The decision by the Trustees ensures continuity and stability in the leadership of the organization as it continues to develop and implement accounting standards for global capital markets. The reappointment follows a period of transformative change within the IFRS Foundation, marked by the creation of the ISSB and the consolidation of various reporting bodies under its umbrella.

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

The series on perspectives papers is now as follows:

• The Case for Realigning Reporting Standards with Modern Value Creation (September 2021)
• Human Capital Introspective (June 2022)
• Rethinking Brand Value (September 2022)
• Deciphering Technology (July 2023)
• Data and Valuation (March 2024)

The new paper can be accessed through the press release on the IVSC website.

Local authorities in the United Kingdom are required to keep their accounts in accordance with 'proper practices'. This includes, for the purposes of local government legislation, compliance with the terms of the Code prepared by the CIPFA/LASAAC Local Authority Accounting Code Board (CIPFA/LASAAC).

There is a significant backlog in local authorities financial reporting and audit in England and the government are undertaking a number of measures to try to address the issue.  The proposals to the Code are to aid the recovery of local authority reporting and audit as set out by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) and other system partners in February 2024.  

CIPFA/LASAAC are proposing short-term England-only changes that will affect the 2023/24 and 2024/25 Codes, as follows:

• an option to simplify measurement of operational property plant and equipment using specified indexation, and
• reduced disclosures for pensions reporting, by aligning that reporting with FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland.

Comments are requested by 28 March 2024.

CIPFA/LASAAC will also be consulting, later in 2024, on measures that will help local authorities in the longer term.  As part of this CIPFA/LASAAC is planning to consult on proposals affecting the Code for 2025/26 which will encompass:

• extending the application of the temporary solution for infrastructure assets beyond 2024/25;
• proposals for the measurement of operational property, plant and equipment which will further explore simplifying requirements; and
• proposals for more proportionate reporting on pensions in local authority financial statements.

The invitation to comment and the exposure draft containing proposed changes can be found within the press release on the CIPFA website.

Following discussions held during the January 2024 IASB meeting, the board tentatively decided to introduce an expected credit loss model for SMEs engaged in providing financing to customers as one of their primary businesses, while SMEs not involved in financing will continue using the incurred loss model. 

Participation is open to accounting practitioners involved in SMEs' financial statement preparation and users of SMEs' financial statements. Volunteers will be asked to complete a questionnaire and engage in discussions with the SMEs project team to share insights. The aim is to have questionnaires and follow-up discussions completed by the end of April 2024. 

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

The technical explanations comprise of 12 items and are grouped in chapters according to their nature (cross-cutting, environment, social and other). 

The explanations are provided as part of EFRAG's role as technical advisor to the European Commission to provide a practical and timely support for preparers and others in the implementation of ESRSs. They have been added to the ESRS Q&A platform launched in October 2023 that entities can use to submit ESRS implementation questions to EFRAG.

To facilitate accessibility, EFRAG plans to publish at the end of each quarter a collection of all explanations published during the quarter.

For more information, including access to the technical explanations and the Q&A platform, please see the press release on the EFRAG website. 

The first set of technical explanations is available here.

The full agenda for the meeting is sum­marised below:

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

The webcast series comprises of three sessions: (1) preparer's perspective, (2) regulator's perspective, and (3) overview of the forthcoming IFRS Accounting Standard.

The webcasts are available on the IFRS Foundation's website.

Reflecting on the Foundation’s journey, Chair Liikanen outlined its inception in response to the challenges of fragmented accounting standards in the late 20^th century. With the endorsement of international accounting standards by market regulators in 2000, the IFRS Foundation emerged under the leadership of Paul Volcker. Today, over 140 countries adhere to IFRS Standards, fostering global financial language and facilitating cross-border investment. Further, Chair Liikanen addressed the Foundation’s recent strides in sustainability reporting, including the establishment of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and the publication of inaugural Sustainability Disclosure Standards. He noted ongoing efforts to align with existing standards and engage stakeholders globally in advancing sustainability disclosure. Additionally, he highlighted the forthcoming overhaul of Primary Financial Statements by the IASB in 2024, signaling continued evolution in corporate reporting under the Foundation’s purview.

The full transcript of the speech is available on the IFRS Foundation’s website.

A summary of the agenda is set out below:

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

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since our last analysis on 29 January 2024.

Stan­dard-set­ting projects

• Dis­clo­sure ini­tia­tive — Sub­sidiaries without public ac­count­abil­ity: Dis­clo­sures— A final standard is now expected in May 2024 (pre­vi­ously April 2024)

Main­te­nance projects

• Addendum to the Exposure Draft Third edition of the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard — The exposure draft is now expected in April 2024 (previously Q2 2024)
• Annual Im­prove­ments to IFRS Accounting Standards— Final amendments of the following projects are expected in Q3 2024:
  • Cost Method (Amend­ments to IAS 7)
  • Dere­cog­ni­tion of Lease Li­a­bil­i­ties (Amend­ments to IFRS 9)
  • De­ter­mi­na­tion of a ‘De Facto Agent’ (Amend­ments to IFRS 10)
  • Dis­clo­sure of Deferred Dif­fer­ence between Fair Value and Trans­ac­tion Price (Amend­ments to Guidance on im­ple­ment­ing IFRS 7)
  • Gain or Loss on Dere­cog­ni­tion (Amend­ments to IFRS 7)
  • Hedge Accounting by a First-time Adopter (Amend­ments to IFRS 1)
  • In­tro­duc­tion and Credit Risk Dis­clo­sures (Amend­ments to Guidance on im­ple­ment­ing IFRS 7)
  • Trans­ac­tion Price (Amend­ments to IFRS 9)
• Climate-related and Other Uncertainties in the Financial Statements — A decision on the project direction is now expected in April 2024 (previously Q2 2024)
• Power purchase agreements — The exposure draft is now expected in May 2024 (previously Q2 2024)
• Updating the Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures Standard — The exposure draft is now expected in Q3 2024 (previously Q2 2024)
• Use of a Hyperinflationary Presentation Currency by a Non-hyperinflationary Entity (IAS 21) — The exposure draft is now expected in Q3 2024 (previously H2 2024)

Research projects

• Business Combinations under Common Control — A project summary is now expected in April 2024 (previously Q2 2024)
• Post-implementation Review of IFRS 9 — Impairment — A feedback statement (previously a project summary) is now expected in Q3 2024 (previously H2 2024).

Governance

• ISSB Consultation on Agenda Priorities — The next project step will now be a feedback statement to be published in Q2 2024.

Other projects

• IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy— The taxonomy is now expected in April 2024 (previously Q2 2024).

The above is a faithful com­par­i­son of the IASB and ISSB work plan at 29 January 2024 and 29 February 2024. For access to the current work plan at any time, please click here.