Mr Hales, who has been appointed to a part-time role, has served as Chair of the SASB Standards Board since 2018 and is also a professor of accounting at the University of Texas in Austin, US. He has previously served as an academic research fellow at the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) and as a member of its Financial Accounting Standards Advisory Council. His first term expires on 30 June 2027.

Mr Jantzi joins the ISSB from Morningstar, where he currently serves as Managing Director of ESG Strategy. He is the founder and former CEO of Sustainalytics, an ESG research and ratings firm that was subsequently acquired by Morningstar in 2020. He currently serves on the Board of Directors of the Value Reporting Foundation (VRF) and of the Principles for Responsible Investment. His first term expires on 30 September 2025.

The press release on the IFRS Foundation website notes that in the next several weeks, the Trustees will complete the ISSB’s full membership with further appointments in July and the goal to reach the full complement of 14 members during the third quarter of 2022.

These ideas are the outcome of a first meeting of technical representatives from both organisations where activities were discussed that could provide the necessary clarification and alignment. Among the initiatives discussed were:  

• An agreed schedule of meetings and roadmap to advance technical aspects of the collaboration;
• a mapping exercise to establish those requirements in the literature of both organisations that are equivalent;
• the development of a methodology to cross-reference between the respective guidance;
• an examination of future priorities; and
• the development of a full articulation of the ways in which the respective standards are complementary or diverge.

Please click to access a full outline of the planned collaboration on the IFRS Foundation website.

His speech was mainly devoted to drawing a parallel between establishing the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) in 2001 and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) now.

He began by pointing out that when the IASB was established, there were significant challenges with financial accounting regarding transparency and comparability across borders. There were calls (not least by the G7) for internationally agreed accounting standards. There were also calls for the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) to review the standards. IOSCO did so and also recommended that its members permitted the use of the international standards for companies listed on foreign stock exchanges. In the end, as Mr Liikanen pointed out, the international accounting standards proved to be a great success. He summarised:

And we have seen the benefits of this throughout the economic system. It benefits investors because it provides the information they need to make informed capital allocation decisions. It helps companies because they have clarity on which rules to follow in preparing their financial statements. And, it supports regulators in achieving their objectives of facilitating capital flows.

Mr Liikanen then turned to the creation of the ISSB. Again, he pointed out, the IFRS Foundation was responding to great demand — from investors, companies, IOSCO and jurisdictions. And again, IOSCO has agreed to review the standards to be issued by the ISSB. And the hope is that then IOSCO will once more encourage the adoption of the new IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards — to make them as much of a success as their accounting counterparts. Mr Liikanen concluded:

IOSCO brings together the world’s securities regulators. It plays an incredibly important role in promoting international standards. [...] Endorsement by IOSCO would be a real catalyst for the uptake of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards around the world.

Please click to access the full text of the speech on the IFRS Foundation website.

The agenda for the DPOC meeting is sum­marised below.

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

The objective of the proposed CSRD is to improve sustainability reporting to better exploit the potential of the European single market and to contribute to the transition to a fully sustainable and inclusive economic and financial system in line with the European Green Deal and the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

While the detailed agreed text is not available yet, the following information has been communicated through the Council and Parliament press releases:

• The CSRD requirements will apply to large listed and non-listed EU companies (more than EUR 20 million balance sheet total / more than EUR 40 million net turnover / more than 250 employees) and listed SMEs (an opt-out would be available for SMEs during a transitional period until 2028); they would also apply to non-EU companies generating a net turnover of EUR 150 million in the EU and which have at least one subsidiary or branch in the EU.
• There will be a gradual approach to reporting under the CSRD:
  • 1 January 2024 for companies already subject to the non-financial reporting directive;
  • 1 January 2025 for companies that are not presently subject to the non-financial reporting directive; and
  • 1 January 2026 for listed SMEs, small and non-complex credit institutions and captive insurance undertakings.
• Reporting must be certified by an accredited independent auditor or certifier; the reporting of non-European companies must also be certified, either by a European auditor or by one established in a third country.

Parliament and Council still need to approve the provisional agreement.

For additional information, please see the press releases published by the two bodies on their websites:

• European Parliament
• European Council

The VRF was formed in June 2021 with the merger of the International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB). The consolidation with the IFRS Foundation will, ‘inform the work of the IFRS Foundation through the industry-based approach of the SASB Standards and the Integrated Reporting Framework’.

This marks the completion of a COP26 objective to consolidate leading investor-focused sustainability disclosure organisations with the IFRS Foundation. In February 2022, the CDSB completed its consolidation into the IFRS Foundation.

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

In its response to the proposed rule, Accountancy Europe welcomes the SEC's efforts and notes that there it fully supports mainstreaming environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics in corporate reporting. However, as Accountancy Europe points out, there are other parallel initiatives aiming to streamline sustainability reporting standards, in particular those of:

• the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) with its initial exposure drafts on sustainability-related financial information and climate-related disclosures, and
• the European Union (EU), via the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG), with its European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) exposure drafts.

Accountancy Europe stresses that there needs to be a high degree of coordination and alignment, including of language and definitions, for all of these initiatives to be meaningful and fit-for-purpose for global markets.

Also, Accountancy Europe especially responds to a specific SEC question regarding whether alternative reporting requirements (for example ISSB requirements) should be permitted for use in the US and whether such a provision should be limited to foreign private issuers or available to all registrants. Accountancy Europe clearly supports an alternative reporting provision for foreign private issuers and advocates extending it to all registrants. The comment letter notes that this would entail a significant step towards achieving a global reporting framework on sustainability and climate-related information.

Please click to access the full letter on the Accountancy Europe website.

The IPTF's discussion document for the 25 May 2022 meeting is now available and states the following view of the Task Force:

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

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

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

There are no countries in this category for this period.

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

There are no countries in this category for this period.

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
• Haiti

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, Syria, and Ukraine.

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 DPOC discussed:

• IASB Third Agenda Consultation — The DPOC were updated on the consultation process, feedback from stakeholders, IASB’s deliberations, and final decisions.
• Review of the Post-implementation Review (PIR) of IFRSs 10, 11 and 12 — The DPOC were updated on the PIRs’ objectives, process, IASB’s evaluation, and final conclusions.
• Post-implementation Reviews — Improving communications — The DPOC were updated on the work to clarify the articulation of the objective of a PIR, process and possible outcomes, and stakeholder communications.

Please click to access the full report on the IFRS Foun­da­tion website.

Discussion of

• Second comprehensive review of the IFRS for SMEs accounting standard
  • Guidance on public accountability
  • Additional simplifications to IFRS 15
  • Transition to the third edition of the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard
  • Due process and permission to begin the balloting process
• Disclosure initiative — Subsidiaries without public accountability: Disclosures 
  • Project direction and plan for redeliberations

will now begin at 12:00 noon.

Please see the updated agenda on the IASB website.