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The Monitoring Group (MG) is responsible for the overall governance of the international audit, assurance, ethics, and independence standard-setting system, including conducting periodic effectiveness reviews. In July 2020, the MG issued its recommendations Strengthening the International Audit and Ethics Standard-Setting System (MG Recommendations).1 The objectives of the MG Recommendations are the implementation of a more independent and inclusive multi-stakeholder standard-setting system that is more responsive to the public interest and an accelerated pace of change in the development of timely, high-quality audit, assurance, ethics, and independence standards.
Stakeholders across the global corporate reporting ecosystem benefit from high-quality standard setting by the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA) (collectively the Standard Setting Boards (SSBs)) under the oversight provided by the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) to ensure due process is followed and that the standards are developed that are responsive to the public interest, are developed in accordance with the Public Interest Framework (PIF),2 and are responsive to the rapid pace of change.
Responding to the Public Interest and an Accelerated Pace of Change – Assurance over Sustainability Information
Stakeholders have emphasized the importance of the development of timely, globally consistent, and comparable assurance, ethics, and independence standards to enhance the public trust in the quality of sustainability information. Strong momentum continues around the globe for both voluntary and mandatory reporting of sustainability information and assurance over some or all of that information. The benefits from implementing the MG Recommendations, which are designed to “foster the development of timely, high-quality standards that respond to an accelerating pace of change,” is on full display as it relates to the evolving space of assurance over sustainability information. The agility and public interest responsiveness of the SSBs through their ongoing projects to develop assurance, ethics, and independence standards over sustainability-related information demonstrates these benefits. On August 2, 2023, the IAASB launched a public consultation3 on its proposed global sustainability assurance standard, and on January 29, 2024, the IESBA launched a public consultation4 on its proposed sustainability-related ethics and independence standards...
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