Purpose – The paper aims to analyse the engagement in sustainability reporting assurance (SRA) by a sample of Portuguese firms between 2008 and 2011. Design/methodology/approach – Bivariate and multivariate non-parametric statistics is used to analyse some factors that influence the decision to have sustainability reports assured. Findings – Results indicate that size, leverage, profitability, listing status and industrial affiliation are determinants of SRA, whereas type of ownership is not. A downward trend in sustainability reporting and its assurance was also detected. Research limitations/implications – The sample is small. Originality/value – It adds to the scarce research on SRA by providing new empirical data in a context of crisis and extends prior research by analysing the effects of listing status and type of ownership.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a descriptive comprehensive analysis of sustainability reporting (SR) and assurance in Portugal after the onset of the most recent economic crisis. Design/methodology/approach – The authors analyze 290 sustainability reports for the years 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011, and find those that include assurance statements and characterize them. Findings – The authors present evidence supporting the view that the Portuguese sustainability reporting assurance (SRA) market follows the international trends and suggest that the most recent economic crisis had a negative effect in terms of publication of sustainability reports but not in terms of its quality and assurance. Research limitations/implications – The authors merely provide descriptive evidence of SR and the assurance thereof in Portugal. Originality/value – The authors contribute significantly to the literature on SRA in peripheral countries and in the period of crisis.

Purpose This paper aims to analyze the current state of integration of sustainable development (SD), in the academic curricula of Business Sciences degrees, including matters about Ethics, Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability. In this way, the paper explores how Portuguese public higher education institutions (HEI) contribute to teaching about sustainable development (TSD). Design/methodology/approach The study focuses on Business Sciences degrees. The webpages of all public HEI with BSc and MSc degrees in those areas in Portugal were analyzed, to obtain curricular plans and syllabus. Content analysis was performed on each of these elements of Accounting and Taxation and Management and Business Administration courses. Findings There is already some concern about addressing SD in Business Sciences, inasmuch as SD-related topics are taught in Accounting and Taxation and in Management and Business Administration degrees and courses. However, the analysis shows that TSD was integrated into the academic curricula in only 95 degrees (48.5%). Additionally, in these, there are only 79 compulsory curricular units that address this theme. Given the fact that the subject of SD is increasingly relevant, the paper evidence still much room for improvement, indicating that TSD is yet a big challenge for HEI. Originality/value TSD is increasingly important because of the growing globalization that requires skilled professionals able to assess the complex and controversial issues related to the topic, to achieve and implement the SD goals in 2030. The literature evidence lack of studies addressing the integration of the SD theme in academic curricula. This paper makes here a contribution by showing what HEI is teaching in the area of business studies. It also brings good implications for society, while showing that sustainability content is becoming more apparent within certain HEI courses. This could be used to create follow up research on what type of sustainability content is being included within the courses and the learning that is happening in students in regard to this sustainability content.

Research on auditing professionals’ perceptions of non-financial reporting and its assurance is relatively scarce, and the majority of the existing studies pay little attention to the assurance aspect. Our study contributes to strengthening this type of research by investigating Portuguese audit professionals’ perceptions of non-financial reporting and its assurance. The purpose of the current paper is to identify the perceptions of Portuguese audit professionals about non-financial reporting, particularly the responsibility for its preparation, its mandatory or voluntary natures, and how to improve non-financial reporting and its assurance. We also analyze whether these perceptions are associated with sex and work experience. The perceptions of statutory auditors were surveyed by using a questionnaire. Results allow us to conclude that Portuguese statutory auditors agree that non-financial reporting assurance is an important practice, and that company management should be responsible for the preparation and publication of non-financial reports. They consider that assurance of these reports should be conducted by a statutory auditor and think that the Institute of Portuguese Statutory Auditors should have a more active role in this matter. Notwithstanding, very few of the respondents have experience with this type of assurance, which may explain their acknowledgment of the importance of additional training. Work experience and sex do not influence the perceptions of the auditors. Findings suggest the existence of a positive attitude towards non-financial reporting and its assurance associated with the acknowledgement of its underdevelopment in Portugal. As far as we are aware, our study is the first to focus exclusively on Portuguese auditing professionals’ perceptions concerning non-financial reporting and assurance.