24 June 2025 — Publication
The European Commission’s (EC) Omnibus proposal aims to amend the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) and Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) and EU Taxonomy.
Accountancy Europe supports EU efforts to simplify existing requirements to reduce administrative and reporting burden for companies and boost EU competitiveness — simplifying without backtracking on policy goals to transition to a net-zero economy. However, we should remember that the CSRD was established to support the EU Green Deal’s objectives by providing financial markets and stakeholders consistent, comparable and reliable sustainability information. It serves as a building block for a standardised sustainability disclosure regime that supports transparency, accountability and green investment.
As discussions within the EU institutions evolve, we reiterate the European accountancy profession’s views on achieving high-quality sustainability assurance.
The EC announced its plan to quickly streamline, simplify and clarify the first set of European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). The EC mandated EFRAG to deliver the technical advice on ESRS revision by 31 October 2025. EFRAG indicates that is activating six key levers to reach 50+ percent reduction of mandatory datapoints [update of 20 June 2025][1].
The ongoing revision intends to clarify and significantly reduce granular reporting requirements for companies. Clear, well-defined reporting standards are expected to ease the work involved in assurance engagements and increase harmonisation across assurance practices. The clearer the reporting requirements, the more straightforward it is for assurance practitioners to use such a reporting standard in assurance engagements. The ESRS therefore play a critical role in how auditors define and design assurance on the reporting.
Independent external assurance enhances the reported information’s credibility and supports informed decisions by investors and other users. A global baseline for assurance and ethical standards is vital to meet users’ needs and ensure quality, consistency and efficiency of assurance engagements.
A clear and unified EU approach to sustainability assurance is needed to facilitate greater consistency and alignment of assurance practices across EU Member States and globally. High-quality sustainability assurance – based on globally accepted standards as a minimum baseline – is critical to reinforcing trust and ensuring comparable and useful disclosures across markets. The IAASB’s International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA 5000) (a dedicated standard for sustainability reporting assurance) as a stand-alone, profession-agnostic and principles-based standard, could be applied or form a strong foundation for a sustainability assurance standard in the EU.
Accountancy Europe’s Member Bodies report that where national frameworks exist as standards, recommendations or guidance), they are generally aligned with or based on international standards. Feedback from our Members also indicates a broad intention to adopt ISSA 5000 across EU Member States – see Accountancy Europe’s CSRD transposition overview.
We note the EC’s plan to issue targeted guidelines for assurance engagements. We strongly urge these guidelines to be developed through a transparent, robust due process akin to that of standard-setting, including a public consultation. While we recognise the significant time pressure to deliver, a public consultation is essential to ensure a credible and inclusive process.
Additionally, we highlight that ISSA 5000 is a principles-based standard, including requirements complemented by application material that helps assurance providers interpret and implement the standard effectively. Assurance providers then design their methodology, work plan and specific procedures in line with the standard, the company’s specificities, its identified risks and reporting. We emphasise that the EC’s guidelines should follow the same approach as the global standard ISSA 5000 and provide a consistent framework for assurance providers, outlining principles rather than prescriptive procedures or rules.
It is vital that all assurance providers, regardless of their background, operate under an equivalent framework, ensuring a level playing field across EU and third countries with equivalent criteria on professional assurance standards, qualifications, ethical requirements including independence, quality management and public oversight. An equivalent framework is necessary to meet the CSRD’s objectives to have reliable and comparable sustainability reports.
Integrated information allows investors, regulators, and other stakeholders to understand how sustainability impacts, risks and opportunities translate into financial outcomes. Connectivity between financial and sustainability reporting helps provide a full picture of the company’s viability and performance. Equally, assurance provider should understand the company, its strategy, business model and governance- including systems, processes and controls – to integrate financial results with ESG performance while reducing administrative complexity and cost.
[1] EFRAG, ESRS revision: progress report as of 20 June 2025
