ESG Fraud, Disclosure and Audit Response (Video) (Course Id 2958)

This course provides a practical, investigation-focused introduction to ESG fraud and misstatement risk. It translates broad environmental, social, and governance language into testable claims and shows how accountants, auditors, compliance professionals, and finance teams can evaluate the evidence, controls, and governance supporting those claims. The course examines recurring patterns such as greenwashing, manipulated emissions or offset claims, selective workforce reporting, weak supply-chain oversight, overstated governance processes, and inconsistencies between ESG investment policies and actual practice. Learners also apply a structured investigation playbook covering intake, scoping, document requests, interviews, analytics, site visits, working papers, remediation, and communication to management and the board. Real-world case studies illustrate how ESG claims can create regulatory, financial-reporting, litigation, and reputational exposure. The course concludes with a brief discussion of selected accounting and auditing considerations, including ASC 410, ASC 450, ASC 205-40, PCAOB AS 2710, and AU-C 720.

By the end of this course, participants will be able to:

· Explain ESG claims in plain language and distinguish aspirational statements from testable factual representations.

· Recognize common environmental, social, governance, and ESG investment-product fraud patterns and red flags.

· Evaluate the quality of evidence supporting ESG claims, including source data, calculations, approvals, and third-party assurance.

· Trace ESG information from source records through calculation, management review, and final disclosure.

· Design a proportionate audit or investigation response using scoping, document review, interviews, analytics, and physical observation.

· Assess whether ESG narratives are consistent with operational reality, financial reporting, and known business risks.

· Identify remediation steps that correct both the public statement and the underlying reporting process.

· Describe selected accounting and auditing considerations applicable to ESG-related obligations, contingencies, going concern, and other information.

Topics:

· ESG concepts explained through a fraud and misstatement lens

· Converting ESG statements into testable claims, metrics, evidence, and controls

· Applying the fraud triangle to ESG reporting

· Greenwashing, selective disclosure, emissions, offsets, and net-zero claims

· Safety, labor, diversity, supply-chain, and human-rights reporting risks

· Governance, board oversight, certifications, incentives, and ESG fund-process claims

· Disclosure channels, data lineage, ownership, evidence quality, and third-party assurance

· Audit and other-information considerations for ESG narratives

· Investigation intake, scoping, document requests, interviews, analytics, site visits, and working papers

· Remediation, disclosure correction, board reporting, culture, and a 90-day action plan

· Case studies involving asset-management practices, emissions manipulation, supply-chain labor claims, and known operational risks

· Selected financial-statement and auditing standards relevant to ESG matters