How can companies prepare for the assurance requirements when they’re still a moving target in and of themselves…?

In this episode, we talk about the current proposal from the Australian Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) for phased assurance (with consultation open until 3 May 2024). We also talk through some practical steps that companies can be taking now to prepare for assurance of climate reporting.

The process to test and verify the integrity of climate-related information will be critical in ensuring public disclosures match internal practices, and that claims can be substantiated if challenged.

As well as being a baseline expectation of the board, a thorough verification process will be important to substantiate claims and underpin assurance. In this episode, we talk about verification approaches, key learnings so far, and linkages to more fulsome auditing of reports in due course.

Climate-related metrics and targets are already a key area of focus for stakeholders, but under the new regime there will be more granularity than has been disclosed in the past.

The ASRS metrics & targets pillar requires companies to take the leap towards granular quantitative disclosures (including in relation to Scope 3 emissions). In this episode, we talk about the need for a deep understanding of the related metrics, assumptions, interim targets and contingencies and how they factor into a company’s position and prospects.