The challenges of assuring integrated reports: Views from the South Africa Auditing Community.

In 2010, South Africa became the first country in the world to mandate Integrated Reports (IR) for all listed companies. This report focuses on the issue of independent assurance: can and should independent assurance be delivered on (IR) in the same way as it is on conventional annual reports and financial statements? The views of a number of senior assurance practitioners from the South African auditing profession show that although most respondents support the concept of independent assurance of (IR), they also foresee a number of technical and legal liability issues which may affect the pace of (IR) assurance development.