Companies Act 2014 section 1611

Organisation of work of statutory auditors and audit firms when carrying out assurance of sustainability reporting

Section 1611 sets out how statutory auditors and audit firms must organise their work when providing assurance on the sustainability reporting of applicable companies.

• An audit firm carrying out sustainability reporting assurance must designate at least one key sustainability partner, who may also be a key audit partner for financial audits, and must ensure that partner is actively involved in the engagement and selected on the basis of assurance quality, independence and competence.
• The firm must provide the key sustainability partner with sufficient resources and personnel who have the necessary competence and capabilities to discharge their duties appropriately.
• An individual statutory auditor performing sustainability reporting assurance must devote sufficient time and assign sufficient resources to carry out the engagement properly.
• Both auditors and audit firms must keep records of any breaches of sustainability reporting assurance rules, the consequences of those breaches, and the corrective measures taken, and must prepare an annual report summarising those measures for internal communication to partners or directors.