ESG Assurance

What is ESG Assurance?

The Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Assurance focus area emphasizes research, education and knowledge transfer, and interaction initiatives at UWCISA, particularly attuned to topics such as:

navigating evolving ESG reporting standards,
enhancing sustainability assurance practices,
integrating ESG considerations into corporate strategy,
the role of data analytics that underlie ESG disclosures, including scope 1, 2 & 3 emissions,
identifying ways to improve the transparency and accountability of sustainability reporting while providing assurance on the same.

Led by

Adam Vitalis, PhD, CPA (MN)

UWCISA Associate Director Internal Audit and ESG Assurance

Research

Thought Leadership, Funding Specific Research Projects

Current ESG Assurance Research

Papers	Details
Do Differences in CFO Background Matter to Financial Statement Quality? An Application of Machine Learning and Textual Analytics	Research team: Louise Hayes, Efrim Boritz. Objectives: To explore uses of machine learning technologies with applications to accounting and auditing. Status: In process – seeking feedback via conference and workshop presentations. Affiliation: This paper is co-led by Efrim Boritz, executive director of UWCISA.
Communicating Value Creation in Integrated Reporting	Research team: Efrim Boritz. Objectives: To review and evaluate the presentation of value creation information in integrated reports. Status: In process – undergoing pilot testing. Affiliation: This paper is led by Efrim Boritz, executive director of UWCISA.
Do firms provide informative disclosures in an environment of extreme uncertainty? Evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic	Research team: Changling Chen, Theo Stratopoulos, Victor Wang. Objectives: To analyze firm reactions during the early stages of the pandemic (i.e., the first quarter of 2020), as they are manifested in firm disclosures and the value of accounting information, in a setting where there were no prior disclosures to follow nor guidance from the Security and Exchange Committee (SEC). Status: In process – under review at a journal. Affiliation: This paper is co-led by Theo Stratopoulos, an associate director of UWCISA.
Greenhouse Gas Disclosure Research: A Look Back and Look Forward	Research team: JosephJohnson, Jochen Theis, Adam Vitalis, Donnie Young. Objectives: To provide a retrospective summary of research on the relevance of climate disclosures to investors and provide considerations for future research themes based on recent disclosure proposals. Status: Complete – this paper is forthcoming in Journal of Accountability in a Sustainable World Quarterly. Affiliation: This paper is co-led by Adam Vitalis, an associate director of UWCISA.
The Impact of IT Capability on ESG Performance	Research team: Theo Stratopoulos, Yiyan Zhang, Rusell Barber. Objectives: To investigate the link between a firm's IT Capability and its Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance, addressing the empirical gap concerning the impact of technology investments on ESG outcomes. Status: In process – seeking feedback via conference and workshop presentations. Affiliation: This paper is co-led by Theo Stratopoulos, an associate director of UWCISA.

Education and Knowledge Transfer

Disseminating Best Practices, Sharing Material (Workshops / Conferences)
Developing Courses, Workshops, Cases and Other Teaching Material

Courses and Programs

Sustainability and Financial Management (SFM) program

The Sustainability and Financial Management (SFM) program is a new program developed at the University of Waterloo in collaboration with the School of Accounting and Finance (SAF) and the School of Environment, Enterprise and Development (SEED).
Students can earn their CPA or CFA designation, grounding their accounting and finance skills with faculty in SAF while gaining a deep understanding of sustainability issues from faculty in SEED.
UWCISA member Sasan Saiy is a co-director of the SFM program and UWCISA associate director Adam Vitalis is a member of the SFM curriculum committee.

Student case competitions, mentorship, and awards

The A4S competition

Sasan Saiy and Adam Vitalis partnered with Brookfield to mentor an SFM student team for the A4S Competition. The annual competition challenges teams to develop sustainable business models.
The University of Waterloo team for the 2023-24 competition won first place.
Planning is in process for the 2024-25 competition.

Interaction

Engaging with Profession, Students, Public

University of Waterloo Hub for Sustainability Integration Conference

Members of UWCISA participated in the Hub for Sustainability Integration Conference in March 2024, a one day exclusive event for senior leaders and directors that provides strategic insights on the future of sustainability and its impact on business.
The conference featured inspiring keynotes, thought-provoking and interactive panels of executives with experience in integrating sustainability into business.