Stakeholder engagement in the assurance process may provide a mechanism
with which the assurance providers may validate the content as well as the
stakeholder engagement process. However, given the degree of control over
the assurance process that management exercises, the transparency and
independence of the process is questionable (O’Dwyer & Owen, 2005). This is
supported through the findings of Manetti & Toccafondi (2011) who found that
only rarely are assurance statements addressed to stakeholders. Assurance
providers prefer to address them to managers, CEOs and directors. The same
authors accept that this may be due to the mandate being given to them by
managers CEOs and directors but conclude that such an approach would “favor
information requirements of managers and assurors in the SR and SR
assurance processes, to the detriment of impartial organizational accountability
and the true interests of stakeholders.”(pg.366)