ESG Audit and Sustainability Assurance Services

We present AP Professional Services perspective to ESG Audit and Sustainability Assurance practices.

In a constantly changing audit landscape, achieving efficiency, accuracy and consistency is necessary. One of the new and latest reporting needed to be integrated in an Audit Engagement is ESG Audit and Sustainability Assurance. ESG addresses organization’s responsibilities beyond taking care of their bottom line (Profits) and financial performance.

In the past, we have integrated Tax and Company Secretarial Audit into our audit process. Now it’s the time to integrate a fully ASSURANCE PROCESS into our Annual Audit plan.

ESG stands for Environmental, Social, and Governance. Another name for ESG is Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). For illustration purposes, CSR is like what Management Accounts (Unaudited Financial Statements) or better still Trial Balance is to organizations while ESG is the AFS and Sustainability reporting is like the Audit Opinion.

Sustainability assurance refers to providing independent assurance or verification of an organization’s sustainability-related information, performance, or reporting. Sustainability Assurance is what Audit Opinion is in traditional audit.

Business leaders increasingly see sustainability as pivotal to risk management and value creation. In line with this trend, more and more companies are investing in third-party assurance for ESG and sustainability reporting to mitigate risk and bring valuable benefits.

It’s about assessing how your company’s operations impact the world and ensuring these actions are aligned with your values and the values of society at large.

There are some countries that are charged with Mandatory ESG Reporting. However, it can be adopted as voluntary obligations in countries where it is not mandatory. In those countries where ESG Reporting is mandatory, regulations are in place demanding certain companies to provide specific financial or non-financial data disclosures in their strategic report.

Some of Mandatory ESG Reporting areas are:

(1) Climate-related disclosures in financial reporting.  

(2) SEC demands from publicly traded companies to submit annual reports on human capital resources (HCR)

RELATED SERVICE PROVIDERS
ESG Assurance Providers
Sustainability Assurance Providers

NOTE: Experienced Chartered Accountants and Auditors are the best fit to perform ESG audit services as they have vast experience in determining whether a client is in compliance with multiple standards and frameworks.

What is ESG reporting?
ESG reporting is an organization’s public disclosure of its environmental, social, and corporate governance data in order to ensure transparency into the organization’s ESG activities and measure its sustainability performance so stakeholders, such as investors, consumers, and NGOs, can make better-informed decisions.

A comprehensive and continuous ESG auditing helps protect organizations from ESG-related risks. ESG audits is part of a Risk Management tools that helps organizations identify and assess their impact on the environment and society, and develop strategies for mitigating or otherwise addressing ESG risks. Also, ESG Audit is an essential source of information for investors, employees, and customers, who demand accurate information and transparency around how organizations approach ESG issues. ESG Audit allows companies and organizations to benefit from stakeholder confidence, regulatory compliance, and an enhanced reputation.

ESG Audit is needed where pressure on any of these ESG elements (Environmental, Societal and Governance) are identified:

(a) An organization is exposed to Environmental pressures. Example is the Climate Change impact, waste management challenges, hazardous materials handling, pollution impact and supply chain depletion (depletion in source of material supply).

(b) An organization is exposed to societal pressures as a result of relationships with Employees, Customers, Communities. Examples are procedures to adhere to Labor laws, procedures not to violate human rights, policies on child labor and work conditions, Data Protection and privacy risk and policy framework on DEI Issues (Diversity, equity, and inclusion)

(c) An organization is expected to abide and make disclosure regarding laid down code of conducts and sets of Corporate Governance rules and regulations

ESG REPORTING FORMAT (ESG FRAMEWORK) Four well-known ESG frameworks are:
(1) Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB)✅

Presently, ISAE-3000 (revised) is an assurance standard by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) that deals with assurance engagements other than audits or reviews of historical financial information. ISAE3000 on provide guidance for ESG Audits.

ISAE stands for International Standards of Assurance Engagements. ISAE are issued by issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB)

Newly, we are having ISSA5000 to replace ISAE3000 as one unified guidance for a standard Sustainability reporting and combined guidance for both ESG Audit and Sustainability Assurance.

ISSA stands for International Standards Sustainability Assurance. ISSA issued by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB)

(2) Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

(3) ISO Standards. International Organization for Standardization.

Some useful ISO standards that provide ESG audit frameworks include ISO 26000 (Social Responsibility), ISO 14001 (Environmental Management Systems), and ISO 45001 (Occupational Health and Safety)

(4) GRI: The most popular or well-known of these frameworks comes from the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). This framework is focused on sustainability and impact reporting. 

NOTE: SASB offers sector-specific guidance while TCFD is more specifically geared towards climate issues. As some frameworks address a specific aspect of ESG, you may want to consider whether using or combining parts of multiple frameworks makes sense.

Any ESG reporting frameworks adopted will provide guidance to:
(a) Identify ESG topics or better still risk areas

(b) Provide criteria on how to structure and prepare information to disclose for each topic.

STEPS ON HOW TO CARRY OUT ESG AUDIT (HOW TO PERFORM ESG AUDIT)

(a) Data collection (Data Mining) from stakeholders in order to understand and identify specific ESG Risk Exposure. Automate this process for continuous auditing and evidence collection

ESG data refers to information related to a company’s environmental impact, social responsibility, and governance practices.

Types of ESG Data
The different types of ESG data can be broadly categorized into the following areas:

  • Environmental data: This includes data on a company’s energy usage, carbon emissions, water usage, and waste management practices
  • Social data: This includes data on a company’s labor practices, human rights policies, community engagement, and diversity and inclusion initiatives
  • Governance data: This includes data on a company’s board composition, executive pay, anti-corruption policies, and other metrics
  • Financial data: This includes the financial performance and stability of the company, which may be used alongside other ESG data to calculate intensity ratios and other ESG KPI

(b) Select an ESG framework that aligns with your organization’s goals.

(c) Set up ESG Goals and KPI per each ESG potential risk identified. This will be used to determine if Risk is POTENTIAL or not.

(d) Map out strategy to manage and mitigate against potential risks identified under c above

ESG AUDIT RISK
Companies that fail to manage or mitigate ESG risks face financial, reputational, and legal cos

EFFECT OF THE AMMENDED PENSION REFORM ACT 2014 (PRA 2014) AND IT’S EFFECT ON EMPOYER AND EMPLOYEES.

On July 1, 2014, President Goodluck Jonathan signed into law the New Pension Reform Act 2014 (PRA 2014) after 10 years performance of the old Pension Reform Act of 2004. The new law repeals the 2004 Pension Reform Act No. 2 and prescribes a 10-year jail term for pension thieves.

The Act does not specify a commencement date, however, Section 2 of the Interpretation Act CAP I23 of LFN 2010 stipulates that, where no date of commencement is contained in an Act, the commencement day shall be the day the Act was passed or signed into law. Therefore, the commencement date of the new Pension Act is 1st July, 2014.

The changes in the old pension Reform Act 2004, was aim to streamline the savings of funds towards retirement and the provision of funds after retirement, including availability of funds for the surviving beneficiaries of deceased employees whilst in service and retirees under the pension scheme within the guaranteed period.

  • The key highlights and salient point of the new Pension Act are detailed below:Minimum number of staff requirement for employer to take part in pension scheme has been increased to 15 from 5 employees as stipulated under the 2004 Act.
  • Section 8(1) of the New Act exclude/exempt employees that is 3 years or less to retirement from participating in the pension      scheme.
  • Minimum contribution from employer has been increased from 7.5% to 10%. The minimum level of contribution from employee was also increased from 7.5% to 8%. This means the two rate is no longer equal. TNew-Pension-Reform-Act-2014he greatest impact is the base upon which the monthly contribution is to be calculated. The definition of ‘monthly emoluments’ has been expanded to mean the total emolument as defined in the employee’s contract of employment provided it is not less than the total of the employee’s basic salary, housing and transport allowance.
  •  Group life policy’s benefit is now allowed to be paid to a name beneficiary of employee upon his death. In the Old Act (Act 2004), Group life policy’s benefits are paid into a deceased employee’s Retirement Savings Account (RSA) which makes it difficult for beneficiaries to access. Consequently, employers are required to ensure that their employees avail the insurer with the list of their beneficiaries to receive the proceeds of their company’s Group Life Policy under which insurance has been taken out for their lives whilst in service.
  •  Voluntary contributions that is withdrawn within five years are taxable in the hands of the employee
  •  The 2014 Act also empowers PenCom, subject to the fiat of the Attorney General of the Federation, to institute criminal proceedings against employers who persistently fail to deduct and/or remit pension contributions of their employees within the stipulated time.
  •  In the event of loss of jobs (where an employee disengages from employment or is disengaged), the new Act reduces the waiting period for accessing benefits from six months to four.
  •  The Pension Reform Act 2014 makes provision that would compel an employer to open a Temporary Retirement Savings Account, TRSA, on behalf of an employee that failed to open an RSA within three months of assumption of duty.
  •  The Act also allows an employer to pay additional payments benefits to employee upon retirement OR can elect to take full responsibility of the contribution (that is, bears the total pension contributions of its employees). In that case, the Contribution shall not be less than 20% of the employee’s monthly emolument.

 OTHER AREAS MAINTAINED BY THE NEW ACT 2014 AS CONTAINED IN THE OLD ACT 2004

  • Employers are required to take up Group Life Insurance policy on behalf of their employees for a minimum of three times the annual total emolument of the employee.
  • Employee is free to utilize the amount on their RSA for either programmed withdrawal or to purchase an annuity from an insurance company.
  • The ACT still allows employer with less than the minimum staff requirement (prescriptive 3 employees) and self-employed persons to participate in the pension scheme under separate guidelines issued by PenCom. However, the Act is silent on the applicability of the Scheme to private organizations with more than 3 but less than 15 employees.

[plulz_social_like width="350" send="false" font="arial" action="like" layout="standard" faces="false" ]

New Samsung Galaxy S5 coming in April, possibly with eye scanner

Samsung is eyeing an April release date for its upcoming Galaxy S5, and speaking of eye, it’s currently testing iris recognition technology that could be featured in the new handset which would be on par with Apple’s new fingerprint scanner in the iPhone 5C and 5S.. The upcoming device is expected to have a new design and features to compete with Apple’s iPhone 5c and 5c smartphones.

Samsung also plans to change up the design of the Galaxy S5, mainly because consumers complained that the S4 resembled its predecessor — the Galaxy S3 — too closely.

The S5 will be paired with a new wearable device that will be an evolution of the Galaxy Gear smartwatch.

There’s also a chance Samsung will release a high-end and low-end version of the phone. The high-end model could have a metal casing while the low-end will still use plastic like all other Samsung’s phones

Season’s Greetings

Season’s Greetings to you our Dear Valued Clients, Partners and Friends

The Management and entire staff of Adesanya and Partners (Chartered Accountants and Tax Practitioners) wish you our esteemed clients and business partners a Merry Christmas and prosperous business activities in the New Year – 2014.

We thank you for our unwavering support, continued patronage and we reaffirm our commitment to continue to provide all round business support to you and your organisation.

We understand that supporting your business in your effort in taking your business to the next level in 2014 is part of our priority and we reassure you that you can continue to count on our best professional service. We assure you that our high quality delivery service will be retained and improved upon even at the same moderate fee.

Please also take note that we shall be closing for the year from Monday 23rd 2013 to resume on Monday 6th January 2014. During this break period our services shall be skeletal and we shall be embarking on your Year-End-Audit exercise which comprises witnessing your stock-take, cash count and bank balance confirmation. Also, during the break period, we shall only have intermittent access to our emails.

On our resumption on Monday 6th January 2014 processing your company’s Tax Clearance Certificate (TCC)with the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) will be our utmost priority.

Also, we want to remind you that December 2014 is the deadline for Phase 3 (the SMEs) to comply with the International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS). We shall keep you posted all you need to do.

Once again Merry Christmas and a more productive 2014 to you all.