The current state and future implications of environmental, social, and governance assurance
Open accessAbstract
SUMMARY: This study examines environmental, social, and governance (ESG) reports of companies on The Wall Street Journal’s and Investor’s Business Daily’s top 100 sustainable companies. We collect information on whether the reports are assured, the type of assurance and standards cited, the assurance provider, and whether or not the provider also audits the financial statements. Fifty-eight percent of sample companies voluntarily sought external assurance services for some portion of these reports, with limited assurance primarily provided. Big 4 firms provide assurance for most international companies but assure only 16 percent of U.S. companies. We discuss practical implications and future research areas, including cross-country comparisons, ESG assurance, and standard-setting.
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The Colonial Pipeline case expands the discussion of cybersecurity issues into the topical purview of environmental, social, and governance courses by examining a real-world ransomware involving the lack of appropriate governance in a critical energy sector company.
“The Colonial Pipeline case expands the discussion of cybersecurity issues into the topical purview of environmental, social, and governance courses, an important development in the accounting profession today (Bakarich, Baranek, and O'Brien 2023;McGowan 2023) by examining a real-world ransomware involving the lack of appropriate governance in a critical energy sector company.”
From Colonial Pipeline: Responding to a Ransomware Attack in the Energy Sector (2026) · cites this paper as Bakarich, Baranek, and O'Brien 2023
Cites
No references could be resolved yet.
Research works printed but not linked: 7
- AccountAbility, 2020, AA1000 Accountability Principles
- American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), 2020, Frequently Asked Questions on External Assurance of Sustainability Reporting
- Center for Audit Quality, 2021, S&P 500 and ESG Reporting
- European Commission, 2021, Sustainable Finance Package
- International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB), 2013, ISAE 3000 (Revised), Assurance Engagements Other than Audits or Reviews of Historical Financial Information
- International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, 2021, About the International Sustainability Standards Board
- International Organization for Standardization, 2019, ISO 14064-3:2019 Greenhouse Gases—Part 3: Specification with Guidance for the Verification and Validation of Greenhouse Gas Statements
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Colonial Pipeline: Responding to a Ransomware Attack in the Energy Sector
Janvrin, D. J., Boss, S. R., & Gray, J. (2026) · Issues in Accounting Education · doi:10.2308/issues-2025-014 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
- Authors
- Bakarich, K. M., Baranek, D., & O’Brien, P. E.
- Affiliations
- Hofstra University (US)
- Rider University (US)
- SUNY Old Westbury (US)
- Venue
- Current Issues in Auditing
- Publisher
- American Accounting Association
- Published
- 2023-04-01
- Volume
- 17
- Issue
- 1
- Pages
- A1-A21
- ISSN
- 1936-1270 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W4291141825
- Cited by
- 27
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 8 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 1 · 2020: 1
- FWCI
- 3.36
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- diamond
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Current Issues in Auditing (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Strategy and Management › Corporate Social Responsibility Reporting
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Accounting › Auditing, Earnings Management, Governance
- Social Sciences › Business, Management and Accounting › Accounting › Accounting and Financial Management
- Keywords
- environmental, social and governance reporting, ESG assurance, assurance providers, Big 4 auditors, limited assurance, voluntary disclosure, financial statement audit, ESG standards, sustainable companies, cross-national comparison
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