ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Internal Audit Checklist

Tests the internal data-governance controls behind ESG/BRSR disclosures BEFORE they reach an external assurance provider — distinct from the BRSR Core reasonable-assurance engagement itself.

Free · CORAA original — SA-aligned

Updated 28 Jul 2026

Distinct from

BRSR Core external assurance (SSAE 3000)

Tests

Data ownership, methodology, collection controls

Purpose

Pre-assurance readiness, not the assurance itself

Format

Microsoft Word (.docx)

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Your firm — letterhead

Appears at the top of the document as the audit firm letterhead.

Audit firm name

Audit firm address

Used as the letterhead block.

Engagement partner

ICAI membership no.

Firm registration no.(optional)

Engagement details

The client and period this document is for.

Entity name

Audit period

Functional area / process covered(optional)

Report addressed to

Date of report

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ESG

31 July 2026

ESG (ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE) — INTERNAL AUDIT CHECKLIST

Entity: {{client_name}} · Period: {{audit_period}}

Scope: tests the INTERNAL controls and data governance behind ESG/BRSR disclosures — this is a readiness check the entity runs BEFORE its numbers go to an external assurance provider, not the external reasonable-assurance engagement itself. See our BRSR Core Assurance Working Paper for the external SSAE 3000 assurance engagement.

Control area	Test procedure	Result
Data ownership & sourcing	Confirm each ESG metric (e.g. GHG emissions, water withdrawal, employee turnover, wage data) has a named data owner and a documented source system, not an ad hoc spreadsheet reconstructed each reporting period
Calculation methodology	Confirm the calculation methodology for each metric (e.g. Scope 1/2/3 emissions boundary, energy-intensity denominator) is documented and applied consistently period-over-period
Data collection controls	Sample-test that underlying data (meter readings, HR records, safety incident logs) reconciles to the figure reported in the ESG disclosure
Governance & sign-off	Confirm ESG disclosures are reviewed and approved by a named senior officer / ESG committee before submission, with an evidenced review trail
Prior-period restatement tracking	Confirm any restatement of a prior-period ESG figure is disclosed with the reason, consistent with how financial restatements are handled
External assurance readiness	Confirm the entity can produce supporting evidence for each disclosed metric on request — the same standard an external assurance provider will test against

Conclusion

Overall conclusion on ESG data governance and external-assurance readiness: ____________________________________________

Prepared by: __________ Reviewed by: __________ Date: 31 July 2026

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What’s inside

An excerpt from the template.

ESG (ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL, GOVERNANCE) — INTERNAL AUDIT CHECKLIST

Entity: ___ · Period: ___

Conclusion

↑ Excerpt only — the full template is what you download as Word

About this template

What you’re downloading, and when to use it.

This template follows the format published by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India (ICAI) in the AASB Audit Working Paper Templates (June 2023), the authoritative reference for Indian statutory-audit documentation. Fill in your firm’s letterhead and the engagement details on the form above, click Download Word file, and you’ll get a fully formatted .docx ready to use.

Everything is generated in your browser and on a stateless API endpoint — no account, nothing stored on our servers. We’ll ask for a work email once before your first download so we can send you the file and the occasional relevant update; after that, downloads on this device are instant. Edit freely in Word, Google Docs or Pages before sending to your client.

Common questions

FAQs.

How is this different from the BRSR Core Assurance Working Paper?

The BRSR Core Assurance Working Paper is the EXTERNAL reasonable-assurance engagement an independent practitioner performs under SEBI Regulation 34(2)(f) and SSAE 3000, for the Top 1000 listed companies' nine BRSR Core attributes. This checklist is the INTERNAL readiness review a company's own internal audit function runs beforehand — testing whether the data-governance controls behind those disclosures would actually hold up once external assurance starts asking for evidence.

Why does ESG data need internal audit attention when it isn't financial data?

ESG disclosures increasingly carry the same external scrutiny, regulatory consequence and reputational risk as financial figures — and unlike financial data, ESG metrics often originate from operational systems (facilities, HR, safety) that were never built with audit trails in mind. Internal audit's role is to confirm those numbers are governed with the same rigour as financial reporting before they're published or handed to an external assurance provider.

What is the most common finding in an ESG internal readiness review?

Missing or inconsistent calculation methodology documentation — a metric like Scope 2 emissions or water intensity is often computed correctly in the current period but without a written record of the boundary, conversion factors, or denominator used, making it impossible to demonstrate consistency with the prior period or to hand over cleanly if the person who built the calculation leaves.

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