The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) and the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) have launched a joint initiative seeking to raise awareness and promote quality in the field of integrated reporting assurance engagements.

"The Initiative recognizes that new thinking is required to determine what comprises integrated report assurance and how to best deliver it, given integrated reporting’s broad and forward-looking focus on value creation," said the joint statement.

The two groups aim to heighten awareness of key issues, drive constructive conversation with and among key stakeholders, and encourage providers and users of assurance services in particular to lend their voices to the effort. The initiative will be rolled out in several phases, with the first taking the form of a guidance document.

The document outlines the current state of play in the integrated reporting assurance field right now (mostly just limited scope engagements) and where the two groups believe it needs to go (moving from a limited to a reasonable assurance engagement). The groups conceded that it is less clear on getting from one to the other, at least partially because guidance and practice in this area is in a very immature stage and "trying to force a solution based largely on historical assurance approaches will likely not be sufficient when there is much more emphasis on things like narrative and forward-looking information." With this in mind, the groups called for innovations on how to accelerate the assurance process in the integrated reporting world, which they noted could involve some calculated risks.