In addition to giving updates on their respective standard-setting activities and research projects (pensions, alternative measures for equity instruments, virtual currencies, and goodwill) at the meeting, the two bodies exchanged views on the IASB research projects on financial instruments with characteristics of equity, primary financial statements, and principles of disclosure.

For more information about the meeting, see the press release on the ASBJ website.

With the volume of data increasing the document highlights that Chief Information Officers (CIO) must be at the heart of harnessing new technological developments to identify how the organisation is creating value in the short, medium and long term. It indicates that “a successful CIO will take responsibility for building the information architecture that feeds into the integrated report, so that the business can think, plan and communicate their story or value creation, ultimately leading to internal and external benefits for the business”.

To assist the CIO, the document identifies four steps to build such an information architecture to support better, more integrated company reporting.

The full document is available on the IIRC website.

In the past few months, the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) held various workshops on the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) recommendations to provide guidance on the topic and gather feedback on the challenges and solutions that organisations are adopting on this journey.Several entries on the CDSB website reflect the input gathered:

• Implementing the TCFD recommendations: identifying the challenges (Part I)
• Implementing the TCFD recommendations: responding to the challenges (Part II)
• Webinar: Implementing the TCFD recommendations (50 minutes)
• Infographic: What organisations have said about the TCFD

The CDSB, jointly with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD),has also released new data from the Reporting Exchange analysing differences in environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting between sectors, market maturity levels and national contexts. The report underscores that while sustainability reporting is moving in the right direction, the pace of change needs to accelerate to ensure a prosperous and sustainable future. Please click to access the report on the CDSB website.

Participants of the <IR> Technology Initiative of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) have published a technology primer, identifying steps that Chief Information Officer’s can take to build an information architecture that supports integrated reporting. Please click to access the primer on the IIRC website.

The IIRC has also launched the ‘Integrated Thinking & Strategy’ special interest group, which offers organisations the opportunity to share thinking about developing strategy across multiple capitals, learn from each other and co-create a common world view of integrated thinking that is globally relevant to help build resilient, future-fit businesses. Please click for more information on the IIRC website.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) announces that as off 1 July 2018 the transition from GRI’s G4 guidelines to the Sustainability Reporting Standards (GRI Standards) is complete. The standards feature a modular, interrelated structure, and represent the global best practice for reporting on a range of economic, environmental and social impacts. This makes them easier to update, so that they keep pace with developments in the different fields. Please click for more information on the GRI website.

The GRI has also released two updated standards:

• GRI 403: Occupational Health and Safety 2018 – Putting worker health first
• GRI 303: Water and Effluents 2018 – From water management to water stewardship

More information on the updated standards and access to additional resources is available on the GRI website.

The Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) has published Reporting climate resilience: The challenges ahead. The top three challenges for companies in adopting the TCFD recommendations are identified as (1) ensuring leadership support for enhanced disclosure, (2) revising risk assessment processes, and (3) applying scenario analysis to climate change. Please click to access the report.

The 18 members of the group are:

• Rodrigo Araujo Alves, Petróleo Brasileiro S.A. (Petrobras)
• Andreas Barckow, ASCG
• Melissa Brown, Daobridge Capital Ltd.
• Larissa van Deventer, Equity Research Analyst
• Liliana Franco, Air Liquide
• Lisa French, IIRC
• Yukako Fujioka, FSA, Japan
• Trent W. Klein, TELUS Coporation
• Toby Langley, Bank of America Merrill Lynch
• Kris Peach, AASB
• Sandra J. Peters, CFA Institute
• Deepa Raval, UK FRC
• Massimo Romano, Generali S.P.A.
• Michael Tovey, Bank of America
• Ryoko Ueda, Mizuho International
• Mark Vaessen, KPMG
• Jed Wrigley, Eight Roads
• Benjamin Yeoh, Royal Bank of Canada

EFRAG, ESMA, IAASB, and IOSCO are observers.

Please see the press release on the IASB website.

The publication covers:

• what a mutual entity is;
• accounting for contracts issued by a mutual entity; and
• whether a mutual entity could have equity.

The 12 page document can be downloaded free of charge from the IASB website.

Deloitte has published a Need to know newsletter looking into implications of the situation in Argentina as regards reporting on Argentinian operations at 30 June 2018 and disclosure in June 2018 financial statements.

Please click here to access the publication.

The ITCG discussed the following:

• Common practice analysis of IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement.
• Update on IFRS Taxonomy activities.

For more in­for­ma­tion, see the summary on the IASB’s website.

The Board will discuss the following:

• Rate-regulated activities
  • Measurement
  • Presentation and disclosure objective (education session)
• Management commentary
• Business combinations under common control
• Conceptual Framework
• Implementation:
  • IFRIC Update
  • Costs considered in assessing whether a contract is onerous (IAS 37) — Possible narrow-scope standard-setting
  • Transactions involving commodities and cryptocurrencies — Potential new research project
• Disclosure initiative:
  • Definition of material — Amendments to IAS 1 and IAS 8: due process steps and balloting
  • Targeted standards-level review of disclosures
  • Principles of disclosure:
    • Project next steps
    • Technology and digital reporting considerations
• Accounting policies and accounting estimates
• Emerging Economies Group update
• Goodwill and impairment

The full agenda for the meeting can be found here. We will post any updates to the agenda, our comprehensive pre-meeting summaries as well as observer notes from the meeting on this page as they become available.

The article outlines the similarities between IFRS 17 and other IFRSs as regards the measurement of obligations at current value and the recognition of revenue as a company provides services to its customers. It concludes that the changes introduced by IFRS 17 will enable a wider range of users to understand insurers’ financial statements and compare them with the financial statements of companies within and outside the insurance industry.

Please click to access the article on the IASB website.

For the convenience of participants in different time zones the IASB has scheduled two sessions, one at 9:00 BST and one at 15:00 BST. Each session will last approximately one hour and will include the possibility to ask questions.

Please see the press release on the IASB website in order to register for the webinar.