The partnership reflects a broader change in how auditing is viewed. No longer limited to reviewing financial statements, auditors today play a central role in ensuring transparency, trust, and accountability across a wide range of business activities.
This is becoming even more important as new regulations reshape the corporate landscape. With frameworks like the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), companies must now report on environmental and social impact alongside financial performance—creating a growing demand for auditors with new types of expertise.
Johansson also emphasizes the need for more certified auditors to review companies' sustainability data as regulations like the CSRD are implemented. He adds, “We want to show how exciting and meaningful the role of an auditor is, now and in the future. Auditors are at the heart of key issues today, like environmental transitions and organized crime. We aim to help develop future entrepreneurs and decision-makers to create sustainable growth together.”
Connecting auditing with innovation and entrepreneurship
SSE has long focused on combining academic rigor with real-world relevance. Close collaboration with industry plays a key role in that approach, giving students insight into fields such as financial services, consulting, and business development.
The partnership with Grant Thornton adds a new dimension by highlighting how auditing supports innovation and growth. For entrepreneurs and growing companies, reliable financial and sustainability reporting is not just a requirement, it is a foundation for trust, investment, and long-term success.
"We’re excited about the collaboration with Grant Thornton, a company that shares our commitment to sustainable growth in business. It’s also great that we’re working together within the Center for Sports and Business, exploring the synergy between sports and business. Here, we can learn and contribute much to society, together with the students," says Martin Carlsson Wall, professor at the Stockholm School of Economics.
For students, this means more than learning about auditing as a technical field. It becomes a way to understand how businesses operate responsibly, how risks are managed, and how transparency shapes markets.
As the collaboration grows, both SSE and Grant Thornton share a common goal: to give students the tools and perspective to navigate an increasingly complex business world and to show that auditing can be at the center of that journey.