• The audit of sustainability reporting and the audit of financial reporting overlap. There are cross-connections and duplicate disclosures. If two auditors carry out the audits, there is considerable coordination effort and certainly no cost savings.
• In addition to auditing the figures, the auditors' day-to-day business has for many years also included auditing non-financial disclosures and qualitative explanations, assessing the appropriateness of forecasts and estimates, and in particular process and system audits. We have established rules and audit processes for this which are already an integral part of our work.
• In terms of content, the audit of sustainability reporting covers information on the areas of environment, social affairs and governance. The profession is already familiar with the information from the governance area and with large parts of the information from the social area through the audit of financial statements and other audits (for example, compliance audits, audits of compensation reports, audits in accordance with the German Budgetary Principles Act).

Our profession has to comply with strict and detailed regulations on independence. We have implemented quality assurance systems in our practices that fully comply with the requirements of the CSRD. With the WPK, there is also a professional organization that covers the requirements of the CSRD with regard to quality control, professional supervision, the professional register and the professional examination. In the overall view, we therefore see ourselves as the predestined auditors of sustainability reporting."

If other providers of auditing services were to be entrusted with the auditing of sustainability reports in addition to the profession, it would be imperative that the same conditions apply to them, above all

• No auditing of matters that the auditor or an affiliated entity itself has helped to bring about.
• Establishment of a system of professional self-governance together with an external supervisory authority, including professional supervision and the conduct of the (written and oral) professional examination.

The CSRD places sustainability reporting on the same level as financial reporting. Implementation will be staggered for fiscal years beginning on or after

• January 1, 2024 for large public interest entities with more than 500 employees,
• January 1, 2025 beginning fiscal years for all other large corporations,
• January 1, 2026 for small and medium-sized public interest entities (option to defer first-time application to 2028).

In Germany, this will increase the number of companies subject to reporting requirements from around 500 at present (listed corporations and banks and insurance companies with more than 500 employees) to around 15,000. In addition, the majority of the more than 18,500 public-sector companies in Germany (including around 16,000 at municipal level) will be directly or indirectly affected. Across Europe, around 45,000 companies will be subject to the new reporting requirements in the future.