Ultimately the audit firm would need to apply appropriate professional behaviour, ensuring that commercial objectives are not prioritised over principles of integrity. working with other practitioners, or with entities up and down the supply chain. Care must be taken to prevent data leaks as well as to ensure that information is only made available in appropriate circumstances. Confidentiality Confidentiality is at risk, given that the assurance provider is likely to be
audit firm might then take on the job for purely commercial reasons, even if they are not sufficiently competent to do it. There could also be a self-review threat if the assurance provider is carrying out the external audit of financial statements as well as working on the sustainability information of the organisation. To avoid this, the assurance provider should make sure that separate teams are used for the different aspects of work. Another risk is that the assurance provider might be inclined to support their client, and perhaps overlook problems in their sustainability reporting. This is linked again to the threat of self-interest for the audit firm. Given the risks of greenwashing mentioned previously, there is a need to apply professional scepticism, and to go so far as to document how this has been applied as part of obtaining the evidence that backs up the assurance conclusion.
SUSTAINABILITY ASSURANCE | THE ETHICAL ANGLE
19
Made with FlippingBook Digital Publishing Software