March

Supplementary ISSB meeting next week

31 Mar 2023

The IFRS Foundation has announced a supplementary meeting of the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to be held on 4 April by video conference.

During the meeting, ISSB members will discuss IFRS S1 transition relief.

The agenda for the meeting is available here and the paper to be discussed can be accessed on the IFRS Foundation website.

IASB issues podcast on latest Board developments (March 2023)

29 Mar 2023

The IASB has released a podcast featuring IASB Chair Andreas Barckow, IASB Vice-Chair Linda Mezon-Hutter, and Executive Technical Director Nili Shah discussing deliberations at the March 2023 IASB meeting.

Highlights of the podcast include discussions on:

  • the new project on climate-related risks in the financial statements;
  • the post-implementation review of IFRS 15; 
  • key decisions made in the primary financial statements project;
  • possible changes to the impairment test and removal of disclosure requirements relating to the project on goodwill and impairment;
  • the project on subsidiaries without public accountability; and
  • decisions made in the project on the equity method.

The podcast (15 minutes) can be accessed through the press release on the IASB website.

ESMA publishes 27th enforcement decisions report

29 Mar 2023

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published further extracts from its confidential database of enforcement decisions taken by European national enforcers. This batch deals with decisions in relation to IFRS 10/IFRS 16/IAS 1, IFRS 8, IAS 38 (two decisions), IFRS 16, IFRS 15, IAS 36/IAS 1, IAS 1, IFRS 7, IFRS 9 (two decisions), and IAS 32/IFRS 9.

The European national enforcers of financial information monitor and review financial statements published by issuers with securities traded on a regulated European market and who prepare their financial statements in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and consider whether they comply with IFRS and other applicable reporting requirements, including relevant national law.

ESMA has developed a confidential database of enforcement decisions taken by individual European enforcers as a source of information to foster appropriate application of IFRS.

The publication of enforcement decisions is designed to inform market participants about which accounting treatments European national enforcers may consider as complying with IFRS, i.e. whether the treatments are considered as being within the accepted range of those permitted by IFRS. ESMA considers the publication of the decisions, together with the rationale behind them, will contribute to a consistent application of IFRS in the European Union.

Topics covered in the latest batch of extracts, covering the period from December 2020 to January 2023, include:

Standard Topic
IFRS 10 — Consolidated Financial Statements
IFRS 16Leases
IAS 1Presentation of Financial Statements
Sale and leaseback of an asset in a single-asset entity
IFRS 8 Operating Segments Aggregation of several operating segments into one reporting segment
IAS 38 — Intangible Assets Recognition of an internally generated intangible asset in a pharmaceutical project
IAS 38 — Intangible Assets Exchange of non-monetary assets
IFRS 16Leases Lease payments disclosures
IFRS 15Revenue from Contracts with Customers Disaggregation of revenue
IAS 36 — Impairment of Assets
IAS 1Presentation of Financial Statements
Climate risk disclosures in impairment tests
IAS 1Presentation of Financial Statements Climate risk disclosures in financial statements
IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures Credit risk disclosures for financial instruments
IFRS 9 Financial Instruments Reclassification of financial assets
IFRS 9 Financial Instruments Reclassification of financial assets (second issue)
IAS 32 — Financial Instruments: Presentation
IFRS 9 — Financial Instruments
Classification of SPAC warrants

Click for access to the full report (link to ESMA website).

Summary of the February 2023 ITCG meeting

29 Mar 2023

The IASB has published a summary of the IFRS Taxonomy Consultative Group (ITCG) meeting held on 27-28 February 2023.

The ITCG discussed the following topics:

  • IASB digital financial reporting strategy update
  • IFRS Accounting Taxonomy
    • digital representation of subtotals and categories in the statement of financial performance
    • feedback on IFRS Accounting Taxonomy 2022 Proposed Update 1
    • financial instruments common practice review
  • IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy
    • general update
    • facilitating use in jurisdictions which do not permit extensions

The meeting summary is available on the IASB website.

March 2023 IASB meeting notes posted

28 Mar 2023

The IASB met in London from 20-23 March 2023. We have posted our comprehensive Deloitte observer notes for all projects discussed during the meeting.

The following topics were discussed

Climate-related risks in the financial statements: The IASB commenced its project on climate-related risks in the financial statements. Particularly, the staff presented the origins of the project, the purpose of the project and the planned initial steps for the project. The IASB was not asked to make any decisions on the project.

Work plan update: In this session, the staff provided an update on the IASB’s work plan since the last update in December 2022. The purpose of the session was to provide a holistic view of the IASB’s technical projects to support decisions about whether to add or remove projects, as may be discussed in individual project papers and assessment of overall progress on the work plan, including project prioritisation and timing. No decisions were made.

Disclosure Initiative—Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures: In this session, the IASB continued its redeliberations of the relationship of the new IFRS Accounting Standard with the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard. The IASB decided to assess separately the costs and benefits for subsidiaries applying the reduced disclosure Standard and the costs and benefits for SMEs applying the IFRS for SMEs.

Equity Method: In this session, the IASB discussed three application questions on its project to revise IAS 28. The IASB decided to propose that, when applying IAS 28, an investor purchasing an additional interest in an associate while retaining significant influence would recognise any difference between the cost of the additional interest and its additional share in the net fair value of the associate’s identifiable assets and liabilities either as goodwill, or as a gain from a bargain purchase. The IASB also decided to propose that an investor, in applying IAS 28, would recognise the full gain or loss on all transactions with its associate, and to propose improvements for the disclosure requirements when an investor recognises the full gain or loss on transactions with its associate.

Primary Financial Statements: The IASB decided on detailed revisions to the Exposure Draft in the areas of disclosure of operating expenses by nature in the notes; management performance measures (MPMs)—rebuttable presumption; MPMs—relationship with the requirements of other IFRS Accounting Standards; MPMs—tax disclosure; issues related to categories in the statement of profit or loss; and issues related to the proposals for entities with specified main business activities.

Post-implementation Review of IFRS 15: The IASB discussed which questions to include in the forthcoming Request for Information. In particular, the IASB decided to include questions on the standard as a whole and the convergence with US GAAP; the five steps of revenue recognition; principal versus agent considerations; licensing; disclosures; transition; and the interaction with IFRS 9, IFRS 10 and IFRS 16.

Business Combinations—Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment: In this session, the IASB made decisions about some of the IASB’s preliminary views regarding reducing the cost and complexity of the impairment test, and some aspects of the proposed package of disclosure requirements in IFRS 3.

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

Agenda for the April 2023 IFRS Advisory Council meeting

28 Mar 2023

An agenda has been released for the meeting of the IFRS Advisory Council that will be held in London on 4-5 April 2023.

A summary of the agenda is set out below:

Tuesday 4 April 2023 (09:15-16:55)

  • Welcome and Chair's preview
  • Future format of Advisory Council meetings
  • Update on the IASB’s Activities
  • Update on the ISSB’s Activities
  • Facilitating market use of the IFRS Foundation’s sustainability-related resources (followed by breakout sessions on the topic)
  • A look at the IFRS Foundation’s sources of earned revenue

Wednesday 4 April 2023 (08:30-15:30)

  • Update on Trustees’ activities
  • Management commentary and integrated reporting (followed by breakout sessions on the topic)
  • Feedback from breakout and plenary session on facilitating market use of the IFRS Foundation’s sustainability-related resources session
  • Feedback from breakout and plenary session on management commentary and integrated reporting
  • Chair summary

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

Updated IASB and ISSB work plan — Analysis (March 2023)

27 Mar 2023

Following the IASB's and ISSB's March 2023 meetings, we have analysed the work plan on the IFRS Foundation website to see what changes have resulted from the meetings and other developments since the work plan was last revised in February 2023. Two new projects, one for the IASB and one for the ISSB, have been added to the work plan.

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since our last analysis on 2 March 2023.

Standard-setting projects

  • Disclosure initiative — Targeted standards-level review of disclosures — This project has been removed from the work plan as the IASB completed it by publishing a project summary and feedback statement on 8 March 2023
  • International applicability of the SASB standards — This project has been newly added to the work plan; the ISSB expects to publish an exposure draft in May 2023

Maintenance projects

  • Amendments to the classification and measurement of financial instruments — The IASB published an exposure draft on 21 March 2023; the next expected project step is the discussion of the feedback received in H2 2023
  • Climate-related risks in the financial statements — This project has been newly added to the work plan; the IASB expects to review the research in H2 2023

Other projects

  • IFRS Accounting Taxonomy Update — 2022 General improvements and common practice — This project has been removed from the work plan as the IFRS Foundation included final updates in the 2023 IFRS Accounting Taxonomy
  • IFRS Accounting Taxonomy Update — Amendments to IFRS 16 and IAS 1 — This project has been removed from the work plan as the IFRS Foundation included final updates in the 2023 IFRS Accounting Taxonomy

The above is a faithful comparison of the IASB and ISSB work plan at 2 March 2023 and 27 March 2023. For access to the current work plan at any time, please click here.

March 2023 ISSB meeting notes posted

27 Mar 2023

The ISSB met via video conference on 16 March 2023. We have posted our comprehensive Deloitte observer notes for all projects discussed during the meeting.

The following topics were discussed:

ISSB Consultation on Agenda Priorities

The ISSB decided to refine the specifics surrounding the upcoming Request for Information (RFI). In particular, the ISSB decided that, within the RFI the scope of the connectivity project be expanded to be more broadly focused on ‘integration in reporting’; consider integrated disclosures beyond the requirements related to connected information in IFRS S1 and IFRS S2; the requirements of S1 and S2 related to connected information be included to provide necessary context when considering the project on ‘integration in reporting’; present the project as an ISSB project that could be pursued jointly with the IASB, rather than presenting it as a formal ‘joint project’; and frame the questions asked in a manner that elicits input about how this project should be pursued.

International Applicability of the SASB Standards

The ISSB is developing an exposure draft (ED) that explains the process and the methodology for updating specific jurisdictional laws and regulations in the SASB Standards in order to enhance the international applicability of the SASB Standards. In this session, ISSB members received a status update of the project and details on the concepts and processes that guide that effort. The ISSB expects to publish the ED in May 2023.

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

IFRS Foundation Trustees and Due Process Oversight Committee hold March 2023 meetings

24 Mar 2023

The IFRS Foundation Trustees met on 1–3 March 2023 and the Due Process Oversight Committee (DPOC) met on 1 March 2023. Both meetings were held in Tokyo.

Trustees meeting

Meeting activities included the following:

  • Reports of the Chair of the Trustees and the Executive Director 
  • Integrated thinking and integrated reporting
  • Report of the Chair of the IASB
  • Report of the Chair of the ISSB
  • ‘Scorecard’ on key requirements for success (Sustainability reporting)
  • Report of the Chair of the Advisory Council
  • Annual review of key organisational risks
  • Assurance
  • IFRS Foundation Transitional Advisory Group
  • Integrated Reporting and Connectivity Council
  • Reports from the Trustee Committee meetings
  • Stakeholder engagement
  • Meeting with the Monitoring Board

DPOC meeting

Meeting activities included the following:

  • IASB-related matters
    • Update on IASB technical activities
  • ISSB-related matters
    • Update on ISSB technical activities
    • Due process ‘lifecycle’ review of the development of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2
    • Request for approval of shortened comment periods
    • SASB Standards taxonomy due process
    • Interim approach to ISSB taxonomy consultative group
  • Correspondence

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

IASB launches new project to explore climate-related risk reporting in financial statements

23 Mar 2023

The IASB has launched a new project aimed at exploring ways for entities to provide better information about climate-related risks in their financial statements. The project was initiated in response to feedback from the IASB’s recent Agenda Consultation.

During the IASB’s meeting this week, the project was discussed for the first time. Outcome of deliberations during the meeting were that the IASB will consider the work of the ISSB to ensure that any proposals complement the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (expected by the end of the second quarter of 2023). In addition, the IASB will (1) conduct research to determine how much the educational materials published in 2020 are helping entities reflect the effects of climate-related risks in their financial statements and (2) consider what further actions can be taken to improve information about these risks.

In a statement regarding the project, IASB Chair Andreas Barckow said: “Feedback from our Agenda Consultation indicates a desire for us to go further. Therefore, we are initiating this project, informed by the ongoing work of our colleagues on the ISSB.”

The project is part of a wider effort by IASB and ISSB to work together to ensure connectivity in both their products and processes. Sustainability-related financial disclosures and financial statements complement each other, with the former providing early indications of matters that will subsequently be reflected in financial statements. Achieving connectivity in reports requires consistency in language, compatibility of concepts, and no gaps or unintended overlaps between IASB and ISSB Standards and digital taxonomies. This journey is still in its early stages, and feedback from stakeholders will be taken into account in the ISSB’s forthcoming consultation on agenda priorities.

For more information, see the following:

Correction list for hyphenation

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