AA1000AS (AA1000 Assurance Standard)

The AA1000 AccountAbility Assurance Standard (2008) is intended primarily for assurance providers. Based on adherence to AA1000AP (principles of inclusivity, materiality, responsiveness), it assists them in the evaluation of the management systems, procedures and policies that support a company’s stakeholder engagement framework.

AA1000AS has the following characteristics:

Two types of assessment

• Type 1: Assessment of an organisation’s level of adherence to AA1000AP

• Type 2: Assessment of an organisation's level of adherence to AA1000AP and the reliability of information specific to its sustainability performance

Two levels of assessment

• High assurance: Assessment of processes and data is performed to reduce the risk of error in the final conclusions of the assurance to a very low level.  High assurance requires extensive depth of evidence gathering at all levels of the organisation, including external stakeholders.

• Moderate assurance: Assessment of processes and data is performed to reduce the risk of error in the final conclusions of the assurance at a limited level. Evidence gathering restricted to corporate level, with limited sampling of data, is sufficient for moderate assurance.

These two levels of assessment are similar to the ISAE 3000 levels (limited assurance and reasonable assurance).

AA1000AS also provides specific guidelines on the content and format for the assurance certificate (statement) to be included in the assessed sustainability report.

When used in conjunction with the GRI Standards and ISAE 3000, AA1000AS is an effective tool for a comprehensive evaluation of a company’s sustainability reporting framework and for the additional reliability it provides to the sustainability report.

A new version of AA1000AS is expected to be published in 2019.

See www.accountability.org for more details.