ESG Reports No Longer a Formality, IAPI Pushes for Global Insurance Standards in Indonesia

Jakarta, VIVA – Sustainability reports or Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) are no longer merely supplementary company documents to fulfil regulatory obligations. With increasing investor attention to transparency and sustainability risks, the quality and credibility of ESG reports have become the primary focus.

Observing this trend, the Indonesian Institute of Public Accountants (IAPI) is taking steps to build a sustainability assurance ecosystem in Indonesia. The goal is to ensure that company ESG reports adhere to reliable standards aligned with global practices.

IAPI’s initiative refers to the Financial Services Authority’s (OJK) policy in strengthening the sustainable finance regulatory framework through the Draft Financial Services Authority Regulation (RPOJK) on the Implementation of Sustainable Finance for Financial Sector Business Actors (PUSK), issuers, and public companies.

Under this regulation, business actors are required to prepare sustainability reports based on Sustainability Reporting Standards Statement (PSPK) 1 on General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-Related Financial Information and PSPK 2 on Climate-Related Disclosures.

IAPI views this regulatory development as a crucial momentum to strengthen the quality of ESG reporting in Indonesia. According to IAPI, sustainability reports and financial reports are closely interconnected.

“Both are not standalone reports that exist separately, but rather two reports that are interconnected and must be synchronised and aligned with one another. The information presented in the sustainability report must be consistent and aligned with the information reflected in the financial report, so that both form a complete and integrated whole of corporate reporting,” IAPI explained in a written statement on Thursday, 7 May 2026.

IAPI pays special attention to the use of the term “verification” in the RPOJK as a means to provide assurance over sustainability reports. IAPI emphasises that the terms verification and assurance have fundamental differences.

“Verification focuses more on technical checks of data, whereas assurance is a more comprehensive independent evaluation, covering aspects of systems, processes, materiality principles, and the consistency of the information presented,” said IAPI.

Therefore, IAPI encourages the implementation of sustainability assurance based on international standards. One of them is through the adoption of the International Standards on Sustainability Assurance (ISSA) 5000, which will serve as the basis for conducting ESG assurance work in Indonesia.