The IAASB is pleased to contribute to the new book, For the World’s Profit: How Business Can Support Sustainable Development, published by The Brookings Institute. IAASB Chair Tom Seidenstein and Former Board Member Warren Maroun co-authored a chapter on the rollout of International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000 and the evolving assurance ecosystem.
This volume explores key debates shaping the future of business and sustainability, including value creation, risk management, and corporate accountability. The IAASB’s contribution highlights the importance of high-quality assurance for sustainability reporting and the global adoption of ISSA 5000, ensuring transparency, credibility, and trust in sustainability-related information.
The potential for an internationally agreed baseline on which to build the sustainability reporting ecosystem is within reach, says IAASB Chair Tom Seidenstein, but collaboration is key.
The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and the International Accreditation Forum (IAF) have formalized plans to collaborate, reinforcing a shared commitment to high-quality sustainability assurance. This partnership aims to enhance trust in corporate sustainability disclosures by establishing a strong global framework for assurance.
In its letter of intent, IAF highlighted its alignment with the IAASB’s goal of promoting consistency and quality in assurance practices worldwide. A key aspect of this collaboration includes IAF’s commitment to supporting the use of the IAASB’s International Standard on Sustainability Assurance 5000, in accredited verification activities where appropriate. Additionally, IAF will engage with the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) to seek agreement on intellectual property considerations related to referencing IAASB standards.
IAASB Chair Tom Seidenstein welcomed IAF’s proposals, emphasizing the importance of this collaboration in strengthening global sustainability assurance. He highlighted ISSA 5000 as a global baseline for assurance engagements on general-purpose reported sustainability information and underscored the broader opportunity to advance a comprehensive suite of engagement performance, quality management, and ethics and independence standards for use by all sustainability assurance practitioners. Mr. Seidenstein expressed enthusiasm for this partnership, noting that it will help ensure consistency and quality in sustainability assurance engagements in the public interest and reduce the risk of fragmentation. The IAASB looks forward to supporting discussions between IAF and IFAC regarding the use of ISSA 5000 and other IAASB standards for accreditation purposes.
“This collaboration signifies our shared commitment to enhancing the reliability of sustainability disclosures, which are essential for building trust with stakeholders and promoting sustainable practices worldwide,” said Emanuele Riva, IAF Chair. “We recognize the value of IAASB standards, which integrate well and complement the verification activities on ESG issues that accredited conformity assessment bodies have been carrying out for years, even in regulated areas. We look forward to working with IAASB to further integrate IAASB standards into our accredited verification activities, reinforcing our ongoing commitment to sustainability assurance.”
Japanese Institute of Certified Public AccountantsEnglish
From January 21 to 24, 2025, Tom Seidenstein, IAASB Chair and Josephine Jackson, IAASB Vice-Chair visited Japan. Tetsuya Mogi, JICPA Chairman and President and Takako Fujimoto, JICPA Deputy President interviewed with Mr. Seidenstein and Ms. Jackson.
Mr. Mogi, JICPA Chairman and President: Firstly, I would like to talk about International Standard on Sustainability Assurance 5000 "General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements" (ISSA 5000), which was published in November 2024. We believe the publication of ISSA 5000 is a great milestone for the IAASB as well as for stakeholders across the globe. Tom, could you please briefly introduce the key features of ISSA 5000?
Continue reading the article on the JICPA website in English or Japanese.
Interview with IAASB Chair Tom Seidenstein and Vice-Chair Josephine Jackson
Two global accounting bodies launched a program Monday to help companies ensure consistent auditing of environmental, social and governance disclosures and avoid corporate greenwashing. Read the full article on Bloombergtax.com.
Juan Carlos Guerra is an Audit Director at Grant Thornton Ecuador, where he is the Methodology leader and a member of the Technical Committee. His primary responsibility in these areas is the analysis and research of technical matters related to accounting and auditing, as well as providing technical support to other professionals at the Firm.
Mr. Guerra began his career at PwC Ecuador, where he worked for 15 years, in his last years as a responsible manager for the internal quality review process. Throughout his career, he has led audit processes in various industries within the private sector, specializing in the pharmaceutical, financial, services, manufacturing, and commercial industries.
Mr. Guerra is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA), a Commercial Engineer, and holds a Master of Business Administration (MBA). Additionally, he is a university professor in the fields of accounting and auditing and has participated as a speaker and trainer in multiple seminars and courses at both national and international levels.
This IAASB fact sheet provides an overview and highlights of the International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000, General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements. It includes who the standard applies to, what it covers, and what the standard provides to practitioners, stakeholders, and those who rely on reported sustainability disclosures for decision making.
International Standard on Sustainability Assurance 5000
The IAASB developed this guide to provide practical non-authoritative guidance intended to assist practitioners in conducting assurance engagements in accordance with International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000, General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements (ISSA 5000).
The IAASB's ISSA 5000, along with the IESBA's IESSA and other sustainability-related standards, constitute a cohesive package of global standards for sustainability assurance that responds to market demand and calls from regulators and other stakeholders for reliable, credible, comparable, and trustworthy sustainability information.
