Glossary›Connection to the financial statements›Same reporting entity and same reporting period
Glossary term
Cluster F · F3
Tier 1
Same reporting entity and same reporting period
Definition
The sustainability report must cover the same reporting entity and the same reporting period as the financial report. That means the same consolidated group, the same year end and the same set of controlled entities. It is a simple rule that catches complex group structures, mid-year acquisitions and non-coterminous subsidiary year ends.
On this page
In practice
Where this bites is at the edges of the group. An entity acquired in March with a December year end, consolidated in the financial statements from the acquisition date, must be treated the same way in the emissions inventory: from the acquisition date, not for the full year and not excluded. Entities disposed of mid-year work the same way in reverse.
The related trap is emissions data collected on a different cycle. Many entities have historically reported emissions on a NGER July to June basis or on a calendar year. If the financial year is different, the emissions data has to be re-cut to the financial year, not simply relabelled.
What the assurer does with it
The assurer agrees the entity list in the emissions inventory to the consolidation schedule in the financial statements, line by line, and tests the treatment of anything acquired or disposed of during the year. They also test the period. A mismatch here is not a small finding, because it means the disclosed emissions figure relates to a different economic entity from the one in the accounts, and the connected information requirement fails at the first step.
Sources
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ASSA 5000 General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements
AUASB
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Review status
Review required
Last reviewed
15 September 2026
Editorial pass, unsigned
Reviewer required
Registered company auditor with financial reporting expertise
Next scheduled review
1 July 2027
Part of
Cluster F, Connection to the financial statements
6 terms on where the sustainability report meets the audited accounts. Small cluster, high consequence: this is where both assurers cross-check each other’s work.
Related terms
The reporting boundary for capture, and the list the assurer agrees the inventory to
When a subsidiary inside the group carries its own reporting obligation
The period-allocation test that decides which year an emission falls in
Related questions
Do our subsidiaries have to report separately or does the parent cover them?
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Each entity is tested on its own. A subsidiary that must lodge its own financial report under Chapter 2M and meets a section 292A test prepares its own sustainability report, even where the parent reports as well. Being consolidated into the parent’s report does not by itself remove the obligation.
How do we tie our emissions data back to the general ledger?
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You reconcile the spend or volume behind each emissions source to the ledger accounts that record it, and you document the differences. It is not a perfect tie and it is not meant to be. The point is completeness: the ledger is the only population in the business already complete and already audited, so it is the natural control total for showing nothing has been left out.
What will our auditor actually ask for?
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In year one they ask for evidence behind the disclosures that are actually assured: Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, your governance disclosures, and the specified strategy paragraphs on climate risks and opportunities. In practice that means source documents, a calculation they can rebuild from those documents, and minutes showing the governance you described actually happened.
Other terms in this cluster
Same reporting entity and same reporting period