Expert cross-disciplinary teams in assurance engagements concerning corporate social responsibility reporting

The broad sustainability agenda has created an extraordinarily wide array of new and novel questions and issues with respect to reporting and public disclosure by business firms. Many stakeholders now demand a reckoning of the impact, in an ever-expanding context, that private-sector economic activities have on the environment. Various proposed techniques for sustainability accounting, and the accompanying social accountability reporting, have the potential to be helpful in this regard (1) to the reporting organizations themselves--in their managing, planning, and control functions; (2) to current and prospective investors—in their normal buy-sell-hold decisions for allocating capital resources; (3) to government units at all levels—as they attempt to foster the common good for their citizenry; (4) to consumers—in their fundamental role as arbiters of outputs that the macro economy should/will provide; and (5) to society in general—as it makes collective judgments that will impact the planet’s future physical health and welfare.

For the contemporary sustainability agenda to move forward in a positive direction, though, there must be both systematic disclosure of negative production externalities that affect the environment and an acceptable level of assurance that such disclosures meet common standards of completeness and quality. The current research project seeks to synthesize best practices in the auditing and assurance arena as concerns corporate social responsibility. The special focus here is on the carbon pollution reduction scheme and the proposed multidisciplinary combined involvement of both scientific and financial specialists on audit teams. The results will inform all the interested parties about policy formulation and implementation.