Auditor's Role in CSR and Sustainability Reporting Analysis

This report examines the expanding role of auditors in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and sustainability reporting, focusing on Australia, the European Union (EU), and the United States. It defines CSR and sustainability reporting, providing details on companies engaging in such practices, the level of assurance, and the assurance providers. The report also explores the frameworks, guidelines, and standards used, including the role of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) and the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). Furthermore, it outlines the assurance guidelines and procedures auditors use, referencing ISAE 3000 and covering ethical considerations, quality control, engagement planning, and documentation. The report provides insights into the evolving responsibilities of auditors in ensuring the integrity and reliability of sustainability reports.

Running head: THE EXPANDING ROLE OF THE AUDITOR
The Expanding Role of the Auditor
Name of the Student
Name of the University
Author’s Note

1THE EXPANDING ROLE OF THE AUDITOR
Table of Contents
Requirement 1............................................................................................................................2
Requirement 2............................................................................................................................2
Requirement 3............................................................................................................................3
Requirement 4............................................................................................................................3
References..................................................................................................................................5

2THE EXPANDING ROLE OF THE AUDITOR
Requirement 1
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
CSR can be considered as the integration of socially advantageous programs and
practices into a firm’s business model and culture (Tai & Chuang, 2014).
Sustainability Reporting
Sustainability Reporting is considered as the mechanism of disclosing and
communicating environmental, social and governance goals along with the progress of the
firms towards achieving these key goals (Cho et al., 2015).
Requirement 2
National Australia Bank (NAB): NAB has adopted the sustainability reporting mechanism
in accordance with the principles and standards of Global Reporting Initiatives (GRI). NAB
has disclosed the information of their sustainable activities in this report. In order to provide
their stakeholders with higher confidence, NAB has engaged with Ernst & Young (EY) for
providing limited assurance on their sustainability metrics (nab.com.au, 2019).
BHP Billiton: BHP Billiton has adhered to the GRI principles for the development of
sustainability reports. In addition, KPMG has provided the independent assurance to the
sustainability reports of BHP Billiton. As per the analysis of KPMG, there is not any material
misstatements in the 2018 Sustainability Report of the company. KPMG has also provided
the necessary assurance on greenhouse gas emission (bhp.com, 2019).
Westpac Group (Westpac): Westpac has complied with the principles and standards of GRI
for disclosing information on their sustainability performance. PwC was responsible for
providing the necessary assurance on the sustainability reports of Westpac. PwC has ensured

3THE EXPANDING ROLE OF THE AUDITOR
the fact that there is not any material misstatements in the sustainability reports of the
company in 2018 (westpac.com.au, 2019).
Telstra: Telstra has adhered to GRI standard for developing their sustainability reports. EY
had the responsibility for providing the needed assurance to the sustainability reports of
Telstra and EY has provided limited assurance on the selected performance measures of the
company for sustainability reporting. EY has assured that Telstra has followed the principles
of GRI for their sustainability reporting (wpengine.netdna-ssl.com, 2019).
Requirement 3
For the preparation of the sustainability reports, the companies are needed to comply
with the guidelines of Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) standards and the Association of
Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA). The reasonability for GRI is to provide the firms
with the frameworks, guidelines and standard for preparing sustainability reports. There are
two parts in these guidelines; they are Reporting Principles, and Reporting Guidelines and
Standard Disclosure (Boiral, 2013). The former includes content’s definitions, quality and
boundary of materiality, inclusiveness of stakeholders, sustainability aspects, comparability
and many others. The latter includes various requirements of disclosure of the standards such
as profile, strategy, performance indicators, approach of the managements and others (Boiral,
2013).
Requirement 4
The obligation on the auditors is to comply with certain procedures and guidelines for
the successful completion of assurance engagement. ISAE 3000 provides the necessary
standards and principles that the auditors are needed to adhere to while providing assurance.
In this process, certain crucial aspects must be followed such as ethical considerations,
quality control, engagement acceptance, engagement planning, and utilization of expert’s

4THE EXPANDING ROLE OF THE AUDITOR
works, necessary documentations and others. Appropriate consideration of these steps leads
to a successful assurance engagement by the auditors (Simnett, 2012).

5THE EXPANDING ROLE OF THE AUDITOR
References
Bhp.com. (2019). SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2019, from
https://www.bhp.com/investor-centre/-/media/documents/investors/annual-reports/
2018/bhpsustainabilityreport2018
Boiral, O. (2013). Sustainability reports as simulacra? A counter-account of A and A+ GRI
reports. Accounting, Auditing & Accountability Journal, 26(7), 1036-1071.
Cho, C. H., Laine, M., Roberts, R. W., &Rodrigue, M. (2015). Organized hypocrisy,
organizational façades, and sustainability reporting. Accounting, Organizations and
Society, 40, 78-94.
Nab.com.au. (2019). SUSTAINABILITY REPORT 2018. Retrieved 30 March 2019, from
https://www.nab.com.au/content/dam/nabrwd/documents/reports/corporate/2018-
sustainability-report.pdf
Simnett, R. (2012). Assurance of sustainability reports: Revision of ISAE 3000 and
associated research opportunities. Sustainability Accounting, Management and Policy
Journal, 3(1), 89-98.
Tai, F. M., & Chuang, S. H. (2014). Corporate social responsibility. Ibusiness, 6(03), 117.
Telstra. (2019). 2018 Sustainability Report. 1u0b5867gsn1ez16a1p2vcj1-wpengine.netdna-
ssl.com. Retrieved 30 March 2019, from https://1u0b5867gsn1ez16a1p2vcj1-
wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/Bigger-Picture-Report.pdf
Westpac.com.au. (2019). 2018 Westpac Group Sustainability Performance Report. Retrieved
30 March 2019, from
https://www.westpac.com.au/content/dam/public/wbc/documents/pdf/aw/ic/
2018_Sustainability_Performance_Report.pdf

6THE EXPANDING ROLE OF THE AUDITOR