"ISSA 5000 to Become the Most Widely Applied Certification Standard"…Hangonghoe Hosts ESG Certification Forum

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has announced that the comprehensive ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) disclosure assurance international sustainability assurance standard (ISSA) 5000 is expected to become a major assurance standard. ISSA 5000 is used to assure sustainability information.

On the 3rd, the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants held the "6th ESG Assurance Forum" at the Korea Exchange Conference Hall. At the forum, Geunsik Hwang, Head of the Assurance Standards Department at the Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants, explained, "ISSA 5000 focuses on sustainability information and provides abundant guidance to assist assurance practice, which will not only improve assurance quality but also enhance the ease of application for assurance practitioners."

He continued, "ISSA 5000 has received strong support from key stakeholders, including the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), and is expected to quickly replace existing assurance standards and become the most widely applied assurance standard."

However, Head Hwang emphasized, "For the establishment of sustainability information assurance, ethical standards and quality management standards must also be established together." He stated, "To maintain the quality of sustainability information assurance, it is essential that assurance practitioners and assurance providers comply with appropriate ethical standards and quality management standards. ISSA 5000 has expressed the view that regulatory bodies and standard-setting organizations in each country have the responsibility to evaluate ethical standards and quality management standards or establish requirements for appropriate standards."

He added, "Along with the refinement of assurance standards, it is necessary to evaluate and establish ethical standards and quality management standards applied by assurance practitioners with various qualifications, and it is also important to consider mechanisms that ensure effective compliance with these standards."

There is also a forecast that collaboration with experts and cooperation among assurance providers will be further activated once ISSA 5000 is introduced. Head Hwang said, "Sustainability information covers diverse fields and includes information beyond the control of companies, so to assure sustainability information, the use of experts and collaboration among assurance providers must be further activated." He added, "ISSA 5000 recognizes the use of experts or other assurance practitioners' work and especially allows other assurance practitioners to be utilized more broadly than during financial information audits."

Furthermore, it is expected that ISSA 5000 will be highly useful for introducing reporting and assurance systems in a flexible manner, such as gradual expansion of assurance scope, as it covers various situations including assurance of partial information or application of multiple criteria.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.