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LEARNING RESOURCES
FINANCIAL REPORTING

Attestation Engagements on Sustainability ESG work is in
Information Guide (Including Greenhouse Gas
Emissions Information)
Add credibility to your sustainability information some ways a
with this authoritative guide developed to
assist CPAs with interpreting and applying the
clarified attestation standards. Supersedes AICPA
Statement of Position 13-1, Attest Engagements on natural fit for
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Information.
accountants.
PUBLICATION

Sustainability Assurance Engagements
Covering sustainability, greenhouse gas emissions, But threading ESG across a firm won’t always
and attestation engagements, this self-study be easy. At some firms, partners may be uneasy
online course will assist you with interpreting and with the idea of bringing in the ESG team to work
applying the clarified attestation standards (SSAE
No. 18). with clients with whom they have a long-standing
relationship. Or they may not feel comfortable
CPE SELF-STUDY discussing and proposing ESG services.
The solution, Holman said, is to help other
partners understand the growing value of ESG.
“ESG is something brand new,” he said. “You’ve
For more information or to make a purchase, go to aicpa.org/cpe-learning got to bring them business. There’s got to be a value
[Data for chart, numbers are in millions]
or call the Institute at 888-777-7077. proposition. That’s the internal sell.”
Taking on a smaller ESG job, he tells colleagues,
can open the opportunity for the firm to do more
of a client’s core tax and audit work. He has also
published staff diversity reports and launched a warned colleagues that if the firm doesn’t get
climate disclosure effort for the firm itself. started on ESG, competing firms could start to pick
Internal ESG projects like these have been “so up business with their clients.
important to our development,” Wilkerson said. The leaders interviewed for this article urged
“We’re learning all the things we need to under- other firms to assess their own ESG missions, to
stand when we go to the external market. It also decide what services they can best offer, and to
helps you understand the pain points, [as we’re] proceed with caution as they enter a new arena.
basically going through it from a client perspective.” “Structure is everything. Leadership tone is
everything. The firm’s commitment to ESG as a
TURNING AN ESG TEAM INTO AN ESG FIRM strategy, both internally and externally, that’s very
At each of these firms, the expectation is not that important,” Tower said. “And my concern is [that
a stand-alone team will take on all the ESG work if a] firm embarks on this without having really
itself. Instead, the leaders in this emerging space thought about having all of these elements, it can
see their teams as in-house consultancies that are really impact them negatively.”
helping other partners complete specialized projects But he and other leaders agreed: The time for
and develop ESG skills. urgency has arrived.
“We’re not trying to accumulate a massive “It doesn’t matter if you’re a 10-person firm or
stand-alone service line or army of people,” Burton a 1,000-person firm. [ESG is] going to influence
said. “For us, it’s an integrated service offering. It your ability to attract people, it’s going to influence
brings all of our existing capability to the client your interactions with your customers, with your
because the subject matter involves advisory, it community,” Burton said.
involves assurance — there’s even a tax component.” Above all, these firm leaders see ESG as the
Most often, sources said, ESG business is coming future of their own firms and of the business
from existing clients, which makes collaboration world itself. As companies small and large react
across the firm all the more important. The ESG ef- to the globe’s most pressing issues, they’ll expect
fort has to include not just the firm’s accounting lead- their accountants to make the journey with
ers but also staff in operations, sales, and other areas. them. ■

20 | Journal of Accountancy October 2022