Companies Act 2014 section 1643

Organisation of quality assurance system

Section 1643 sets out how the quality assurance system for the assurance of sustainability reporting must be organised, by adapting the existing quality assurance framework used for statutory audits (section 1496) with specific modifications for the sustainability reporting context.

• Reviewers must have professional education and experience in sustainability reporting and its assurance, rather than in statutory audit and financial reporting, though a temporary exemption from this experience requirement applies until 31 December 2025.
• Quality assurance reviews must cover four areas: compliance with sustainability assurance standards and independence requirements; the quantity and quality of resources used; the fees charged for sustainability assurance; and the audit firm's internal quality control system.
• When reviewing the assurance of consolidated sustainability reporting of medium or small companies, reviewers must apply assurance standards proportionately to the scale and complexity of the business.
• Cross-references within the existing quality assurance rules are updated so that they point to the corresponding sustainability reporting provisions rather than the statutory audit provisions.