ESG Guide for Audit Committees

A practical guide to providing effective ESG assurance oversight

As organizations continue to adapt to an ever-changing landscape, boards and audit committees must be prepared to address the new dynamics affecting their oversight roles and the governance of their organizations.

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) considerations are and will continue to be an integral part of each organization’s strategy and focus going forward. On one hand, there is much guidance and information available in this area, while alternatively, standards and regulations addressing specific areas of reporting are still evolving. Audit committees have responsibilities to ensure their organization’s ESG information that is under their oversight is appropriate and reliable, including information that is publicly released.

Our aim with this guide is to equip audit committees with some of the information they need to provide effective ESG assurance oversight for their organizations. With insight from our Board Leadership Centre (BLC) co-chairs and KPMG’s experienced ESG professionals, this guide presents an analysis of various elements of ESG reporting that may fall within the audit committee’s mandate.

This guide is a supplementary resource to our Audit Committee Guide – Canadian Edition and is intended to be used in tandem for a fulsome overview of the expectations of the audit committee to discharge their duty effectively.

Key topics covered in this guide include:

• Applicable sustainability reporting standards
• Climate-related impacts on financial statements and internal controls
• ESG external assurance