Arabic Sustainability Dictionary

AA1000 Assurance Standard (AA1000AS)

An assurance standard published by AccountAbility that evaluates adherence to principles of inclusivity, materiality, responsiveness and impact.

Assurance

An engagement in which an independent practitioner obtains evidence and expresses a conclusion on whether sustainability information is free from material misstatement.

Assurance engagement

An engagement in which a practitioner obtains evidence to express a conclusion that increases users' confidence in subject matter information.

Assurance provider

An independent firm or practitioner that performs assurance engagements on sustainability information.

Audit trail

A chronological record of who changed what and when, allowing every figure to be traced back to its source.

Auditor independence

Freedom of the assurance practitioner from relationships and interests that could compromise, or appear to compromise, their objectivity.

Data lineage

The documented path of a figure from its input data through conversions and factors to the reported result.

Data quality

The degree to which data are accurate, complete, consistent, timely and traceable to their source.

Evidence

Documents or records, such as bills, meter readings and certificates, that support a reported figure.

Internal audit

An independent function within an organisation that evaluates and improves the effectiveness of risk management, control and governance processes.

ISAE 3000 (ISAE 3000)

The IAASB standard for assurance engagements other than audits or reviews of historical financial information, widely used for sustainability assurance.

ISAE 3410 (ISAE 3410)

The IAASB standard for assurance engagements on greenhouse gas statements.

ISO 14064-3 (ISO 14064-3)

The international standard that specifies requirements for verifying and validating greenhouse gas statements.

ISSA 5000 (ISSA 5000)

The IAASB's overarching standard, issued in 2024, for limited and reasonable assurance engagements on sustainability information.

Limited assurance

A lower level of assurance than reasonable assurance, based on fewer procedures, expressed as a negative conclusion that nothing came to the practitioner's attention suggesting material misstatement.

Maker-checker

A control under which a value entered by one person must be reviewed and approved by a different person before it counts.

Material misstatement

An error or omission, individually or in aggregate, that could reasonably be expected to influence the decisions of intended users.

Materiality threshold

The quantitative level, such as 5% of total emissions, above which a misstatement is considered material in an assurance engagement.

Measurement, reporting and verification (MRV)

The process of quantifying emissions or reductions, reporting them and having them independently verified, as used in carbon markets and climate agreements.

Modified conclusion

An assurance conclusion that is qualified, adverse or disclaimed because of a material misstatement or an inability to obtain sufficient evidence.

Professional scepticism

An attitude of a questioning mind and critical assessment of evidence, alert to conditions that may indicate misstatement.

Qualified conclusion

A modified conclusion stating that, except for the effects of specific matters, the information is not materially misstated.

Reasonable assurance

A high but not absolute level of assurance, expressed as a positive opinion that information is prepared, in all material respects, in accordance with the criteria.

Sampling

Selecting and testing less than 100% of items in a population to draw conclusions about the whole.

Second-party opinion (SPO)

An independent external review assessing whether a green, social, sustainability or sustainability-linked financing framework aligns with market principles.

Suitable criteria

The benchmarks, such as GRI, ESRS or the GHG Protocol, against which subject matter information is measured or evaluated in an assurance engagement.

Unmodified conclusion

An assurance conclusion issued without qualification, when the practitioner has found no material misstatement.

Validation

An independent evaluation of the reasonableness of assumptions, methods and projections, such as an emissions target or a carbon project design, before or at the start of implementation.

Verification

An independent evaluation of historical data or claims, such as a GHG inventory, against agreed criteria.