Resumen de Comparing innovative alternative assurance practices in emerging markets

Adeyemi Adebayo, Barry Ackers

• This study explores how listed companies in South Africa and Nigeria have innovatively applied alternative forms of assurance and disclosures to boost their internal operations and the external credibility of their financial and non-financial reporting processes. We explored these using an assurance quality measure (AQM) developed by considering six key innovative assurance indicators. The AQM was applied to the annual/integrated (and, where applicable, sustainability) reports of the sampled companies to identify the disclosed assurance indicators. Findings suggest that even though the assurance practices appear adequately designed according to the processes and application guidelines in both countries, the sampled companies in each country did not consistently apply the tenets of the alternative forms of assurance, instead focusing on a few material issues rather than the entire organisational operations. South African companies appear to have improved adoption of alternative assurance practices when compared to their Nigerian counterparts.