Glossary›Assurance, audit evidence and working papers›Recalculation (assurance procedure)
Glossary term
Cluster A · A23
Tier 2 · differentiator
Recalculation (assurance procedure)
Definition
Recalculation is an assurance procedure in which the practitioner independently reperforms an arithmetic step in your emissions calculation. Typically they take an activity quantity, apply the emission factor themselves, and compare the result to yours. It tests arithmetic and factor selection, not whether the underlying activity data is complete or correct.
On this page
In practice
Recalculation is cheap, fast and unforgiving, so it is usually one of the first procedures run. It catches unit errors, superseded factors, and spreadsheet formulas that no longer cover the full data range after rows were added.
What the assurer does with it
The assurer rebuilds a sample of calculations in their own model and compares. Differences are followed to root cause: wrong factor edition, wrong unit, wrong scope classification, or a formula that stopped at row 400 of a 480-row dataset. The formula range error is the most common finding in first-year files and it is invisible on the face of the report.
Sources
1
ASSA 5000 General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements
AUASB
2
Review status
Review required
Last reviewed
15 September 2026
Editorial pass, unsigned
Reviewer required
Registered company auditor
Next scheduled review
1 July 2027
Part of
Cluster A, Assurance, audit evidence and working papers
47 terms on what an assurance provider tests, what they accept as evidence, and what a preparer has to be able to produce.
Related terms
The other procedure run early in most engagements
The input recalculation most often finds wrong
The quantity the factor is applied to
Related questions
What does an assurance provider actually test in year one?
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In year one they test the disclosures inside the ASSA 5010 first-year scope: Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, governance disclosures, and specified strategy paragraphs on climate risks and opportunities. The work runs in a predictable order, from understanding your reporting process and your boundary, through sampling source documents and reperforming calculations, to written representations at the end.
Can we use spreadsheets, or will the auditor reject them?
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Spreadsheets are acceptable and no Australian standard requires software. What gets rejected is an unauditable spreadsheet: hard-coded numbers with no source, broken formula chains, no version control and no record of who changed what. A disciplined spreadsheet passes assurance and an undisciplined system does not.
Other terms in this cluster
Recalculation (assurance procedure)