ASSURANCE OF NON-FINANCIAL INFORMATION STATEMENTS, A NEW CHALLENGE FOR THE AUDIT PROFESSION
Research Article
ASSURANCE OF NON-FINANCIAL INFORMATION STATEMENTS, A NEW CHALLENGE FOR THE AUDIT PROFESSION
ABSTRACT
Background: The issuance of European Directives 2014/95/EU and 2013/34/EU has forced large European companies to issue a statement of non-financial information. Most of them had already been reporting similar statements: social responsibility or sustainability reports. For the first time, it has been detailed what type of information should be included in such a statement and it is recommended to have it assured. While the extent to which verification is mandatory will depend on each member state, it is logical to assume that in order to give more credibility to the information included, most companies will choose to request verification by an independent accredited body. Purpose of the research: In most countries, it is audit firms that are taking the initiative in verifying statements of non-financial information. But obviously, this verification is far from being similar to the audit of financial statements, mainly due to the lack of systematization of non-financial information and the lack of measurement criteria. Our objective is to point out those aspects that should be regulated or required to ensure that the assurance is carried out in a homogeneous way and guaranteeing the quality of the process. Methodology: We have carried out a bibliographic review of the state of the art, raising research issues that will need to be addressed in future research. Results and mayor conclusion: Internationally agreed standards are crucial to ensure the credibility of NFI statements in a financial market without borders. In this regard, issues such as materiality and independence must be revisited by the policy maker. Further research needs to be carried out on strategies to place higher value on NFI reporting, by means of increasing transparency or avoiding that audit independence is impaired by becoming provider for NFI assurance.
GóMEZ AGUILAR, N.,
&
BIEDMA LóPEZ, E.,
&
CONESA CARRIL, M.,
(2020). ASSURANCE OF NON-FINANCIAL INFORMATION STATEMENTS, A NEW CHALLENGE FOR THE AUDIT PROFESSION. Trends in Economics, Finance, and Management Journal, 2(1), 1-9. Arrival Date Posted By:https://tefmj.ibupress.com/articles/assurance-of-non-financial-information-statements-a-new-challenge-for-the-audit-profession
