지속가능성보고서의 제3자 검증에 관한 연구

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to grasp reality of third party assurance on sustainability report of Korean enterprises and to propose measures for improvement. To accomplish this objective, this study reviewed relevant literatures and 75 sustainability reports that were published between 2011 and June 2012 were collected and analyzed. Results from reality study revealed that most of(73.3%) sustainability reports published by Korean enterprises have taken third party assurance. However, there were some issues as followed. First, applied assurance standards are mostly limited to AA1000AS(2008). Second, assurance level is bounded to moderate level or limited assurance level. Third, independence, fairness, and reliability of assurance is doubtful since third party assurance is usually carried out by professional consulting agencies. Fourth, titles of the report that contains the result of assurance are varied such as ‘assurance report,’ ‘assurance opinion,’ and ‘assurance statement.’ For the last, terms used in the reports are incoherent and each assurance organizations differs so much. Therefore, this study propose that following should be done to nurture effectiveness of third party assurance. First, title and terms of the report should be united and contents of the report should be standardzied in terms of formality. Second, assurance level should gradually go up to high level or rational assurance level in terms of contents. Also, usage of not only AA1000AS(2008), but also ISAE 3000 should be encouraged. Third, in terms of system, a separate corporation for third party assurance should be established and it is urgent to train and secure assurance specialists. Moreover, it should be regulated to practice assurance with a team of certified public accountant and sustainability management expert who are both assurance specialist. Results of this study will contribute to the settlement and development of third party assurance on sustainability report in Korea, and will be utilized as a basic reference for further studies on this topic.