Almost three quarters of the largest global companies sought assurance on some aspect of their sustainability disclosures, according to an updated report from accountancy bodies the International Federation of Accountants, AICPA and CIMA.

73% of large companies from G20 countries obtained assurance on their sustainability disclosures in 2023, up from 69% the previous year, according to the report. Five years ago, that number stood at 51%.

More than three-quarters of companies now report sustainability information with financial disclosures in annual or integrated reports. Organisations that include sustainability information with their annual or integrated reports overwhelmingly use their statutory auditor to provide assurance over those disclosures.

Lee White, IFAC CEO, said: “The largest global companies have responded well to voluntary systems of sustainability reporting and assurance, driven by investor demand. With new global standards in place, regulators now have the toolkits to move from voluntary to mandatory disclosures over time, which we expect will further drive high-quality, consistent and comparable sustainability-related information for the investing public and all stakeholders.”

Other findings of the study found that almost all companies (98%) report some information on sustainability – unchanged from last year – while the use of sustainability information in annual reports continues to rise. 44% of companies included it in their annual report, up from 18% five years ago.

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