulate the IESBA Chair, the IESBA Board, and wider staff for this achievement, and for their excellent cooperation with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) throughout. IESBA’s work towards the development of profession-agnostic ethics and independence standards, combined with standards under development by the IAASB, means we are well placed to deliver a global assurance framework at the start of 2025, in accordance with IOSCO’s preferred timetable.”
Rodrigo Buenaventura, Chair of the Sustainable Finance Task Force said: “When IOSCO endorsed the inaugural sustainability disclosure standards of the ISSB, we were very clear that having assurance (including ethical) standards in place was a prerequisite for achieving consistently prepared and independently assured sustainability disclosures by issuers of securities across the globe. Only through independent assurance will we have credible statements.”
IOSCO will continue to play a key role in promoting global consistency in the assurance of sustainability-related disclosures by market issuers and support its members and other stakeholders as they work to enhance trust in corporate sustainability-related reporting.
