Sustainability Assurance (Certificate of Competence)

As business continues to face social, economic and governance challenges, the level of interest in sustainable value creation will increase. Stakeholders are demanding more accountability from business and seek reassurance that information provided in sustainability and other forms of non-financial reporting is credible.

They assume that because the information has been assured by an independent expert, it must be a faithful representation of an organisation’s value creation and long-term sustainability. From a company’s perspective, the pressure to have their sustainability-related or other types of non-financial information assured can be immense. Organisations allow market trends to guide their decisions on what and how to have their reports assured rather than being informed by the need to use assurance as part of the broader value creation process.

The result is that they are ill-prepared for the assurance process and cannot maximise the benefits which can be provided by having their reporting, systems and processes subject to third party verification. This short course provides candidates with a conceptual and theoretical appreciation of assurance in the context of sustainability and integrated reporting.

The course is designed to further candidates’ understanding of how emerging forms of assurance (and related concepts) are being applied in practice. Candidates will be exposed to a mix of technical and professional publications, complemented to a limited extent by relevant academic readings. They are required to engage with an alternate perspective on the drivers and benefits of assurance being advanced by practitioners and assurance experts.

Wits University, in partnership with SAICA, decided to create a series of short courses dealing with the role and function of the CVO aimed specifically at chartered accountants.