Assurance Services (Non-Audit) Search
Controls, SOX/ICFR and ESG-assurance partners and directors - the fastest-growing assurance discipline as Singapore and Hong Kong sustainability mandates take hold.
Market overview
Non-audit assurance is the highest-growth corner of the practice, and in Singapore the trigger is now regulatory rather than voluntary. SGX-listed issuers began ISSB-aligned climate reporting from FY2025, reporting Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions, with external limited assurance over those emissions mandated for listed companies from FY2029 and for large non-listed companies from FY2032 [1]. Hong Kong's HKEX is phasing in comparable climate-disclosure requirements. That regulatory shift 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 growth is real and fast. Globally, the share of companies obtaining assurance on at least some sustainability disclosures has climbed from 51% in 2019 to 73% in 2023 [2], and KPMG's 2025 index finds about 60% of firms expect market-share growth from ESG assurance [3] - but in Singapore and Hong Kong the qualified-assurer pool is nascent, creating an acute hiring squeeze just as the mandates bite.
The controls side of the discipline is also expanding. SOX/ICFR programmes serving US-listed APAC groups 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 [4] - 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 Singapore and Hong Kong 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 Singapore and Hong Kong, then Sydney, 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 (Singapore) / ISCA, HKICPA, ICAEW ACA, ACCA or US CPA) 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 local mandates and global frameworks - SGX climate requirements, Hong Kong's HKEX regime and Australian rules - 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 Singapore and Hong Kong 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 from FY2029, HKEX and equivalents), expanding SOX/ICFR scope into climate and cyber for US-listed APAC groups, 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 (Singapore) / ISCA, HKICPA, ICAEW ACA, ACCA or US CPA - 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.