UK Audit Regulator Ratcheting Up ESG Disclosure Checks

The UK’s accounting watchdog said Monday that it would monitor whether auditors are properly reviewing corporate sustainability disclosures in preparation for the adoption of mandatory ESG assurance rules.

In an updated statement on environmental, social and governance reporting, the Financial Reporting Council said it would concentrate on areas including ESG data, materiality disclosures and the link between investors and ESG reporting.

• “Improving transparency on climate and wider ESG risks and opportunities, and related governance activities and behaviors, is a key priority for our work,” Mark Babington, the FRC’s executive director of regulatory standards, said in an accompanying release. ...