Ethical dilemmas and paradoxes in assurance practice

Assurance of corporate sustainability reports relies§on the idea of a third-party assuror who is§independent and objective. With the help of external§and internal standards, the assuror provides§credibility to the public statements of companies.§However, the orthodox approach overlooks or neglects§the many paradoxes and dilemmas that are the daily§experience of most assurors. §In this book, the author describes an alternative§approach to assurance, called the artist approach§that takes the ethical dilemmas and paradoxes into§account.§The development of the artist approach is based on:§1) a critical investigation into the idea of compromise , which leads to an alternative way of§thinking about the practice of assurance; 2) a§critical investigation into notions of trust and§distrust, and power relations, and their effects on§assurance; and 3) a concept of stumbling together ,§which is built on relationality, where the assuror§and the assuree are mutually exploring the territory. §A wider understanding and application of the artist §approach can potentially lead to significant changes§in the way assurors act, and hopefully to assurance§results that are more relevant and useful. Assurance of corporate sustainability reports relies§on the idea of a third-party assuror who is§independent and objective. With the help of external§and internal standards, the assuror provides§credibility to the public statements of companies.§However, the orthodox approach overlooks or neglects§the many paradoxes and dilemmas that are the daily§experience of most assurors. §In this book, the author describes an alternative§approach to assurance, called the artist approach§that takes the ethical dilemmas and paradoxes into§account.§The development of the artist approach is based on:§1) a critical investigation into the idea of compromise , which leads to an alternative way of§thinking about the practice of assurance; 2) a§critical investigation into notions of trust and§distrust, and power relations, and their effects on§assurance; and 3) a concept of stumbling together ,§which is built on relationality, where the assuror§and the assuree are mutually exploring the territory. §A wider understanding and application of the artist §approach can potentially lead to significant changes§in the way assurors act, and hopefully to assurance§results that are more relevant and useful.