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      Navigating the road to readiness

      The environmental, social and governance (ESG) agenda is rapidly moving forward, with new rules coming into force that oblige companies to report on their ESG risks, opportunities, and performance. To make this reporting credible, disclosures will require independent third party assurance.

      It was against this backdrop that, last year, we published the inaugural KPMG ESG Assurance Maturity Index. The Index found that companies had a long way to go to prepare for ESG reporting and assurance. So, how are they doing now?

      Our second year of analysis shows that some progress has been made – but nevertheless, many organisations are still in the early stages. The time has come for a concerted focus on putting in place the necessary systems, processes and controls to gather the data required, and aim to ensure these are sufficiently robust to stand up to external assurance.

      The Index and associated research were designed to offer a path forward and provide a roadmap with guidance on areas to focus on, and the steps to take to become ready for ESG assurance. The views of senior executives and board members at 1000 companies across industries, global regions and revenue sizes were captured to gauge their relative ESG Assurance maturity. Respondents were ranked as either Leaders (top 25%), Advancers (next 50%), or Beginners (bottom 25%) based on their maturity. 

       

      The journey continues: Navigating the road to readiness

       

      Want to know how your company measures against your peers?
      Complete our short survey to find out and to view the full report!

      Key facts

      29 % of companies

      have a clear audit trail to support their non-financial information.

      29 % of companies

      have the ESG policies, skills and systems in place to be ready for ESG assurance.

      75 % of firms

      must now report ESG data or will soon be required to do so.

      42 % amongst leaders

      now place robust, product-specific requirements on their suppliers.

      46 % of leaders

      see digital tools as being key to being ready to obtain assurance.

      Related content

      KPMG ESG Assurance Maturity Index 2023

      Taking a strategic approach towards corporate governance, board-level responsibility and reporting

      Get in touch

      Alex Koh

      Partner, Head of Audit

      KPMG in Singapore


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      KPMG combines our multi-disciplinary approach with deep, practical industry knowledge to help clients meet challenges and respond to opportunities. Connect with our team to start the conversation.