ESG Data Management, Controls and Audit Trail Training
A one-day programme on the unglamorous half of sustainability reporting: getting the numbers out of the business reliably and being able to prove where each one came from. Sustainability data arrives from human resources, facilities, finance, procurement, operations and a set of external providers, in different formats, on different cycles, owned by people whose main job is something else. That is a data management problem before it is a disclosure problem.
The programme treats sustainability data with the same controls thinking that finance has applied to its own numbers for decades: defined owners, defined definitions, completeness and accuracy controls, source evidence, review and approval, and a documented basis for anything estimated. Participants map their own data flows during the day and design controls against the points where their process is currently held together by one person's familiarity with a spreadsheet.
HRD Corp SBL-Khas Claimable
Programme Agenda
9:00 AM - 9:15 AM
Welcome and Programme Overview
Introduction to the session, objectives, and housekeeping.
9:15 AM - 10:15 AM
The Shape of the Problem
Why sustainability data behaves differently from financial data: multiple owners, no natural double entry, units that vary by source, and a reporting cycle that runs annually so mistakes stay hidden for twelve months. The cost of getting this wrong once assurance and regulator scrutiny arrive.
10:15 AM - 10:30 AM
Break
10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Mapping Data Flows and Assigning Ownership
Building a data inventory: every reported metric, its source system or document, the person who produces it, the person who reviews it, and the cycle it runs on. Distinguishing the data owner from the data preparer from the report author. Participants start a data inventory for their own organisation using a supplied template.
11:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Definitions and the Metric Dictionary
Why most restatements start as a definition drift rather than a calculation error. Writing a metric definition that survives a change of staff: what is included, what is excluded, the boundary, the unit, the conversion factors and their source, and the treatment of partial periods, acquisitions and outsourced operations. Version control on the dictionary itself.
12:30 PM - 1:30 PM
Lunch
1:30 PM - 2:30 PM
Designing the Controls
Completeness, accuracy, cut-off and validity applied to sustainability data. Practical controls that work: reconciliations to an independent source, period-on-period variance analysis with an explanation threshold, coverage checks across sites, range and plausibility checks, and a second-person review with evidence that it happened. Preventive versus detective controls, and how much control is proportionate for a given metric.
2:30 PM - 3:15 PM
Evidence and the Audit Trail
What has to be retained for each figure and for how long. Naming conventions, folder structure, and the difference between a file that exists and evidence that can be found. Spreadsheet discipline: locked calculation areas, separated input and output, no hard-coded overrides, change logs, and knowing when the spreadsheet has outgrown itself. A short look at when a dedicated ESG data platform is justified and when it is an expensive way to avoid fixing definitions.
3:15 PM - 3:30 PM
Break
3:30 PM - 4:15 PM
Estimates, Gaps and Restatements
Handling missing data honestly: the estimation approach, documenting the basis, disclosing the extent of estimation, and planning the route to actual data. Writing a restatement policy in advance, including the trigger threshold, the approval route and the disclosure wording. How to treat a prior-year error without undermining the current report.
4:15 PM - 4:45 PM
Control Design Workshop
Participants take three of their own reported metrics, identify the weakest point in each data flow, and design a proportionate control with a named owner and a run frequency.
4:45 PM - 5:00 PM
Wrap-Up and Q&A
Key takeaways, next steps, and close.
Key Outcomes
- Build a data inventory that names an owner, source and cycle for every reported sustainability metric
- Write metric definitions precise enough to survive a change of staff or a change of system
- Design proportionate completeness, accuracy and cut-off controls over sustainability data
- Assemble an audit trail that lets any published figure be traced back to a source record
- Document estimates and apply a restatement policy that has been agreed in advance
- Leave with control designs for the three weakest data flows in their own process
Training Mode Physical / Online / Hybrid / e-learning
HRD Corp SBL-Khas Claimable
Level Intermediate, suitable for sustainability, finance, internal audit, data and reporting teams, and operations staff who supply reporting data
Duration 1 Day (8 Hours) | 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM
Venue In-house at the client's premises, or delivered via the client's preferred platform (Microsoft Teams, Zoom, or equivalent)
Assessment 10 to 15 question knowledge assessment covering all modules
Certificate Certificate of Completion issued to all participants upon full attendance