REUTERS/Stephanie Lecocq/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Sept 26 (Reuters) - Three-quarters of companies globally are not ready to have their environmental, social and governance (ESG) data audited externally months before new regulations kick in, according to a new report from KPMG published on Tuesday. Regulators say external auditing of sustainability-related data - while not as extensive as financial auditing - is crucial for giving investors information free of misleading environmental claims, known as greenwashing. The EU rules will require disclosures be audited while countries adopting the International Sustainability Standards Board's reporting requirements can also demand external checking. Yet of 750 companies surveyed by KPMG, only 25% feel they are sufficiently prepared. KPMG's ESG Assurance Maturity Index assessed the views of executives and board members across industries, regions and different firm sizes to measure companies preparedness.

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Persons: Stephanie Lecocq, Larry Bradley, Mike Shannon, Tommy Reggiori Wilkes Organizations: La Defense, REUTERS, KPMG, Union, KPMG's, Audit, Global, ESG Assurance, Standards, Thomson Locations: Paris, France, EU, Japan, United States, Brazil, China