At its meeting on November 14, 2018, the IASB met to discuss the objective of management commentary and guidance supporting the objective. The IASB staff recommended that the objective of management commentary should be to give context for the financial statements by providing primary users with historical financial and operational information and analysis that is useful in assessing the prospects for the entity’s future net cash inflows, and its management’s stewardship of the entity’s economic resources.

The Board did not formally vote at this meeting but agreed in broad terms with that objective, and with the staff’s recommendations for guidance to support it. However, the Board asked the staff to consider whether it is possible to provide further clarity on:

1. the roles that historical information and forward-looking information play in management commentary; and
2. the difference between the objective of management commentary and the objective of financial statements. The Board expects to discuss the application of materiality in management commentary and principles of management commentary in January 2019 and at subsequent Board meetings.

Review the IASB Update and podcast on the Board's Web site.