How do auditors express their opinion on sustainability information? A novel proposal for a verification report in Europe

Keywords: Directive 2014/95/EU, proposal for Directive, information on sustainability, audit report, non-financial information

Abstract

Sustainability reporting and its credibility are subject of growing international interest. The Non-Financial Reporting Directive 2014/95/EU is going to be replaced by the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive with the aim of improving the comparability, relevance and credibility of non-financial information reported in the European framework. In this article we analyze both Directives, other international initiatives regarding sustainability information, as well as the present and future situation of the assurance of this information. In addition, we propose a novel audit report for non-financial information based on a survey of auditors and users in Spain. Our proposal can improve communication between auditors and users and increase stakeholders’ confidence on reported sustainability information.

Received: 30 April 2022
Accepted: 30 May 2022

Author Biographies

Estibaliz Goicoechea Zulaica, University of Deusto, Spain

Professor of Finance at the University of Deusto in Bilbao. Her main research areas are: auditing, corporate reporting, non-financial information and sustainability. She has published articles, among other journals, in Sustainability, the International Journal of Financial Studies and the Bulletin of Economic Studies. She is member of the DBS Finance Research Team. She has worked in audit in a Big4 and as head of the administration department in a listed international industrial group

Fernando Gómez-Bezares Pascual, University of Deusto, Spain

Emeritus Professor of Finance at the University of Deusto in Bilbao. His main research areas are: corporate social responsibility, performance evaluation, market efficiency, asset valuation, corporate finance and corporate reporting. He has published articles, among other journals, in Journal of Behavioral Finance, Bulletin of Economic Studies, The European Journal of Finance, Business Ethics: A European Review, Accounting Forum, Cogent Economics & Finance, Spanish Journal of Finance and Accounting, Sustainability, Journal of Cleaner Production and Applied Economics Letters. He is member of the DBS Finance Research Team. He is the author of 25 books and more than one hundred articles. He was co-founder and first president of the Spanish Finance Association (AEFIN). He has been vice president of Spainsif (Spanish Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment). He has been part of the Management Committee of the Bulletin of Economic Studies.

Leire Alcañiz González, University of Deusto, Spain

Full Professor in Finance, as well as Coordinator of the Business Administration degree at the Bilbao campus of the University of Deusto. Her main research areas: social accounting, intellectual capital, corporate social responsibility and humanistic thinking. She has published articles, among other journals, in Accounting Forum, Journal of Business Ethics, Journal of Technology Management & Innovation, The European Journal of Finance, Bulletin of Economic Studies and Human System Management. She is member of the DBS Humanism in Management and Economics team.

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Published
2023-03-20
How to Cite
Goicoechea Zulaica, Estibaliz, Fernando Gómez-Bezares Pascual, and Leire Alcañiz González. 2023. “How Do Auditors Express Their Opinion on Sustainability Information? A Novel Proposal for a Verification Report in Europe”. Bulletin of Economic Studies 77 (233), 47-69. https://doi.org/10.18543/bee.2427.