ABSTRACT The growing emphasis on corporate responsibility and transparency places audit quality at the center of advancing the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) performance. The current systematic literature review (SLR) study reviewed the literature on audit quality and ESG corporate performance. Employing the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta‐Analysis (PRISMA) method, the review initially identified 522 articles, screened 265 articles, and retained 37 articles that met the Quality and Eligibility Assessment (Q&EA) inclusion criteria. While prior research has widely focused on ESG performance, disclosure, and reporting, limited attention has been given to ESG sustainability performance and the role of internal control system. This review addresses the gap by highlighting audit quality's role in enhancing the credibility of sustainability reporting and advancing ESG‐corporate sustainability performance. The results confirm multifaceted nature of the audit quality and ESG relationship, suggesting that high‐quality audit not only enhances the credibility of sustainability reporting but also plays a pivotal role in advancing sustainable ESG‐performance. Based on the review findings, the integration of internal control system with audit quality for the aim of improving ESG corporate sustainability performance is established. The study contributes to extending literature and provides policymakers and practitioners with actionable insights on how audit quality can foster more credible, responsible, and sustainable corporate policies.
Alfify et al. (2026) studied this question.