HM Treasury has set out a three-year phased approach to implement the TCFD recommendations in central government annual reports and accounts.  The guidance is applicable to Phase 1 which addresses the disclosure requirements in the first year of disclosure.  HM Treasury has indicated that application guidance for Phases 2 and 3 will be issued in due course. 

The guidance applies to all departments (ministerial and non-ministerial), as well as some central government and wider public sector bodies that meet certain criteria, or where they have been directed/instructed to follow the guidance by their respective relevant authority. Other central government and public sector bodies may voluntarily choose to follow the guidance in full or in part. 

The press release and guidance are available on HM Treasury website.

The IPTF's discussion document for the 10 May 2023 meeting is now available and states the following view of the Task Force:

Countries with three-year cumulative inflation rates exceeding 100%:

• Argentina
• Ethiopia
• Haiti
• Iran
• Lebanon
• South Sudan
• Sudan
• Suriname
• Turkey
• Venezuela
• Zimbabwe

Countries with projected three-year cumulative inflation rates exceeding 100%:

• Ghana
• Sierra Leone
• Sri Lanka

Countries where the three-year cumulative inflation rates had exceeded 100% in recent years:

• Yemen

Countries with recent three-year cumulative inflation rates exceeding 100% after a spike in inflation in a discrete period:

There are no countries in this category for this period.

Countries with projected three-year cumulative inflation rates between 70% and 100% or with a significant (25% or more) increase in inflation during the current period

• Angola
• Burundi (new entry)
• Egypt (new entry)
• Lao P.D.R (new entry)
• Malawi (new entry)
• Moldova
• Pakistan (new entry)
• Sao Tome and Principe (new entry)
• Ukraine

The IPTF also notes that there may be additional countries with three-year cumulative inflation rates exceeding 100% or that should be monitored which are not included in the analysis as the necessary data is not available. Examples cited are Afghanistan and Syria.

The full list, including exact numbers, detailed explanations of the calculation of the numbers, and observations of the Task Force is available on the CAQ website.

The first new standard will result from the primary financial statements project and will supersede IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements. The second new standard will result from the project on subsidiaries without public accountability and is intended to reduce disclosure requirements for subsidiaries that are not traded on a public market.

The IASB expects to issue the new standards in the first half of 2024 and the effective date of both new standards will be for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.

Please click to see the announcement on the IFRS Foundation website.

In its response, IFAC supports corporate reporting that better addresses a company’s ability to create long-term value and is decision useful for investors and other stakeholders. IFAC welcomes the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) while noting significant concerns regarding the need for interoperability that supports a global system for reporting. IFAC notes that all international and regional approaches must align key concepts, terminologies, and metrics to avoid regulatory fragmentation, especially on matters of materiality. The response states:

We strongly support efforts by the European Commission and ISSB to find areas of interoperability in their standards, starting with climate. However, substantive differences remain, so collaboration must continue. [...] ISSB standards should function as a global baseline for all jurisdictions, including the EU for financial materiality, to adopt or align with.

The response also notes that implementation by companies and enforcement by regulators of the new standards are essential to ESRS success. Therefore, IFAC urges additional transitional reliefs to allow companies sufficient time to implement governance, processes, reporting capacity, and internal controls.

Please click to access the full response on the European Commission website.

This issue features:

• Open Consultations:
  • Post-implementation Review of IFRS 9
  • Post-implementation Review of IFRS 15
  • ISSB’s Consultation on Agenda Priorities
• Stay up to date on recent news
• Resources for investors

The Investor Update newslet­ter is available on the IFRS Foun­da­tion’s website.

The proposed taxonomy reflect the disclosure requirements in the ISSB’s first two Standards — IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.

More details are available in the press release and the taxonomy page on the IFRS Foundation website. Comments are requested by 26 September 2023.

The ISSB recently published its inaugural standards, IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, which fully incorporate the TCFD recommendations. These standards provide a global baseline for sustainability-related disclosures, ensuring that companies worldwide follow consistent guidelines in reporting climate-related information. 

The Financial Stability Board (FSB), which oversees the TCFD, acknowledged that the ISSB standards mark the culmination of the TCFD’s work since its establishment in 2017. The FSB has now requested the IFRS Foundation to take over monitoring companies’ progress in disclosing climate-related information, a responsibility previously held by the TCFD.

The ISSB is actively supporting the implementation of the IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 standards by promoting capacity building and monitoring progress towards widespread adoption of high-quality climate-related disclosures.

Emmanuel Faber, Chair of the ISSB, commended the TCFD for its role in improving the quality of climate-related disclosures and providing vital information to investors about climate risks and opportunities. He emphasised that the ISSB has integrated the TCFD recommendations into its standards and is pleased to take over the monitoring responsibilities from 2024, building upon the TFCD’s legacy.

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

Trustees meeting

Meeting activities included the following:

• Reports of the Chair of the Trustees and the Executive Director 
• Report of the Chair of the ISSB
• Developing stronger connections between the ISSB and the IASB
• Update on the work of the Trustees Sustainable Operations Taskforce
• Medium-term funding of the ISSB
• Engagement with IOSCO and regulatory adoption approach
• ISSB agenda consultation
• Report of the Chair of the IASB
• Earned revenue strategy
• IFRS Foundation Transitional Advisory Group
• Integrated Reporting and Connectivity Council
• Reports from the Trustee Committee meetings
• Stakeholder engagement

DPOC meeting

Meeting activities included the following:

• Update report on activities of the IASB and the IFRS Interpretations Committee
• Update report on the activities of the ISSB
• Enhancing communications about the ISSB’s due process
• Correspondence

For more information, see the summary of both meetings on the IFRS Foundation’s website.

The IFRS Advisory Council provides a forum for the IASB and the ISSB to consult a wide range of in­ter­ested parties affected by the Boards' work, with the objective of advising the Boards on agenda decisions and pri­or­i­ties in the Boards' work, informing the Boards of the views of the or­gan­i­sa­tions and in­di­vid­u­als on the Council on major stan­dard-set­ting projects, and giving other advice to the Boards or to the Trustees.

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

IOSCO has engaged extensively with the ISSB over the last two years during the development of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, culminating in a comprehensive and independent review of the final standards. After a detailed analysis, IOSCO has determined that the ISSB standards are appropriate to serve as a global framework for capital markets to develop the use of sustainability-related financial information in both capital raising and trading and for the purpose of helping globally integrated financial markets accurately assess relevant sustainability risks and opportunities.

IOSCO now calls on its 130 member jurisdictions, regulating more than 95% of the world's financial markets, to consider ways in which they might adopt, apply or otherwise be informed by the ISSB standards within the context of their jurisdictional arrangements, in a way that promotes consistent and comparable climate-related and other sustainability-related disclosures for investors.

In a statement by the Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees, Erkki Liikanen noted that, '[w]e owe a debt of gratitude to IOSCO, and to its Chair Jean-Paul Servais, for recognising the importance of unifying behind these Standards. They will enable investors to factor sustainability-related risks and opportunities into their decision making'.

The following additional information is available on the IOSCO website:

• Press release
• Endorsement Decision
• Endorsement Technical Assessment
• Presentation used by the IOSCO Chairman during the announcement
• Links to social media activity

The IFRS Foundation has responded with a press release and by publishing a high-level roadmap providing transparency around the IFRS Foundation and the ISSB’s strategy to support jurisdictional adoption.