Audit & Assurance
Assurance Services (Non-Audit) Search
Controls, SOX/ICFR and ESG-assurance partners and directors — the fastest-growing assurance discipline as sustainability and third-party attestation mandates take hold.
Market overview
Non-audit assurance is the highest-growth corner of the practice, propelled by a step-change in demand for ESG and sustainability assurance. The share of companies obtaining assurance on at least some sustainability disclosures has climbed from 58% in 2020 to 73% [1], and dedicated sustainability-assurance services are forecast to grow far faster than statutory audit — one estimate puts the market at roughly USD 4.7 billion in 2025 rising toward USD 10 billion by 2035 [2]. KPMG's 2025 index finds about 60% of firms expect market-share growth from ESG assurance [3], yet the qualified-assurer pool is nascent, creating an acute hiring squeeze.
APAC mandates are turning this from optional to compulsory. Under SGX rules, listed issuers began applying IFRS S2 climate requirements from FY2025, with limited external assurance over Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions phased in for the largest issuers [4]. That regulatory trigger is generating demand for assurance leaders who blend traditional controls expertise with greenhouse-gas, climate and broader sustainability competence — a hybrid skill set that barely existed five years ago.
The controls side of the discipline is also expanding. SOX/ICFR programmes are growing in cost and scope — the average SOX spend has reached around USD 2.3 million, with scope creeping into climate attestation and cyber reporting [5] — while internal-audit functions are reallocating significant effort toward IT and cyber assurance. Third-party assurance (ISAE 3402, SOC 1/2) is rising in step with cloud, outsourcing and AI adoption, as customers demand independent attestation over service providers' controls.
For accounting firms, non-audit assurance is a growth engine that is constrained almost entirely by talent. The partners and directors who can build and sign ESG-assurance, SOX/ICFR and SOC practices are in short supply and intense demand, often crossing over from audit, risk and sustainability backgrounds. CharteredPartners is retained to assemble these emerging practice leadership teams across APAC, Dubai and London.
What we cover
- SOX / ICFR assurance
- Internal controls assurance
- ESG & sustainability assurance
- Third-party assurance reports (ISAE, SOC)
- Controls testing & attestation
Roles we place
Assurance Practice Partners
- Partner, ESG & Sustainability Assurance
- Partner, Risk Assurance
- Partner, SOX / Internal Controls
- Partner, Third-Party Assurance
Director / Executive Director
- Director, Sustainability Assurance
- Director, SOX / ICFR
- Executive Director, Controls Assurance
- Director, SOC / ISAE Reporting
Senior Management
- Senior Manager, ESG Assurance
- Senior Manager, Internal Controls
- Senior Manager, SOC Attestation
Assurance Management
- SOX / ICFR Manager
- Controls Assurance Manager
- Sustainability Assurance Manager
Candidate profile
Candidates pair a core accounting or audit qualification (CA / CPA / ACCA / ICAEW) with specialist assurance credentials — CIA, CISA, CRMA or sustainability/GHG-verification accreditation for ESG-assurance leaders. For SOX/ICFR and SOC mandates, deep controls-design and testing experience under PCAOB, AICPA (SSAE/SOC) or ISAE frameworks is essential.
ESG-assurance leadership is the scarcest profile: it requires the rare combination of assurance discipline and technical sustainability fluency (GHG Protocol, ISSB/IFRS S1-S2, ISAE 3000/3410). Many of the strongest candidates are crossing over from audit, risk, or sustainability-consulting backgrounds, and firms are actively building these teams from a standing start.
Across APAC, candidates need fluency with both global frameworks and local mandates — SGX climate requirements, Hong Kong and Australian regimes — and language capability (Mandarin, Cantonese, Bahasa) widens reach for cross-border attestation work. London and Dubai mandates add CSRD-adjacent and regional-regulator familiarity.
At director and senior-manager level we target controls and assurance specialists who can scale a practice — building methodology, winning client attestations and signing limited- and reasonable-assurance reports — the bench from which the next generation of assurance partners is drawn.
Seniority
- Partner & Principal
- Director / Executive Director
- Senior Manager
- Manager
Sectors served
- Financial services & banking
- Technology & cloud services
- Energy, utilities & resources
- Industrials & manufacturing
- Consumer & retail
- Real estate & infrastructure
- Healthcare & life sciences
- Transport & logistics
- Public sector & not-for-profit
Frequently asked
- Why is ESG-assurance talent so hard to hire?
- It demands a hybrid that barely existed five years ago — assurance rigour plus technical sustainability and GHG competence — just as mandates make it compulsory. Demand is outrunning a nascent qualified-assurer pool, so firms are building these teams from a standing start through targeted, retained search.
- What is driving demand for non-audit assurance now?
- Three forces at once: mandated sustainability assurance (SGX, CSRD and equivalents), expanding SOX/ICFR scope into climate and cyber, and rising third-party assurance (SOC, ISAE) demand as cloud, outsourcing and AI adoption grow.
- Do candidates need an accounting qualification?
- Usually yes for signing roles — CA/CPA/ACCA/ICAEW — supplemented by specialist credentials such as CIA, CISA or sustainability/GHG-verification accreditation depending on whether the mandate is controls-, SOC- or ESG-focused.
- Can you build a whole practice, not just a single hire?
- Yes. Much of our non-audit-assurance work is team and practice build-out — securing a founding partner and the director/senior-manager bench to scale an ESG-assurance, SOX or SOC capability across an APAC network.