CA Final · Advanced Auditing, Assurance and Professional Ethics · Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) & Environment, Social and Governance (ESG) Assurance

Veda Textiles Ltd, a listed company, has engaged CA Rohan to provide assurance on selected BRSR Core indicators in its sustainability report. The management says the engagement is only to confirm that the report was 'prepared', so no criteria need to be identified. What is the most appropriate conclusion for CA Rohan?

The practitioner should conclude that suitable criteria are a precondition for any assurance engagement. Without identified criteria for evaluating or measuring the subject matter, such as BRSR Core indicators, no conclusion can be formed, and this applies to both limited and reasonable assurance.

1. AAssurance can be given without criteria if the practitioner uses personal judgment on what is reasonable
2. BSuitable criteria must exist for the underlying subject matter, because without them the practitioner cannot evaluate or measure it and the engagement is not an assurance engagementCorrect
3. CCriteria are needed only for reasonable assurance and never for limited assurance engagements
4. DCriteria are the responsibility of the practitioner alone, who must invent them if management has none