Corporate Responsibility Services
Effective corporate reporting now involves much more than simply getting the numbers right. Though financial controls and reporting have to date captured the lion's share of attention, there is a fast-growing realisation that non-financial information – and the controls around the way that it is gathered and disclosed – is equally significant.
Businesses face both market and regulatory-driven pressures for non-financial information in order to satisfy stakeholders' demands for a more rounded and longer-term picture of their activities and performance. One of the key strands of non-financial reporting covers corporate responsibility: the disclosure of both qualitative and quantitative information relating to environmental, social and ethical issues.
How Ernst &Young can help
Ernst &Young's Corporate Responsibility Services help Boards to understand the non-financial aspects of business performance which are most critical to the success of their company, and verify the nature, extent and accuracy of the non-financial information that they need to disclose.
We work with our clients to test and build controls which support effective governance over non-financial performance management and disclosure. This helps an organisation to manage potential risks to its reputation. We provide both assurance and advisory services relating to environmental, ethical and social aspects of business performance.
- Assurance over external CR statements and reports
- Benchmarking against current best practice, trends in CR reporting and emerging global standards for CR reporting
- Review and development of CR governance, management and assurance frameworks
- Identification and prioritization of CR issues which have greatest impact on corporate value
- Assurance over the integrity of CR data
- Assurance over the management processes supporting CR performance
Our approach to report assurance
Our approach is grounded on the understanding that confidence in a report is based on much more than whether the data reported is accurate. Report readers want to understand:
- Whether a report is dealing with both the progress made and areas where an organisation has been challenged,
- Whether the report is really dealing with issues of most importance to the organisation, and
- Whether the programmes and activities described are those that have received attention from company management over the reporting period.
We have therefore developed an approach which seeks to review and test the processes which underpin the management of social, ethical and environmental issues allowing us to challenge whether the report is reflecting what’s actually in place.
In addition, rather than simply signing off that a report or section of it are supported by evidence, our approach also highlights whether, in our opinion, the report is dealing with the key issues that users of the information would want to hear about. This approach boosts credibility of the reporting and enhances the confidence with which the business can engage with stakeholders.
We also recognise that one size does not fit all. The detailed design of our assurance approach is unique to each company we work with and will be dependent upon:
- The maturity of the processes underpinning CR
- The existing coverage of internal assurance activities across CR
- The specific CR issues of most importance to management and company stakeholders
- The extent to which the assurance process is to be used for continual improvement in CR processes
We believe that report assurance is much more than a tick in the box and should be used to provide a basis for greater transparency and learning and improvement within the company.
At the forefront
Ernst & Young is at the forefront of providing assurance services for sustainability and corporate responsibility reports. We have fully adopted the AA1000 assurance standard which provides a useful framework for structuring activities and summarising conclusions in a way which is meaningful for our clients and report readers. Our approach is also aligned to ISAE 3000 which provides clarity on both the level of assurance and the criteria used in forming the conclusions drawn.
Our track record
Ernst & Young’s Corporate Responsibility Services team helps clients in a wide range of industries to minimise risks, enhance relationships with stakeholders and align CR activities with the business strategy. Here are some examples:
Oil and gas operations – Independent assurance over non-financial reporting for 3 major oil and gas companies.
Power sector – Corporate responsibility risk review, governance assessment, and new policy framework development.
Consumer products – Non-financial reporting review covering the risks, opportunities and immediate areas for improvement.
Government – Partnering with internal audit function to deliver corporate responsibility elements of internal audit programme.
Other services
Ernst & Young’s specialist business risk services teams, of which our corporate responsibility team is part, provide independent assurance in relation to corporate governance requirements and risk portfolios, as well as guidance and advice to clients undergoing major change programmes.
We are located in Ernst & Young’s headquarters at:
1 More London Place, London SE1 2AF, United Kingdom.
For more information on corporate responsibility solutions, please contact:
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Douglas Johnston