Abstract:
Sustainability reporting (SR) is an important area of modern corporate reporting that
is rapidly expanding. Despite the fact that the number of reports has increased, their
quality has been questionable. Moreover, the credibility of sustainability
information without assurance is frequently criticized. According to SR practice,
external assurance provides stakeholders with transparency and credibility of
sustainability information. Although sustainability reporting assurance (SRA) is
still a vital activity, there is a lack of a shared understanding and approach to the
practice. The objective of the study is to explore the current SRA practices and the
prospects for SRA by conducting a systematic literature review (SLR). Through the
SLR using the PRISMA framework, 55 published articles in the last 17 years, from
2004 to 2020, were carefully examined. The predetermined data elements such as
year of publication, country of study, research method, focus of literature, and
analytical approaches were analyzed using a chronological and content analysis of
these articles. This methodology employs a rigorous process to identify and select
the most important literary contributions in this field. The results are intended to
contribute to the development and evolution of SRA in the future, as well as guide
researchers in designing their future studies.
