Almost one-third of companies perceived themselves as ready to have their environmental, social, and governance data independently assured, despite looming regulatory deadlines.
“Boards are increasing their focus on it and leaders are reporting a growing range of benefits as the discipline involved in getting ready forHowever, a gap has widened between leading companies and those at the early stage of assurance readiness. Furthermore, the research observed that the higher a company’s revenue, the more likely it is to be advanced in its ESG assurance preparations, as those with over $100b revenue saw a peak score at 69.5 on a 0-100 scale, whilst those under $5b recorded a 39.3 score.
“Obtaining appropriately skilled and experienced people is set to be a challenge for all given that so many businesses are looking for the same skillsets at the same time and also that the skills required are very specialised,” the report said.