The purpose of the session is to inform academics involved in teaching financial reporting modules on the new requirements in IFRS 18 coming into effect on 1 January 2027. The session also aims to stimulate academic discussion and research that will be useful for the post-implementation review of IFRS 18.

The workshop will be structured in three sections: 1) New defined subtotals in the statement of profit or loss; 2) Requirements for aggregation and disaggregation, and 3) Management-defined performance measures.

Please click for more information and registration on the EAA website.

The study into the market for the assurance of sustainability reporting will focus on how well the UK sustainability assurance market is functioning, whether this market is delivering desirable outcomes including high quality assurance with minimal burdens and costs on business, and how the market may develop in the future. The market study will centre on the impact of sustainability assurance across UK companies, considering how sustainability assurance impacts companies, investors and the wider assurance market.

Specifically, the key areas that the market study will explore include:

• Choice, quality and competition in the sustainability assurance market
• Capacity constraints and barriers to entry or expansion
• Potential impacts from changing international regulations
• Any interplay between the sustainability assurance and statutory audit market

The FRC invites all interested parties to submit comments and evidence on the sustainability assurance market by 13 June 2024.  The market study is expected to conclude in early 2025.

A press release including further information and an Invitation to comment is available on the FRC website.  Additionally, an FRC podcast, providing more information on the market study is available on the FRC website.

The agenda items for dis­cus­sion are as follows:

• UKEB Regulatory Strategy 2024/25
• Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity – UKEB’s Final Comment Letter, Feedback Statement and [Draft] Due Process Compliance Statement
• Rate-regulated Activities – UKEB Top-down approach
• Business Combinations—Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment – Project Initiation Plan
• UKEB letter to IASB on connectivity matters
• IASB General Update
• Final Report – Accounting for Intangibles: A Quantitative Analysis
• Final Report – Accounting for Intangibles: User Survey

The meeting agenda and papers and details of how to re­gister are avail­able on the UKEB website.

Update 7 April 2024 - a recording of the meeting is available on the UKEB website here.

During the meeting, the IASB explained its reasons for suggesting a shortened comment period:

• IASB added the project on power purchase agreements as an urgent project in July 2023, following requests from stakeholders for a timely solution of the issue. Following the development of a possible solution by the staff, the IASB then discussed the issue at all meetings from December 2023 to March 2024.
• To achieve its objective of providing a timely solution as asked for by stakeholders, the IASB expects to publish an exposure draft in May 2024 and is currently aiming to finalise the amendments in 2024.
• Throughout the project, the IASB did extensive outreach with stakeholders - "shared the sandbox" with them - so stakeholders know what is coming and will only need to comment on technical details.
• The IASB has clearly communicated on the status of the project and the progress made throughout the project.
• The proposed changes are narrow-scope amendments affecting particular requirements in IFRS 9 only.
• Implementing the proposed amendments would not be burdensome for preparers.

The DPOC followed the reasoning of the IASB and only asked a few clarifying questions. It finally agreed to a shortened comment period of 90 days.

Please click for the following additional information on the IFRS Foundation website:  

• Agenda paper for the meeting explaining the IASB's rationale
• Recording of the DPOC meeting

In May 2023, the DBT working with the Financial Reporting Council (FRC), initiated a review of the non-financial reporting requirements UK companies need to comply with to produce their annual report and to meet broader requirements that sit outside of the Companies Act 2006.  The review looked at what opportunities exist to refresh and rationalise current reporting requirements so that the UK’s non-financial reporting framework is fit for purpose and delivers decision-useful information to the market.

Following the summary of responses to the call for evidence, the impact assessment outlines key planned changes including:  

• Uplift in size thresholds - the Companies Act 2006 company size thresholds are to be increased by 50% in order to reflect historical and future inflation and to reduce regulatory burdens on business.
• Removing requirements from the Directors’ Report: a number of current requirements within the Directors’ Report will be removed either because they are duplicative or no longer considered to provide useful information. This includes information on financial instruments, important events, likely future developments, research and development, branches, employment of disabled persons, engagement with employees, and engagement with suppliers, customers and others.
• Removing requirements from the Directors’ Remuneration Report and Directors’ Remuneration Policy: content which was introduced into UK law as a result of implementing the EU Shareholder Rights Directive will be removed. For example, the requirement to compare the annual percentage change in each director’s remuneration to the average percentage change of employee remuneration as a whole, over a five-year comparison period.

Outside of the reporting framework, changes will also be made to enable annual reports to be shared digitally with members in the first instance and in relation to various audit-related matters including to make technical corrections to the audit regulatory framework on audit committees.

The government intends to make the changes via secondary legislation with a commencement date for the proposals of 1 October 2024.  The statutory instrument to implement these changes is due to be laid before Parliament in Summer 2024. This is considered the first step in the government’s wider reform programme, with further proposals relating to the UK’s non-financial reporting framework expected to be published for public comment in 2024.

A press release is available on the government website.  The impact assessment and summary of responses to the call for evidence are available on the DBT website. 

Update 22 March 2024 - the FRC has issued a press release on its website welcoming these plans.  An FRC podcast discussing what this means for conmpanies is also available on the FRC website.  

Two new organisations will now participate as will one new representative of an organisation that has already been participating. Four members of participating organisations have been reappointed.

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

The following topic was discussed:

ISSB consultation on agenda priorities: The ISSB discussed the strategic direction of its activities. The ISSB decided to begin new research and standard-setting projects; support the implementation of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2; enhance the SASB standards; pursue connectivity between the requirements in sustainability and financial reporting standards; seek to ensure that the ISSB standards are interoperable with other sustainability standards; and engage with stakeholders. The ISSB also decided to place a high level of focus on supporting the implementation of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2; to place a slightly lower level of focus on enhancing the SASB standards and on beginning new research and standard-setting projects and to give these activities equal attention; to reserve resources to give the ISSB flexibility; and not to specify a level of focus on connectivity, interoperability and engaging with stakeholders, acknowledging that these activities are integral to all of the ISSB’s work.

Please click to access the detailed notes taken by Deloitte observers for the entire meeting.

The agenda for the DPOC meeting is sum­marised below.

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

While Pillar 3 disclosures are meant to provide information about banking institutions’ risk management practices and regulatory capital ratios, UK Finance believes that the the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (BCBS) can use its weight to back the ISSB’s IFRS standards and promote their adoption globally. The comment letter notes:

We recommend that BCBS encourage IFRS S2 adoption by banks in those regions that do not implement them. We recommend that the BCBS do all that is necessary to ensure that the global baseline framework of IFRS S2 requirements become and continue to inform jurisdictional climate risk disclosure requirements, driving consistency, comparability and thereby support broader sustainability disclosure objectives.

Please click to access the full comment letter on the UK Finance website. The recommendations around IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures inform the five key recommendations in the cover note.

The podcast discusses the following:

• the ISSB’s work with jurisdictions around the world;
• the recent SEC ruling;
• key takeaways from the SSAF meeting, the ISSB meeting and the TIG meeting;
• the ISSB's strategic direction and balance of activities for the next two-year work plan;
• the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy; and
• further ISSB activities in March.

For more information and access to the podcast, please see the press release on the IFRS Foundation website.