Programme purpose
Learning designed for immediate organisational application.
A practical programme for professionals preparing, reviewing or assuring sustainability information. Participants distinguish management’s reporting responsibilities, internal audit’s assurance and advisory work, and an independent external sustainability assurance engagement. Using ISSA 5000 concepts and ICOSR working papers, the programme develops risk assessment, evidence evaluation, control testing, documentation and findings that support credible reporting and assurance readiness.
Available datesChoose the session that works for you.
Detailed two-day curriculumSix modules, practical exercises and workplace-ready outputs.
The programme moves from core concepts to guided application. Every major module includes focused submodules and a practical exercise.
Day 1Assurance foundations, risk and the control environment
Module 1 — Responsibilities and the sustainability assurance landscape
- Management preparation, governance oversight, internal audit and independent external assurance
- ISSA 5000’s framework-neutral approach and the role of ethics, independence and competence
- Limited and reasonable assurance; engagement scope, reporting criteria and practitioner responsibilities
Practical application: Map responsibilities and identify potential independence conflicts in a fictional reporting engagement.
Module 2 — Planning, criteria and materiality
- Understanding the entity, reporting process, sustainability topics and intended users
- Evaluating suitable criteria, engagement boundaries and reported information
- Materiality, risk of material misstatement, estimates and susceptibility to bias or greenwashing
Practical application: Prepare a risk-based planning memo for a selected set of reported indicators.
Module 3 — ICOSR walkthroughs and control design
- Process maps, key data hand-offs, ownership and segregation of duties
- Source-system controls, spreadsheet controls, approvals and change management
- Design effectiveness, operating effectiveness and evaluating control gaps
Practical application: Walk through a fictional emissions-reporting process and complete a risk-and-control matrix.
Daily participant outputA responsibility map, engagement-planning worksheet and ICOSR walkthrough with prioritised reporting risks.
Day 2Evidence, testing and communicating defensible findings
Module 4 — Evidence and assurance procedures
- Inspection, inquiry, observation, recalculation, reperformance and analytical procedures
- Sampling rationale, source reliability, estimates and use of experts where appropriate
- Designing procedures for limited and reasonable assurance and documenting their limitations
Practical application: Evaluate a sample evidence pack and document why selected items do or do not support the reported metric.
Module 5 — Exceptions, findings and conclusions
- Investigating inconsistent evidence, control failures and possible misstatements
- Evaluating findings, limitations, management responses and remediation priorities
- Clear working-paper conclusions and an overview of sustainability assurance reporting
Practical application: Draft an internal audit finding and a separate assurance-readiness observation from the same fictional evidence.
Module 6 — Embedding assurance readiness
- Coordinating Finance, Sustainability, Risk, data owners and assurance providers
- Readiness gates, evidence requests, remediation tracking and governance escalation
- Developing an internal audit coverage plan and reviewing the applicable jurisdictional context
Practical application: Present a risk-based work programme and a practical management remediation plan.
Daily participant outputAn evidence-testing file, findings register, internal audit coverage plan and assurance-readiness action tracker.
Who should attendDesigned for the people responsible for delivery.
- Heads of Internal Audit, internal auditors and assurance managers
- Internal control, enterprise risk and compliance professionals
- Sustainability reporting leads and disclosure coordinators
- Finance and operational control owners preparing assurance evidence
- Professional accountants and other practitioners developing sustainability assurance competence
Learning outcomesWhat participants will be able to do.
- Distinguish internal audit, management control and independent sustainability assurance responsibilities
- Explain core ISSA 5000 concepts including suitable criteria, materiality and limited versus reasonable assurance
- Identify risks of material misstatement and design proportionate evidence-gathering procedures
- Perform a documented walkthrough and sample control tests over selected ESG reporting processes
- Evaluate evidence sufficiency, data estimates, scope limitations and potential management bias
- Prepare clear findings, remediation actions and an assurance-readiness work programme
Participant resourcesPractical take-away tools.
- Sustainability assurance-readiness checklist and scope template
- Risk-of-misstatement assessment and procedure design worksheet
- ICOSR walkthrough and control-testing working papers
- Evidence request list, sample-testing log and exception register
- Illustrative findings, root-cause and corrective-action templates
- Internal audit coverage plan and management readiness action tracker
Before you attendPreparation and prerequisites.
- Experience in audit, internal control, risk, finance or sustainability reporting is recommended
- Basic familiarity with IFRS S1/S2 or another sustainability reporting framework
- Bring a laptop for the working-paper clinic. Use supplied or anonymised documents
- This programme builds practical competence; it does not grant professional authorisation or guarantee an assurance conclusion
Practical casesRelevant scenarios for applied learning.
- Fictional manufacturer: energy and emissions reporting with missing invoices, estimation changes and inconsistent organisational boundaries
- Fictional financial institution: assurance-readiness review of workforce, governance and branch data with incomplete approval evidence
- Fictional internal audit assignment: distinguish control design failures, operating exceptions and unresolved reporting misstatements
A CENGSSUD training certificate records participation. It is not an IFRS Foundation, IAASB or Microsoft qualification, accreditation or licence to practise.
Reference resourcesPrimary learning references.
Learning methodologyTechnical instruction translated into practical action.
Standards-based teaching is combined with walkthrough simulations, evidence-file review, sample-selection exercises, peer challenge and a fictional engagement case. Participants practise documenting conclusions and communicating findings while separating management preparation from independent assurance responsibilities.
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