Online course Sustainability Assurance (ISSA 5000)

It is highly relevant for external and internal auditors, accountants in business, controllers, and other finance professionals seeking to navigate the evolving assurance landscape.

The programme also benefits members of audit committees overseeing sustainability reporting, as well as as non-financial auditors such as environmental and social auditors and sector-specific auditors.

Whether you're already working with sustainability data or preparing to enter the field, this course provides the essential knowledge and tools to lead with confidence.

Prerequisites:

• Knowledge of sustainability reporting requirements (CSRD-ESRS, VSME, the International IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, Global Reporting Initiative or other)
• Master or Bachelor degree
• Affinity with auditing

Learning goals

• Knowledge of international sustainability assurance standards and the European sustainability assurance standards and their application
• Knowledge on how to transform sustainability assurance standards into a working-program for your sustainability assurance engagement
• Knowledge on performing an effective planning process for your own sustainability assurance engagement
• Knowledge on relating a risk assessment to performing further procedures
• Knowledge on translating evidence obtained to the form of conclusion that is provided
• Knowledge on relevant sustainability assurance quality principles and ethical principles to your organisation and sustainability assurance engagement

The demand for sustainability assurance is growing rapidly, driven by increasing regulatory pressure and stakeholder expectations. A key milestone in this development is the implementation of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), which mandates that listed and large non-listed companies perform a limited assurance engagement on their sustainability information in line with the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and the Taxonomy Regulation (Article 8). Although the European Commission initially estimated that around 50,000 companies would be affected, the scope may be adjusted due to the pending Omnibus simplification.

Beyond the EU, other jurisdictions are also introducing mandatory sustainability assurance requirements, while a growing number of companies worldwide are voluntarily seeking independent assurance of their ESG disclosures.

ISSA 5000

To support a consistent and globally applicable approach, the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) issued the International Standard on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA 5000) at the end of 2024. This standard provides a comprehensive framework for both limited and reasonable assurance engagements and serves as the foundation for the forthcoming European Sustainability Assurance Standard, expected by the end of 2026.

The Online course Sustainability Assurance (ISSA 5000) is designed to equip professionals with in-depth knowledge of the sustainability assurance process based on ISSA 5000. The content is criteria-neutral, making it applicable across various reporting frameworks, including CSRD/ESRS, VSME, the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, and the GRI Standards.

Once the draft European Sustainability Assurance Standards are released, they will be integrated into the course material.

Course set-up

Each session is supported by a curated selection of preparatory reading and short video lectures that introduce key concepts in advance. To offer flexibility, all session recordings remain available for two weeks after each lecture.

Participants will access the sessions, all course materials, assignments, and recordings through the University of Groningen Business School’s online learning environment.

Each module includes a brief practical assignment, allowing participants to directly apply what they’ve learned to real-world assurance scenarios.

Course dates 2026 (Fridays)

6, 20 and 27 March
10 and 24 April
8 and 22 May
5 and 19 June
4 and 18 September
2, 16 and 30 October
13 and 27 November

Course content

5 modules, consisting of 3 online lectures each

Module 1: Engagement acceptance
Scope subject matter, objective of the assurance engagement, level of assurance, suitable criteria, ethical requirements and quality management

Module 2: Procedures and planning the sustainability assurance engagement
Understanding the business, understanding the reporting process, evaluating the company’s double materiality process and performing the auditor’s materiality assessment

Module 3: Procedures and planning the sustainability assurance engagement
Understanding governance and internal control and performing an assessment of risks of material misstatements

Module 4: Performing tests of control and substantive procedures
Understanding the various sustainability assurance procedures for quantitative and descriptive information

Module 5: Evaluating evidence and concluding the assurance engagement
Evaluating when sufficient, appropriate evidence has been obtained and understanding the various types of assurance conclusions and the way an assurance report is most informative

> Download the brochure for an in-depth look at the session topics

Key lecturers Kamp-Roelands and De Waard have been working in the area of sustainability reporting and assurance for over 30 years and have always combined performing sustainability assurance engagements at clients with (international) standard setting (including within the IAASB), teaching and writing articles.

In addition, there are guest lecturers that will share their experience: (in alphabetical order) Wim Bartels MSc RA, Jessica Boekhoudt MSc RA, Usha Ganga MSc RA, Jeanine van Gestel MSc RA, Jennifer Iansen-Rogers, Jeroen Kuper, Roy Linthorst MSc RA, Marcus Looijenga MSc RA, Adrianca Mens MSc RA, Daan Smulders, Jurgen Wagenaar MSc EMA RA and Klaas Zwaagman MSc RA. [RA = chartered accountant]

Key lecturers CV's

Prof. dr. Nancy Kamp-Roelands RA has been a professor of non-financial information, integrated reporting, and assurance at the University of Groningen since 2018.

Previously, she worked at EY Climate Change and Sustainability Services from 2000–2013 and again from 2016–2021 as an associate partner. During this time, she performed sustainability assurance engagements for large multinational and national clients, including ING, Signify, DSM, ABN AMRO, Akzo Nobel, Dutch Railways, KPN, and various family-owned businesses.

She was the lead author of EY’s first global sustainability assurance methodology and served as the global sustainability assurance coordinator from 2008–2010. During 2016-2018 she led the project team updating the global sustainability assurance methodology.

From 2013–2016, she was deputy director at the IAASB, where she led projects on innovation and audit quality. This included developing the 2016 discussion paper on assurance on emerging forms of external reporting, such as sustainability reporting. She was a member of the IAASB/IFAC Sustainability Expert Advisory Panel from 2005–2011 and contributed to the IAASB project group that developed the first draft of assurance standard ISAE 3410 on greenhouse gas emissions.

Since 1995, she has authored various publications on sustainability assurance for the European Federation of Accountants (now Accountancy Europe) and contributed to its engagement with the European Commission. She has been teaching sustainability assurance since 1995.

Prof. dr. D.A. De Waard RA is emeritus professor of auditing at the University of Groningen. Since 1992, he has been involved in accountancy education and led the university’s accountancy department for many years.

He worked at EY from 1977–2013, where he was one of the founders of EY’s Climate Change and Sustainability Services. As a partner, he carried out numerous sustainability assurance engagements for national and international clients such as ING, Akzo Nobel, Aegon, Port of Rotterdam, Essent, Vattenfall, and Stellantis.

Guest lecturers CV's

Wim Bartels MSc RA works in sustainability reporting and assurance since 2003. He is currently a partner with Deloitte for their European organization.

Prior to Deloitte, Wim worked at KPMG working with Shell on sustainability assurance. His portfolio included companies such as Maersk, BASF, SABIC, ING, NN, AkzoNobel, Heineken, AB InBev and DSM. Wim has served over 50 multinational, listed companies across Europe and has worked globally.

Over the past years he has focused on serving global clients in implementing reporting regulations, conducting materiality assessments and assessing the strategic implications. Wim had global roles at, amongst others chairing the global sustainability network and since 2010 being globally responsible for the sustainability assurance and reporting services. In that capacity he worked with teams around the world and contributed to the development of teams and markets in a number of countries.

Furthermore he was engaged in major global thought leadership publications. Wim has been a member of the Task force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures since its in inception in 2016 till December 2021. Currently he serves as the Chair of the Sustainability Policy Group of Accountancy Europe (since 2019). He is a member of the EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board that advises the EU Commission on the disclosure standards for sustainability.

Jessica Boekhoudt MSc RA is a Co-Founder of Data for Better & Verda Assurance. She is a Registered (Chartered) Accountant (RA) and sustainability expert bridging the worlds of finance and ESG.

As co-founder of Data for Better, she helps organizations transform sustainability data into reliable, actionable insights in line with frameworks such as the CSRD, EU Taxonomy, and IFRS Sustainability Standards. She is also a founding partner of Verda Assurance, an independent firm providing assurance on non-financial and ESG information.

With a strong background in audit and sustainability reporting, Jessica advises companies and trains professionals on data reliability, internal controls, and the integration of ESG into business strategy. She also lectures on sustainability (assurance) and serves as a jury member for the Koning Willem I Award for Sustainable Entrepreneurship. Her mission: to make sustainability reporting not just compliant — but credible, comparable, and meaningful for business and society.

Usha Ganga MSc RA is programme manager Sustainability at the Royal Dutch Institute of Chartered Accountants (NBA). Usha is responsible for translating sustainability developments to the audit profession in the Netherlands.

She has led projects on the development of sustainability assurance standards for the audit profession and is responsible for the project to develop the continued education requirements for Dutch auditors performing sustainability assurance. She has also led projects to develop several support materials for auditors that can be used to integrate sustainability considerations into their daily professional activities.

Usha Ganga has 12 years of experience in financial audits, and 4 years in sustainability assurance at a big 4 auditing firm. She was responsible as manager for performing sustainability assurance engagements at leading Dutch companies and was also responsible for the learning and development programme of the sustainability department. Usha is a member of the sustainability working group of the Dutch Accounting Standards Board (Raad voor de Jaarverslaggeving in Dutch) and a member of the Sustainability Reporting Policy Group at Accountancy Europe.

Jeanine van Gestel MSc RA is a senior supervision officer, working for the Dutch Authority Financial Markets since 2018. She supervises accountancy firms and has since the last few years a focus on sustainability assurance.

Before that she worked in various functions for the accountancy sector, including Big 4 firms. She has a master in business economics and business administration economics. She has a postgraduate in accountancy.

Jennifer Iansen-Rogers, with 28 years’ practical experience, is recognised as a leading professional in sustainability assurance. As Partner at ERM CVS (2013-21) she led global engagements for companies such as Johnson & Johnson, Mondi, Titan, Chevron, State Street IFF, Dow Chemical, FMC, Ball Corporation and Heathrow Airport.

Previously, starting in 1996, she managed assurance engagements for KPMG Sustainability (NL), including Shell, Heineken, DSM, KPN, Carlsberg, Maersk, Rabobank, DNB and many others. She was instrumental in the development of KPMG’s global sustainability assurance methodology (KSAM) and trained staff worldwide.

Self-employed since 2022, Jennifer lectures and provides training course content on sustainability assurance at various universities, at the GRI Academy, the NBA and IMRA. She was a member of the IAASB Advisory panel for ISSA 5000 and EER Guidance.

Jeroen Kuper is a senior lecturer Accountancy & Internal Control at the University of Groningen. He is the owner of Technogratie and brings over 20 years of experience with various types of businesses.

He is a strategic advisor and a new style IT-auditor focusing on technological innovation. By offering audits, advise and support, he helps organizations with the integration of technological innovations such as cloud-computing, data-analytics and process-automation.

His focus areas are: IT-strategy | IT-architecture | IT-governance | Outsourcing | Cybercrime | Security and privacy | Data- analytics | Cloud Computing | Blockchain and FinTech | Business IT Alignment | Audit Innovation.

Roy Linthorst MSc RA is a partner at EY. He is a certified public auditor performing sustainability assurance and advisory engagements for both national and international clients since 2010.

Roy has vast expertise in GHG accounting and lead’s EY global subject matter group on this topic. He is an expert in both reporting as well as assurance standards, having helped develop EY’s sustainability assurance methodology. This has led to being asked for the ISSA 5000 Technical Implementation Contact Group of the IAASB, where he discusses challenges and further guidance for implementing ISSA 5000.

Marcus Looijenga MSc RA is a partner at PwC, specializing in sustainability assurance. He works with listed companies, large corporations, and family businesses, leveraging his extensive experience in the sustainability reporting and assurance domain.

Marcus began his career as a financial auditor and has focused on sustainability since 2016. He has been university lecturer in the field of auditing and ESG assurance, and reporting for many years at the University of Groningen, contributed as a member of the NBA ESG assurance working group, and supported various research initiatives. Marcus continues to deliver guest lectures at several universities, sharing his expertise with the next generation of professionals.

Adrianca Mens MSc RA has been working at BDO since 2007. She is a Partner in the Audit & Assurance practice and is one of the driving forces behind BDO Sustainability within BDO. For several years, she has been carrying out assurance and advisory work in the field of sustainability reporting for large enterprises.

Since 2021, Adrianca has been active as a lecturer at the University of Groningen, where she has delivered lectures on assurance in sustainability reporting in recent years and is one of the core lecturers at UGBS in this field. In addition, she is pursuing doctoral research at the University of Groningen on the leadership of and team dynamics within ESG audit teams.

Daan Smulders is EYs Global ESG and IT Leader. He studied at the Delft University of Technology and is a registered IT auditor of NOREA in the Netherlands.

As the EY Global ESG and IT Leader, Daan focuses on making the link between sustainability and the use of technology. He leads a team of experienced professionals with a variety of skills on sustainability reporting, data governance, and management and technology risk, supporting clients to maximize the use of technology in their sustainability reporting journey.

Daan mainly serves large corporate clients in the financial services industry, including sustainable finance. He previously worked for several corporates with leading roles in internal audit.

Jurgen Wagenaar MSc EMA RA is a Senior Manager at KPMG Accountants. There, he performs audits and provides assurance and advisory services in the field of sustainability reporting for national and international companies as well as public-sector organizations.

In addition, Jurgen is a university lecturer and PhD student at the Department of Accounting and Auditing at the University of Groningen. Together with colleagues, he teaches the Accounting Information Systems courses in the bachelor’s, master’s, and executive master’s programmes of the accountancy track, and he is one of the instructors in the ESG Reporting & Assurance programme.

Klaas Zwaagman MSc RA is a senior manager at KPMG. As part of his work as a consultant, he supports clients in the implementation of the CSRD (Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive). His client portfolio includes large international clients as well as (larger) small & medium sized enterprises (including VSME implementations).

In addition to his work at KPMG, he is part-time affiliated with the University of Groningen as a lecturer in Accounting Information Systems.