November

Recordings from the sixth IASB Research Forum

04 Nov, 2019

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) hosted its sixth Research Forum on 28–29 October 2019 in Short Hills, New Jersey, with the Journal of International Accounting Research (JIAR). The IASB has now released audio recordings and slides from the presentations given at the forum.

The meeting saw the pre­sen­ta­tion on four academic papers, responses by academics and stan­dard-set­ters as well as a general dis­cus­sion with the audience. In addition, two case studies were discussed during breakout sessions.

For more information, see the press release and access the slides and audio recordings on the IASB’s website.

Recent sustainability reporting developments

04 Nov, 2019

A summary of recent developments at the European Commission, GRI, Deloitte, CFA Society Denmark, CDSB, and SSE.

The European Commission (EC) has published a final report on EU Climate Benchmarks and Benchmarks’ ESG Disclosures by its Technical Expert Group (TEG) on Sustainable Finance. The report recommends a set of Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) disclosure requirements, including the standard format to be used for the reporting. The final report and supporting documents are available here.

The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is inviting companies and stakeholders to join a webinar on 5 December to discuss the future of reporting on responsible minerals sourcing. More information and access to the report Advancing Reporting on Responsible Minerals Sourcing the webinar builds on is available on the GRI website.

Deloitte's Annual report insights 2019, based on reports from 100 UK companies, reveals that companies are increasingly going beyond financial drivers and focusing on ‘success factors’ such as societal and environmental impacts. Please click to access the report here.

The CFA Society Denmark has published ESG key figures in the annual report that includes 15 proposals for standard ESG key figures for companies' environmental and climate impact and for their social and management commitment, which large Danish companies are invited to include in the annual report. The report is also available in an English language version and can be accessed here.

GRI has signed a collaboration agreement with the Indonesian Government that commits to support and provide the reporting frameworks for the country’s commitments to the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Aim of the agreement is to promote SDG reporting by publicly listed companies by using the GRI Standards. Please see the press release on the GRI website.

GRI also announces that the three universal standards and all 33 topic-specific standards have been published in Italian and are now freely available for any Italian speaking organisation to download and use. Please click for more information on the GRI website.

The Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB) announces that its TCFD Implementation Guide is now also available in a Japanese translation. Please click for more information on the CDSB website.

The United Nations Sustainable Stock Exchanges (SSE) initiative and the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) have signed an exchange of letters formalising how the two organisations will work together in the future. The exchange of letters also outlines potential areas of further collaboration including building capacity and providing technical assistance to stock exchanges on ESG disclosure. Please click for more information on the SSE website.

The SSE member Luxembourg Stock Exchange (LuxSE) has published a new set of guidelines for reporting ESG information to investors. Please click for more information on the SSE website.

Presentations at ISAR 36

04 Nov, 2019

The thirty-sixth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) Intergovernmental Working Group of Experts on International Standards of Accounting and Reporting (ISAR) was held in Geneva on 30 October - 1 November 2019. Presentations from the meeting are now available on the ISAR website.

The two main topics for the meeting were:

  • Practical implementation, including measurement, of core indicators for entity reporting on the contribution towards the attainment of the Sustainable Development Goals
  • Review of current developments in international standards of accounting and reporting in the public and private sectors

The background papers for these two topics are available in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Spanish, and Russian and can be accessed here (please click on the "Documents" tab).

Speakers at ISAR 36 included Chungwoo Suh, IASB member as well as representatives of AOSSG, EFRAG, PAFA, IPSASB, SASB, UNCTAD, and ACCA. All 42 presentations from the meeting are available here (please click on the "Presentations" tab).

The workshop before the ISAR meeting this year focused on "Practical implementation of climate-related financial disclosures and their relationship to the SDGs“. Speakers included representatives of CDSB, SASB, the European Commission, EFRAG, ACCA, WBCSD, and UNCTAD. All presentations from the workshop are available here (please click on the "Presentations" tab).

Charity SORP Committee seeks views on charity accounting framework

01 Nov, 2019

The Charity SORP Committee is looking for engagement partners to form key stakeholder groups with the goal of gathering feedback on the charity accounting framework and ideas for change.

The committee would like to hear from individuals or organisations with an interest in charity financial reporting. These engagement partners will be put into stakeholder groups based on their main areas of work. Stakeholder groups will be asked to consider:

  • the information needs of users of charity annual reports and accounts;
  • how far the Charity SORP needs to change to meet those needs;
  • what information is needed in order to prepare a good quality set of charity accounts; and
  • opportunities to simplify and remove unnecessary requirements while maintaining compliance with UK GAAP.

The views of the stakeholder groups will help inform the future and content of the SORP.  The closing date for applications is 31 January 2020.

Further information is available on the Charity Commission website.

December 2019 meeting of the ICAEW FRDG

01 Nov, 2019

The next meeting of the Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) Financial Reporting Discussion Group (FRDG) will be held on 2 December 2019 in London.

The meeting will cover key findings from the work of the Financial Reporting Council's (FRCs) Corporate Reporting Review team for the year.  The meeting will cover current themes, areas of focus for the coming reporting season and the topics for future thematic reviews.

Click here for information and details of how to register.

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