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forming non-financial assurance engagements. The focus of ISAE 3000 is not specific to a type of non- financial assurance engagement. It is broad in order to accommodate the inherent complexities of various subject matters, criteria and evidence in non-financial information assurance engagements. Another auditing standard is AA1000AS, which was the first internationally published sustainability assurance standard in 2003. The most recent revision of this standard was in the year 2008.

These two standards revolve around the principles of materiality, responsiveness, and the underlying foundation principle of inclusivity. ISAE 3000 focuses on the assurance procedures, whereas AA1000AS emphasizes the quality of the reporting process. The use of both standards on a sustainability assurance engagement thus has the potential to deliver an enhanced product or enhancing reliability and relevance of non-financial information reporting (ACCA, AccountAbility & KPMG, 2009).

Based on our research performed on the article published by ACCA, AccountAbility & KMPG (2009), it is very important for an assurer to ensure that the sustainability assurance provided to the users is reliable and relevant to the user's needs. Since this assurance given by the auditor is to convince the stakeholders that the information provided by the organisation is credible, reliable and relevant, assurers should provide sufficient evidence that all the right things are included in the report. The report should also have all the major issues that are relevant to the stakeholders. Apart from that, the data provided should be reliable and the claims made by the management are not exaggerated. Modern assurers or auditors should also recognise the traditional assurance structures and practices which are increasingly being challenged by non-financial issues, as these issues are becoming increasingly important for strategic decision making and organizational evaluation in this modern era.

Assurers should be competent enough to understand the relationship between financial assurance and non-financial assurance within their auditing practices. As assurers, they need to track on their ethical standards, defined framework and standards, which cover their independence and the full assurance engagement. This can enhance the reliability of the non-financial reporting. Other than possessing the necessary relevant skills, assurers should have the knowledge of social, environmental and sustainability issues. According to ACCA and ICAEW, assurers should also be experienced enough to carry out assurance engagements by following the professional standards, complying with CDP (Continuing Professional Development) or training requirements, and understanding the internal quality control procedures in organisations of many industries.

Based on our research done on the discussion paper written by Royal NIVRA in the year 2010, when an assurer provides the assurance services, he or she must ensure that the services provided are aligned with the principles of accountability. There are four basic principles which are similar for both the financial and the non-financial information. They are reliability (complete, accurate, neutral and verifiable), relevance (materiality, focus and timeliness), comparability (consistency, both continuously and simultaneously) and understandability (transparency, classified, presented clearly and concisel