A Systematic Review of Sustainability Reporting Assurance: Current Practices and Issues for Future

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.