2022

IOSCO statement on financial reporting and disclosure during economic uncertainty

15 Nov 2022

The International Organization for Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has released a statement emphasizing issuers’ need for fair, transparent and timely disclosure about impacts of economic uncertainty.

The statement lists the following factors affecting current economic conditions that should be considered:

  • supply chain challenges;
  • on-going impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic;
  • evolving impacts of the conflict in Ukraine;
  • escalating energy supply shortages and costs;
  • labor shortages;
  • inflationary pressures;
  • volatility in currency exchange rates;
  • rising interest rates;
  • changes in monetary and fiscal policies; and
  • other responses from central banks and other government authorities.

Considering these factors might lead to financial statement considerations, going concern considerations, considerations around events after the reporting period, updating and assessing significant judgments, estimates and estimation uncertainty, cybersecurity risk consideration, and considerations around non-GAAP financial measures.

The IOSCO concludes:

We encourage issuers, external auditors, as well as audit committees [...] to be particularly vigilant in times of economic uncertainty in their consideration of how risks and uncertainties that could affect or have affected an issuer’s operations, financial condition, cash flows and prospects can be transparently communicated to investors.

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

Agenda for the December 2022 ASAF meeting

14 Nov 2022

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has released an agenda and meeting papers for the meeting of the Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF), which is to be held in the IASB's offices in London on 8–9 December 2022.

A summary of the agenda is set out below:

Thursday 8 December 2022 (9:45-16:30)

  • Agenda planning and feedback from previous ASAF meetings
  • Primary Financial Statements
  • Post-implementation Review of IFRS 15
    • Identifying matters to be examined
  • Variable and contingent consideration
    • EFRAG Discussion Paper — Accounting for variable consideration
  • Business Combinations Under Common Control
    • Initial views: Principle and exceptions

Friday 9 December 2022 (9:00-12:15)

  • Provisions — Targeted Improvements
    • Discount rates — non-performance risk
  • Equity Method
    • Project update and transactions between an investor and its associate–an acknowledged inconsistency between the requirements of IFRS 10 and IAS 28
    • Transactions between an investor and its associate–an acknowledged inconsistency between the requirements of IFRS 10 and IAS 28

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

Report of the October 2022 SME Implementation Group meeting

14 Nov 2022

The IASB has issued a report on the SME Implementation Group (SMEIG) meeting held on 13 October 2022.

The SMEIG discussed the following topics related to the second comprehensive review of the IFRS for SMEs Standard:

  • Objective of the second comprehensive review
  • Concepts and basic principles
  • Fair value measurement
  • Financial instruments
  • Business combinations
  • Consolidation package
  • Revenue
  • Other topics

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

November 2022 IASB meeting agenda posted

11 Nov 2022

The IASB has posted the agenda for its next meeting, which will be held in its office in London on 22–24 November 2022. There are eight topics on the agenda.

The Board will discuss the following:

  • Post implementation of IFRS 9 — Classification and Measurement
  • Dynamic risk management
  • Rate-regulated activities
  • Maintenance and consistent application
  • Amendments to the Classification and Measurement of Financial Instruments
  • Goodwill and impairment
  • Business combinations under common control
  • Disclosure initiative — Subsidiaries without public accountability: Disclosures

The full agenda for the meeting can be found here. We will post any updates to the agenda, our com­pre­hen­sive pre-meet­ing summaries, as well as observer notes from the meeting on this page as they become available.

COP27 ISSB podcast

11 Nov 2022

The ISSB has released a podcast about highlights from COP27.

The podcast covers:

  • ISSB announcements made at COP27;
  • support for scalability and proportionality and collaboration on capacity building;
  • preparedness of the global south in adopting standards;
  • discussion of the importance of African jurisdictions in establishing the global baseline; and
  • expectations over the next 12 months.

Please click to access the 15 minute podcast on the IFRS Foundation website.

Call for papers – 2023 IASB Research Forum

10 Nov 2022

The IFRS Foundation has announced that it will host the 2023 IASB Research Forum in early November 2023 and are seeking research papers to help inform the IASB’s standard-setting activities related to intangible assets.

In particular, research papers are welcomed (but not limited to) the following research areas of interest:

  • Recognition and measurement
  • Disclosure in financial statements
  • Other information sources (i.e., management commentary and sustainability report)
  • Pollutant pricing mechanisms and cryptocurrencies

Research papers are requested by 31 March 2023.

For more information, see the press release and call for papers document on the IFRS Foundation website.

European Parliament adopts CSRD

10 Nov 2022

The European Parliament has today adopted the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) proposed by the European Commission (EC) in April 2021.

The CSRD, adopted with 525 votes in favour, 60 votes against and 28 abstentions, will make businesses more publicly accountable by obliging them to regularly disclose information on their societal and environmental impact.

According to the European Parliament's communication, the Council of the European Union is expected to adopt the proposal on 28 November 2022.

It is also expected that the directive will enter into force at the beginning of next year at the latest.

The text of the CSRD adopted by the EU Parliament can be accessed here. There are no substantial changes compared to the text we analysed in our newsletter on the political agreement on the CSRD in June 2022.

Pre-meeting summaries for the November 2022 ISSB meeting

10 Nov 2022

The ISSB is meeting in Frankfurt on Tuesday 15 and Wednesday 16 November 2022. We have posted our pre-meeting summaries for the meeting that allow you to follow the ISSB’s decision making more closely. We summarised the agenda papers made available by the ISSB and pointed out the main issues and recommendations.

General Sustainability-related Disclosures

The staff recommend that the ISSB clarify that the requirement to revise comparative information to reflect updated estimates applies to current period estimates that were disclosed in prior periods (historic estimates), and does not apply to forward-looking estimates. The staff also recommend that the ISSB confirm the proposed requirement for an entity to report its sustainability-related financial disclosures at the same time as its related financial statements but introduce transitional relief for a limited period of time to permit an entity to report sustainability-related financial disclosures up to three months after the publication of its financial statements. The staff will not ask the ISSB to make a decision at this meeting on how long the transitional relief should last.

Climate-related Disclosures

At this meeting, the ISSB will consider the proposed requirements for an entity to disclose information on strategy and decision-making (including transition planning) and climate-related targets. The staff recommend that the ISSB confirm, but clarify, that an entity would be required to disclose Information about its strategy and decision-making and information about its climate-related targets. The staff also recommend that the ISSB introduce additional disclosure requirements about the assumptions made, and dependencies identified, by the entity in developing its transition plan and the implications for the entity’s transition plan if the assumptions are not met. Furthermore, they also recommend the Standard include requirements to disclose information about the scope of the target to enable users to understand whether the target applies to the entity in its entirety or to only a part of the entity (for example, specific business units or specific geographic regions).

Cross-cutting

The proposed requirements in paragraph 22 of Exposure Draft IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information ([draft] S1) and the equivalent requirements in paragraph 14 of Exposure Draft IFRS S2 Climate-Related Disclosures ([draft] S2) would require entities to disclose the effects of its sustainability-related risks and opportunities on its financial position, financial performance and cash flows for the reporting period and the anticipated effects. The staff will present a summary of the feedback received and asks the ISSB to provide feedback on some illustrative examples they have prepared. 

ISSB Taxonomy

In May 2022, the IFRS Foundation published a staff draft of a taxonomy for digital reporting representing the disclosure proposals in the two ISSB exposure drafts. The staff draft was accompanied by a Request for Feedback soliciting public feedback on staff recommendations on fundamental matters that need to be considered early to enable the ISSB to develop a Taxonomy. The purpose of this meeting is to provide a summary of the feedback obtained during the feedback period.

Our pre-meet­ing summaries is available on our November meeting notes page and will be sup­ple­mented with our popular meeting notes after the meeting.

November 2022 ISSB supplementary meeting notes posted

10 Nov 2022

The ISSB held a supplementary meeting by video on 1 and 3 November 2022. We have posted our comprehensive Deloitte observer notes for all projects discussed during the meeting.

In the first session the ISSB discussed climate resilience and the use of scenario analysis. The ISSB decided to confirm that entities will be required to use climate-related scenario analysis to conduct its climate resilience assessment. However, an entity will be able to use a method that is commensurate with its size, capabilities and level of exposure to climate-related risk. References to ‘alternative methods’ will be removed.

In the second session, the ISSB discussed the sources of guidance to identify sustainability-related risks and opportunities and disclosures. The ISSB decided to modify the requirements for considering sources of guidance to identify sustainability-related risks and opportunities and related disclosures. The ISSB also decided to clarify for each of the materials referenced, if a preparer is required to consider these materials or if consideration is permitted as an option. Due to mixed views within the Board, the ISSB did not vote on whether references to Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards and European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) will be added.

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

IOSCO outlines need for timely sustainability disclosure and assurance standards

10 Nov 2022

At COP27, the International Organization for Securities Commissions (IOSCO) has outlined the actions it undertakes to protect investors by mitigating greenwashing in financial markets, to contribute to sustainability disclosure standards benefitting issuers and investors, and to promote well-functioning carbon markets.

On sustainability disclosures, IOSCO set out its expectations that both disclosures and assurance standards should be ready for use by corporates for their end-2024 accounts. IOSCO noted that once the ISSB standards are available it will move quickly on its endorsement decision:

In 2023, the ISSB will issue its standard for climate disclosures and general requirements. IOSCO will move promptly to decide on endorsement and will develop a support program for its members to assist them in moving forward immediately should IOSCO decide to endorse these standards. IOSCO also supports the efforts of the ISSB in seeking to be inclusive through its capacity building partnership initiative.

The IOSCO also highlighted the importance of maximizing interoperability of standards and aligning key climate disclosures and noted that interoperability across the world will be an important factor in IOSCO’s endorsement decision. IOSCO believes close alignment between the ISSB and those jurisdictions seeking to implement their own sets of standards is essential to ensure capital flows to where it is most needed.

Please click for the full statement on the IOSCO website

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