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

Zephyr Foods plc asks its assurance provider to report on selected sustainability metrics in its annual sustainability report. The provider is a firm of professional accountants. Under ISSA 5000, which statement best describes the conditions the practitioner must establish before accepting the engagement?

Before accepting, the practitioner must be satisfied that the subject matter is appropriate and that the criteria are suitable and available to intended users. Limited assurance is allowed, and criteria need not be invented by the practitioner, so the other statements misstate the acceptance conditions.

  1. AThe criteria are suitable and available to intended users, and the underlying subject matter is appropriate for an assurance engagementCorrect
  2. BThe criteria have been developed by the practitioner to suit the entity's own metrics, and the entity has agreed them in writing
  3. CThe entity's directors have confirmed that the report will be published, regardless of whether the subject matter is identifiable
  4. DThe practitioner has confirmed that the engagement will be a reasonable assurance engagement, since limited assurance is not permitted for sustainability information

Explanation

Acceptance requires that the subject matter is appropriate and that the criteria are suitable and available to intended users. Practitioner-developed criteria are not the required standard; criteria must be suitable, such as relevant, complete, reliable, neutral and understandable. Limited assurance is permitted, so the last option is wrong.

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