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ACCA Strategic Professional · Advanced Audit and Assurance (International) · The assurance of sustainability

Orla Group publishes an integrated report prepared using the IFRS Foundation's Integrated Reporting Framework. The auditor is engaged to give limited assurance on the whole integrated report. Which feature of the integrated report most increases the difficulty of obtaining assurance?

The main difficulty is the forward-looking and qualitative narrative on strategy and value creation. This information is subjective, lacks precise measurement criteria and is hard to corroborate with evidence, whereas annual publication, a single-document format or referenced audited financial statements do not materially hinder assurance.

  1. AIt contains forward-looking statements and qualitative narrative on value creation, which are less capable of precise measurementCorrect
  2. BIt is published annually rather than quarterly
  3. CIt is presented in a single document rather than several
  4. DIt includes the audited financial statements by reference

Explanation

Integrated reports mix financial and non-financial information, including future-oriented and qualitative narrative on strategy, business model and value creation. Such information is subjective and harder to measure against suitable criteria, so evidence is harder to obtain. Annual frequency, single document format and financial statements already audited do not create comparable difficulty.

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