How sustainability report preparers and assurance providers frame sustainability assurance quality – an interview study

We explore the quality of sustainability assurance from the perspective of sustainability reporting preparers and assurance providers. The research design and data collection are guided by framing theory, which involves three framing tasks (i.e. sense-making, naming and storytelling) during the diagnostic framing process. A semi-structured interview method was employed with a sample of 40 sustainability reporting preparers and assurance providers. The data collected from the interviews is analysed following the three stages of the grounded theory method. The assurance providers demonstrated their commitment to the quality of sustainability assurance in the sense-making task. In contrast, the reporting preparers paid little attention to it. Results from the naming task indicate that assurance providers highlight the level of assurance quality in accordance with predetermined targets and prescribed procedures, while reporting preparers prioritise meeting the stakeholders’ requirements. The storylines from both groups emphasise the quality of disclosure information. From their perspective, assurance providers emphasise that effective communication with client companies is associated with higher-quality and more sustainable reporting. Preparers of assurance statements are concerned about the representation of assurance statements. Our study is limited by the inherent limitations of qualitative research. A relatively small sample and other stakeholders were not included, which limited the generalisation of the findings of our study. Our study has practical significance and implications for reporting companies, assurance providers and regulators by offering a comprehensive view of assurance providers and reporting preparers on sustainability assurance quality. We integrate the applications of framing theory by Maroun (2019) and Durocher and Georgiou (2022) to develop a new framework that guides research design and data collection in qualitative research. Our study sheds light on the stagnant sustainability assurance market and contributes new insights to the existing literature on sustainability assurance. It contributes to our understanding of the quality of sustainability assurance from the perspective of assurance providers and sustainability reporting preparers. The theoretical framework we developed is useful for studying the perception of a concept or practice and the process of forming such perception in any discipline.