Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since our last analysis on 28 September 2020.

Standard-setting projects

• Disclosure initiative — Subsidiaries that are SMEs — the decision of whether to issue a discussion paper or an exposure draft is now expected in December 2020 (previously fourth quarter of 2020)
• Management commentary — the issuance of an exposure draft is now expected in the first half of 2021 (previously first quarter of 2021)
• Primary financial statements — the review of the feedback to the exposure draft is now expected in December 2020 (previously fourth quarter of 2020)

Maintenance projects

• 2019 Comprehensive review of the IFRS for SMEs — the feedback on the request for information is now expected to be discussed in December 2020 (previously fourth quarter of 2020)
• Accounting Policies and Accounting Estimates (Amendments to IAS 8) — the issuance of final amendments is now expected in December 2020 (previously fourth quarter of 2020)
• Deferred tax related to assets and liabilities arising from a single transaction — the Board decided to finalise the amendments (no date given)
• Disclosure initiative — Accounting policies — the issuance of final amendments is now expected in December 2020 (previously fourth quarter of 2020)
• Disclosure initiative — Targeted standards-level review of disclosures — the issuance of an exposure draft is now expected in the first quarter of 2021 (previously first half of 2021)
• Lack of exchangeability — the issuance of an exposure draft is now expected in the first quarter of 2021 (previously no date given)

Research projects

• Dynamic risk management — the feedback on the core model is expected to be discussed in the first half of 2021 (outreach was undertaken through October 2020)
• Equity method — a project newly added to the work plan, a project direction is yet to be decided
• Financial instruments with characteristics of equity — a decision on the project direction is now expected in December 2020 (previously fourth quarter of 2020)
• Goodwill and impairment — the feedback on the discussion paper is now expected to be discussed in the first quarter of 2021 (previously first half of 2021)
• Pension benefits that depend on asset returns — a review of the research is now expected in December 2020 (previously November 2020)
• Post-implementation review of IFRS 10, IFRS 11 and IFRS 12 — the issuance of a request for information is now expected in December 2020 (previously fourth quarter of 2020)

Other projects

• 2020 Agenda Consultation — the issuance of a request for information is now expected in the first quarter of 2021 (previously first half of 2021)
• IFRS Taxonomy Update — 2020 General Improvements and Common Practice — a proposed IFRS Taxonomy Update was published on 29 October 2020 and the feedback is expected to be discussed in the first quarter of 2021
• IFRS Taxonomy Update — Amendments to IAS 1, IAS 8 and IFRS Practice Statement 2 — this project has been added to the work plan and a proposed IFRS Taxonomy Update is expected in December 2020
• IFRS Taxonomy Update — Amendments to IFRS 17, IFRS 4 and IAS 16 — the feedback on the proposed IFRS Taxonomy Update has been discussed and a final IFRS Taxonomy Update is expected in the first quarter of 2021
• IFRS Taxonomy Update — Interest Rate Benchmark Reform — Phase 2 — the feedback on the proposed IFRS Taxonomy Update was expected to be discussed in October 2020, however, the date entry has been removed
• Sustainability reporting — newly added to the work plan; the feedback on the Trustees' consultation paper is expected to be discussed in December 2020 (although the consultation period does not end until 31 December 2020)

The above is a faithful comparison of the IASB work plan at 28 September 2020 and 31 October 2020. For access to the current IASB work plan at any time, please click here.

Meeting activities included the following:

• Executive session:
  • Report of the Executive Director — The Trustees received a report from the Executive Director Lee White on activities since the last meeting.
  • Update on sustainability reporting — The Trustees discussed the initial reactions to the consultation paper on sustainability reporting that they published in September.
  • Committee reports — The Trustees discussed reports from the Business Process and Technology Committee, the Audit, Finance and Risk Committee, the Human Capital Committee, the Nominating Committee, and the DPOC. (A report of the DPOC meeting is attached to the meeting summary.)
• IASB Chairman’s report — The Chair of the IASB noted the successful completion of time-sensitive amendments to IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts and to the financial instruments standards to address the effects of the ongoing IBOR reform, and updated the Trustees on the continuing discussion in the EU about endorsement of IFRS 17.

For more information, see the full summary on the IFRS Foundation Trustees’ and DPOC meeting on the IASB’s website.

The error identified first occurred in Interest Rate Benchmark Reform (Amendments to IFRS 9, IAS 39 and IFRS 7) published in September 2019 and was later reproduced in the Red Book and the annotated Red Book 2020 as well as the Blue Book and the annotated Blue Book 2020.

Editorial corrections do not change the meaning or application of pronouncements, but instead correct inadvertent errors. The editorial corrections can be viewed on the editorial corrections page of the IASB's website.

The consultation is intended to assess demand for global sustainability standards and what role the Foundation might play in the development of such standards.

For the convenience of participants from different time zones, there will be two sessions of the webinar both discussing the same topics:

• Tuesday 17 November 2020, 10:00–11:00 GMT and
• Tuesday 17 November 2020, 15:00–16:00 GMT.

Each session will last a maximum of 60 minutes and include a moderated question-and-answer session. Questions can be submitted in advance.

Please click for more information, registration, and submitting questions in the press release on the IASB website.

The proposed update includes elements to reflect common reporting practice and new and amended labels to clarify the accounting meaning and intended use of some existing elements.

For more information, see the press release and proposed update on the IASB’s website. Comments are requested by 5 January 2021.

In his response, Mr Thedéen repeats the April 2020 IOSCO statement that IOSCO is looking to play an important role in the area of sustainability reporting. Commenting once more on the IFRS Foundation sustainability reporting consultation and the statement of intent of CDP, CDSB, GRI, IIRC, and SASB, he notes again that while these initiatives are currently running in parallel, IOSCO is keen to see them come together.

On IOSCO's role and the path forward, Mr Thedéen reconfirms that IOSCO stands ready to offer support and help. He writes:

As noted, we agree that there is an urgent need to improve the completeness, consistency and comparability of sustainability reporting. Together your joint initiative and that of the IFRS Foundation [...] can set the foundations of a global system architecture that will deliver a more coherent and comprehensive corporate reporting system. [...] We believe that IOSCO is in a unique position to help in this process - just as we did 20 years ago when we endorsed IFRS for use in cross-border offerings and listings and set the foundations of the current three-tier governance structure that the IFRS Foundation enjoys today. We look forward to continuing and deepening our collaboration with your organisations and the IFRS Foundation.

Please click to access the full letter on the IOSCO website.

The TCFD surveyed disclosures of around 1,700 firms from diverse sectors with broad geographical representation (69 countries). It found that:

The report also notes that expert users find the impact of climate change on a company’s business and strategy as the “most useful” for decision-making, an insight which might provide a road map for preparers.

The TCFD also published guidance on climate-related scenario analysis for non-financial firms and on integrating climate-related risks into existing risk management processes. Additionally, the TCFD published a public consultation on forward-looking climate metrics for financial firms (with responses due by 27 January 2021).

Please click for the following additional information on the FSB website:

• Press release
• Status report 2020
• Guidance on scenario analysis for non-financial firms
• Guidance on risk management integration and disclosure
• Consultation on forward-looking financial sector metrics

The article builds on a panel discussion at the IFRS Foundation Virtual Conference on 28 September 2020, which focused on what entities need to consider when developing assumptions in preparing financial statements in times of heightened uncertainty and what information to disclose about the assumptions used.

Please click to access In Brief: Applying IFRS Standards in 2020 — impact of covid-19 on the IASB website.

The common enforcement priorities related to 2020 IFRS financial statements include:

• the application of IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements with a focus on going concern, significant judgements and estimation uncertainty and the presentation of COVID-related items in the financial statements;
• the application of IAS 36 Impairment of Assets, where the recoverable amount of goodwill, intangible assets and tangible assets may be impacted by the deterioration of the economic outlook of various sectors;
• the application of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures, including general considerations relating to risks arising from financial instruments, focusing on liquidity risk, and specific considerations related to the application of IFRS 9 for credit institutions when measuring expected credit losses; and
• specific issues related to the application of IFRS 16 Leases, including explicit disclosures by lessees which have applied the IASB’s amendment providing relief to lessees when accounting for rent concessions.

ESMA also highlights key non-financial information issues and alternative performance measures with regard to the impact of COVID-19, social and employee matters, business model and value creation, and risks relating to climate change.

ESMA also highlights the importance of disclosures analysing the possible impacts of the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.

ESMA and European national enforcers will monitor and supervise the application of the IFRS requirements outlined in the priorities, with national authorities incorporating them into their reviews and taking corrective actions where appropriate. ESMA will collect data on how European listed entities have applied the priorities and will publish its findings in a separate report.

Please click for the following documents on the ESMA website:

• Press release
• Public statement on enforcement priorities, providing more background on each of the focus areas

The EFRAG analysis aims at assessing possible impacts of the new accounting model under consideration based on an understanding of users' current information needs and approaches towards analysing rate-regulated entities.

Please click for more information on the EFRAG website.