Corporate Reporting

The European Federation of Accountants (FEE) published a discussion paper, Key Issues in Sustainability Assurance—An Overview, encouraging the International Federation of Accountants to develop an international standard for sustainability assurance ( www.fee.be ). FEE said such a standard would improve auditors’ ability to assess corporations’ reports on the effectiveness of their efforts to minimize any negative social or environmental consequences of their economic and financial activities. Because corporate sustainability reports can significantly affect a company’s public image, the completeness and accuracy of their contents are indispensable. FEE reviewed the current standards of France, Germany, the Netherlands and Sweden, and identified a need for standards that are more robust than the existing ones, which it said provide inadequate, generic assurance.