IFRS Foundation
The IFRS Foundation is the legal entity under which the IASB operates. The Foundation is governed by a board of 22 trustees.
IFRS Foundation is the new name, approved in January 2010, of the IASC Foundation. The name change formally took effect on 1 July 2010. From that date, the Foundation's website (including IASB materials) also changed to www.ifrs.org and email addresses changed to end in '@ifrs.org'.
Constitution
- Click here for IFRS Foundation Constitution.
- Click here for 2003-2005 Trustees Constitution Review.
- Click here for 2008-2010 Trustees Constitution Review.
Objectives of the IFRS Foundation
The objectives of the IFRS Foundation are:
- to develop, in the public interest, a single set of high quality, understandable, enforceable and globally accepted financial reporting standards based upon clearly articulated principles. These standards should require high quality, transparent and comparable information in financial statements and other financial reporting to help investors, other participants in the world’s capital markets and other users of financial information make economic decisions
- to promote the use and rigorous application of those standards
- in fulfilling the above objectives, to take account of, as appropriate, the needs of a range of sizes and types of entities in diverse economic settings
- to promote and facilitate adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), being the standards and interpretations issued by the IASB, through the convergence of national accounting standards and IFRSs.
Responsibilities of the Trustees
The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have responsibility to:
- assume responsibility for establishing and maintaining appropriate financing arrangements;
- establish or amend operating procedures for the Trustees;
- determine the legal entity under which the IFRS Foundation shall operate, provided always that such legal entity shall be a foundation or other body corporate conferring limited liability on its members and that the legal documents establishing such legal entity shall incorporate provisions to achieve the same requirements as the provisions contained in this Constitution;
- review in due course the location of the IFRS Foundation, both as regards its legal base and its operating location;
- investigate the possibility of seeking charitable or similar status for the IFRS Foundation in those countries where such status would assist fundraising;
- open their meetings to the public but may, at their discretion, hold certain discussions (normally only about selection, appointment and other personnel issues, and funding) in private; and
- publish an annual report on the IFRS Foundation's activities, including audited financial statements and priorities for the coming year.
The Trustees also have responsibility to:
- appoint the members of the IASB and establish their contracts of service and performance criteria;
- appoint the members of the IFRS Interpretations Committee (the Interpretations Committee) and the IFRS Advisory Council (the Advisory Council);
- review annually the strategy of the IFRS Foundation and the IASB and its effectiveness, including consideration, but not determination, of the IASB's agenda;
- approve annually the budget of the IFRS Foundation and determine the basis for funding;
- review broad strategic issues affecting financial reporting standards, promote the IFRS Foundation and its work and promote the objective of rigorous application of IFRSs, provided that the Trustees shall be excluded from involvement in technical matters relating to financial reporting standards;
- establish and amend operating procedures, consultative arrangements and due process for the IASB, the Interpretations Committee and the Advisory Council;
- review compliance with the operating procedures, consultative arrangements and due process as described in (f);
- approve amendments to this Constitution after following a due process, including consultation with the Advisory Council and publication of an exposure draft for public comment and subject to the voting requirements given in section 14;
- exercise all powers of the IFRS Foundation except for those expressly reserved to the IASB, the Interpretations Committee and the Advisory Council; and
- foster and review the development of educational programmes and materials that are consistent with the IFRS Foundation's objectives.
Trustee voting
The Trustees act by simple majority vote except for amendments to the IFRS Foundation Constitution, which require a three-fourths majority.
IFRS Foundation Trustees
Click here for a List of the IFRS Foundation Trustees.
IFRS Foundation XBRL Project
An IFRS Foundation team Click here for Information about the IFRS XBRL Taxonomy.
