During the meeting, par­tic­i­pants the ongoing bilateral discussions between the ISSB and the European Union as well as the ISSB’s September 2022 Board Papers. See the meeting summary on the IFRS Foundation's website.

The consultation paper builds upon the FCA's previously published Discusion Paper, (DP 21/4), issued in November 2021, that sought initial views on Sustainability Disclosure Requirements for asset managers and certain FCA-regulated asset owners, as well as the sustainable investment labelling system.

The aim of the proposals is to ensure that consumers are provided with all of the information necessary to make informed investment decisions and ultimately to provide greater transparency, consistency and trust in the market for sustainable investment products.  The proposals attempt to clamp down on greenwashing by companies.  

The consultation specifically covers:

• Sustainable investment labels to help consumers navigate the investment product landscape and enhance consumer trust.
• Consumer‑facing disclosures to help consumers understand the key sustainability-related features of a product.
• Detailed disclosures targeted at a wider audience (eg institutional investors and consumers seeking more information):
  • pre‑contractual disclosures (eg in the fund prospectus), covering the sustainability-related features of investment products.
    
  • ongoing sustainability‑related performance information including key sustainability-related performance indicators and metrics, in a sustainability product report.
  • a sustainability entity report covering how firms are managing sustainability-related risks and opportunities.
    
• Naming and marketing rules restricting the use of certain sustainability-related terms in product names and marketing materials unless the product uses a sustainable investment label.
• Requirements for distributors to ensure that product-level information (including the labels) is made available to consumers.
• A general ‘anti‑greenwashing’ rule applied to all regulated firms which reiterates existing rules to clarify that sustainability-related claims must be clear, fair and not misleading.

The proposals relating to labelling and classification, disclosure and naming and marketing rules will apply to asset managers initially.  However the FCA is seeking views on expanding the scope to include FCA-regulated asset owners in respect of their investment products.  The proposals in the consultation paper focus on funds and portfolio management based in the UK.  The FCA intends to consult in due course on how the proposals may be applied to overseas funds.  Subject to the feedback received, the FCA intend to publish its final rules and guidance in a Policy Statement by the end of the first half of 2023.

Comments on the consultation are requested by 25 January 2023.

A press release and the full consultation paper are available on the FCA website.

High­lights of the podcast include dis­cus­sions on:

• Key de­vel­op­ments since the last board meeting.
• Greenhouse gas emissions.
• ISSB’s decisions on priority work.
• Improvements to clarity.
• Future expectations on industry specific standards.

The podcast can be accessed through the press release on the IFRS Foun­da­tion’s website.

Please click to view the detailed notes taken by Deloitte observers for the ISSB meeting.

On 8 September 2022, the IASB issued ED/2022/1 Third edition of the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard, which suggests changes to all of the 35 sections, however, some of the changes are minor. Comments on IASB/ED/2022/1 are requested by 7 March 2023.

For more information, see the press release on the IFRS Foundation’s website.

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since our last analysis on 26 September 2022.

Stan­dard-set­ting projects

• Cli­mate-re­lated dis­clo­sures — The next step in this project is now the issuance of a final IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standard (no date given).
• Con­trac­tual cash flow char­ac­ter­is­tics of financial assets — This project is now part of the newly added maintenance project Amendments to the classification and measurement of financial instruments.
• Dis­clo­sure ini­tia­tive — Targeted stan­dards-level review of dis­clo­sures — The IASB decided not to continue with any part of the ED — a project summary is expected in the first quarter of 2023.
• General sus­tain­abil­ity-re­lated dis­clo­sures — The next step in this project is now the issuance of a final IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standard (no date given).

Main­te­nance projects

• Amendments to the classification and measurement of financial instruments —This project has been newly added to the work plan. It responds to feedback received on the Post-implementation review of IFRS 9 — Classification and measurement and also incorporates the project on Con­trac­tual cash flow char­ac­ter­is­tics of financial assets. An exposure draft is expected in the first half of 2023.
• Lease liability in a sale and leaseback — This project has now been removed from work plan. The September 2022 work plan had still listed this project although it had been concluded by the issuance of final amendments.
• Non-current liabilities with covenants (Amendments to IAS 1) — Final amendments are now expected in October 2022 (previously November 2022).

Research projects

• Ex­trac­tive ac­tiv­i­ties — A decision on the direction of the project is now expected in first half of 2023 (previously September 2022).
• Post-implementation review of IFRS 9 — Classification and measurement — A feedback statement is now expected in December 2022 (previously Q4 2022).

Other projects

• IFRS taxonomy update — 2022 General Improvements and Common Practice — A proposed IFRS Accounting Taxonomy Update is now expected in November 2022 (previously no date given).
• ISSB consultation on agenda priorities — A request for information is now expected in December 2022 (previously Q4 2022).

The above is a faithful com­par­i­son of the IASB and ISSB work plan at 26 September 2022 and 25 October 2022. For access to the current work plan at any time, please click here.

The agenda for the DPOC meeting is summarised below.

Agenda papers for the meeting are available on the IFRS Foundation website.

The cooperation agreement follows feedback from securities regulators highlighting inconsistency in valuation quality and approach worldwide and aimes at developing a better understanding of the quality and consistency of valuations and the professional standards employed by valuers internationally with the objective of mitigating risks to the quality of financial information for the protection of investors and for the stability of the financial system. The statement of cooperation outlines steps both organisations will take to enhance their cooperation and build mutual understanding of the landscape surrounding the valuation profession and standard-setting process, including governance, due process and credentialing.

Please click to access a press release and the statement of cooperation on the IOSCO website.

The suite is updated for all of the FRC's taxonomies and contains taxonomy documentation, supporting documents, key information sheets and release notes.  The key changes to the 2023 suite include:

• Initial, and interim reporting, medium-sized companies, and filleted accounts all have new/updated tags and guidance to facilitate Companies House requirements
• IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts has been digitalised to reflect the UK endorsement of the Standard. 
• Support has been added for reporting Alternative Performance Measures (APMs), including a new hypercube with new dimensions.
• The Financial Conduct Authority's Diversity & Inclusion (D&I) reporting proposals have been incorporated, including new hypercubes for Gender/Sex and Ethnicity reporting.
• An updated 2023 UKSEF that makes use of XBRL's "multiple target document" feature, enabling relevant issuers to file one report to multiple regulators and fulfils the technical requirements for both ESEF and FRS 102/UK IFRS tagging.

The press release and updated taxonomies are available on the FRC website.

Update 21 February 2023: 

The FRC has released a hotfix to the 2023 Taxonomy Suite in order to address an issue that would have prevented two income hypercubes being valid regardless of how the tagging was arranged. Updated files (v1.0.1) of the 2023 Taxonomy Suite can be found on the FRC Taxonomies webpage.

The webinar, to be held on 2 November 2022, will be an opportunity to hear directly from FRC experts on the key findings from this year’s annual review and areas where the FRC expects companies to improve their reporting.

The webinar will be of particular interest to preparers of corporate reports, investors and users of accounts and auditors

To register to attend, and for more information, please visit the FRC website.

The scope of the project, which is expected to cover both financial and non-financial reporting, will be determined in conjunction with participants but may cover topics such as:

• what factors and stakeholders companies consider when deciding what to report;
• when and how regularly companies think about materiality;
• how companies use their materiality assessments to determine what is included or excluded in their corporate reporting;
• how companies think about materiality for internal reporting vs external reporting;
• how companies think about materiality for non-financial vs financial information;
• how companies consider different concepts of materiality, for example, 'traditional' materiality vs impact materiality;
• how technological advances in reporting and data consumption may affect materiality;
• how companies' views on materiality may differ from auditors'; and
• what investors want to understand on materiality, including on companies' materiality assessment processes.

Further information is available on the FRC website.