Gensler explained three tenants behind the historical drive for mandatory disclosure:

• the public good nature of securities information
• misalignment between management and shareholder interests; and
• the imperative for efficient valuation

He also stressed the necessity of regulatory intervention to ensure consistent, comparable, and reliable information dissemination, drawing parallels between historical debates over mandatory versus voluntary disclosure.

Throughout his speech, Gensler emphasized the pivotal role of mandatory disclosure in fostering efficient markets, facilitating capital formation, and engendering investor trust. He also reaffirmed the SEC's commitment to upholding rigorous disclosure standards grounded in materiality, including enhanced disclosures on climate, cybersecurity, SPACs, and executive compensation.

Access the speech on the SEC’s website.

During the meeting, the IASB explained its reasons for suggesting a shortened comment period:

• IASB added the project on power purchase agreements as an urgent project in July 2023, following requests from stakeholders for a timely solution to the issue. Following the development of a possible solution by the staff, the IASB then discussed the problem at all meetings from December 2023 to March 2024.
• To achieve its objective of providing a timely solution as asked for by stakeholders, the IASB expects to publish an exposure draft in May 2024 and is currently aiming to finalize the amendments in 2024.
• Throughout the project, the IASB did extensive outreach with stakeholders - "shared the sandbox" with them - so stakeholders know what is coming and will only need to comment on technical details.
• The IASB has communicated the status of the project and the progress made throughout the project.
• The proposed changes are narrow-scope amendments affecting particular requirements in IFRS 9 only.
• Implementing the proposed amendments would be manageable for preparers.

The DPOC followed the reasoning of the IASB and only asked a few clarifying questions. It finally agreed to a shortened comment period of 90 days.

Access the agenda paper and the recording of the DPOC meeting on the IASB’s website.

The updates ensure that the expectations for federally regulated financial institutions (FRFIs) in the Guideline’s Annex 2-2 align with the International Sustainability Standards Board’s final IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures standard.

This streamlines climate disclosures and promotes transparency of climate-related risks.

OSFI is also releasing new Climate Risk Returns that will collect standardized climate-related data on emissions and exposures from FRFIs. These forms are being released after an extensive consultation. OSFI is also publishing a What We Heard Report with the feedback it received. The data provided will allow OSFI to implement evidence-based policy development, regulation, and supervision related to climate risks.

Access the press release on the OSFI’s website.

The podcast discusses the following:

• the ISSB’s work with jurisdictions around the world;
• the recent SEC ruling;
• key takeaways from the SSAF meeting, the ISSB meeting and the TIG meeting;
• the ISSB's strategic direction and balance of activities for the next two-year work plan;
• the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy; and
• further ISSB activities in March.

Access the press release on the IFRS Foundation website.

The high-level summary is designed to highlight non-assurance services, relationships, interests or circumstances that are prohibited for PIE audits. It will be a valuable reference to stakeholders, including regulators and audit oversight bodies, audit firms and individual audit practitioners, the corporate governance community, investors, preparers, and educational bodies or institutions.

The high-level summary is not a substitute for reading the Code.

Access the press release and the summary on the IESBA’s website.

The GHG Protocol secretariat solicited stakeholder feedback between November 2022 and March 2023 on the use of the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Accounting and Reporting Standard (the “Scope 3 Standard” or “Standard”) and the Technical Guidance for Calculating Scope 3 Emissions (the “Scope 3 Technical Guidance” or “Technical Guidance”) to understand user needs, identify topics which may warrant updates or guidance, and solicit recommendations for specific updates or new guidance.

Approximately 350 individuals and/or organizations provided responses to the scope 3 survey. In addition to the scope 3 survey, respondents were given the opportunity to submit proposals.

The inclusion of feedback in the summaries does not indicate that a recommendation will be implemented or reflected in updates to either the Scope 3 Standard or Scope 3 Technical Guidance. Instead, the GHG Protocol secretariat and governance bodies are prioritizing which topics to address in the update process, including the scope of work for updates and additional guidance and resources.

According to the draft summary report, any updates will aim to align with best practice approaches to ensure that the GHG Protocol standards for corporate accounting and reporting are effective in providing a rigorous and credible accounting foundation for businesses to measure, plan, and track progress toward science-based and net-zero targets in line with the global 1.5°C goal. Any future updates will seek harmonization and interoperability with accounting rules under development through major disclosure initiatives.

Access the Summary of Scope 3 Proposals and the Detailed Summary of Scope 3 Stakeholder Survey Responses on GHG Protocol’s website.

The proposals in the Exposure Draft respond to stakeholder feedback that reporting on acquisitions poses difficulties for both investors and companies:

• Investors lack sufficient and timely information about acquisitions and post-acquisition performance.
• Companies seek to provide useful information to investors but see risks and costs in providing some information, particularly commercially sensitive information that could be used by competitors.

Stakeholders have expressed concerns regarding the complexity and effectiveness of the impairment test for operations with allocated goodwill. In response, the IASB is proposing amendments to IFRS 3 Business Combinations. These changes would mandate companies to disclose objectives and performance targets of significant acquisitions, along with their subsequent achievements. Additionally, information on expected synergies for all material acquisitions would be required, with safeguards in place to protect sensitive acquisition objectives. The proposed amendments also include targeted improvements to the impairment test under IAS 36 Impairment of Assets.

The IASB is inviting feedback on the Exposure Draft Business Combinations—Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment by July 15, 2024.

Access the press release and the exposure draft on the IASB’s website.

The package comprises three consultation papers:

• Proposed Criteria for Modification Framework
• Proposed CSDS 1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information
• Proposed CSDS 2 Climate-related Disclosures

The proposed Criteria for Modification Framework presents the basis on which the CSSB could introduce changes to the ISSB standards. These criteria ensure that Canadian standards align with international standards while addressing Canadian public interest.

The proposed CSDS 1 and CSDS 2 are based on IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 with the following modifications: 

• The proposed effective dates for CSDS 1 and CSDS 2 have been extended by one year compared to that of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 (i.e. the proposed standards would become voluntarily effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2025);
• The proposed transition relief for disclosures beyond climate-related risks and opportunities has been extended from one year to two years;
• The proposed requirements to disclose comparative information have been changed to align with the proposed modification for the transition relief; and
• The proposed transition relief for disclosure of Scope 3 GHG emissions has been extended from one year to two years.

Please click to access the following on the Financial Reporting and Assurance Standards (FRAS) Canada website:

• Press release
• Proposed Criteria for Modification Framework
• Proposed CSDS 1
• Proposed CSDS 2
• In Brief — A plain and simple overview of the recently issued Exposure Drafts

Note: On 10 April 2024, the CSSB offers a webinar on the proposed new standards. Please click for more information here.

For Canadian securities legislation to mandate compliance, the CSSB standards need to be integrated into a CSA rule. Following the completion of the CSSB consultation and standardization, the CSA intends to solicit feedback on a revised rule outlining climate-related disclosure obligations. The proposed CSA rule will align with final CSSB standards, possibly with tailored adjustments for Canadian markets, focusing primarily on provisions relevant to climate disclosures.

The CSA continues to monitor and assess international developments in this area, including the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)’s climate-related disclosures rule approved on March 6, 2024.

Access the press release on the CSA’s website.

It aims to protect fundamental rights, democracy, the rule of law and environmental sustainability from high-risk AI, while boosting innovation and establishing Europe as a leader in the field. The regulation establishes obligations for AI based on its potential risks and level of impact.

The new rules ban certain AI applications that threaten citizens’ rights, including biometric categorization systems based on sensitive characteristics and untargeted scraping of facial images from the internet or CCTV footage to create facial recognition databases.

The regulation is still subject to a final lawyer-linguist check and is expected to be finally adopted before the end of the legislature. The law also needs to be formally endorsed by the Council. It will enter into force twenty days after its publication in the Official Journal and be fully applicable 24 months after its entry into force, except for bans on prohibited practices, which will apply six months after the entry into force date.

Access the press release on the EU’s website.