The motion did not argue the global baseline argument that would seek alignment with the sustainability disclosure standards issued by the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB), but rather argued that the European Commission delegated regulation adopted earlier this year:

• introduces a high administrative burden for companies due to the high complexity of sustainability reporting standards and that most ESRS standards fall short of usable key performance indicators and thus do not serve the Commission’s goal of creating measurable and comparable standards;
• requires significant resources by companies, which is a burden especially to smaller undertakings, as the sustainability reporting standards are complex and of high quantity; and
• jeopardises the Commission’s intention to reduce red tape and reporting obligations by 25 % in the light of intra-EU and extra-EU competitiveness issues.

The vote witnessed 359 parliamentary members supporting upholding the standards, while 261 supported the motion that sought to delay or withdraw the ESRSs

Please click to access the proposed motion for a resolution on the website of the European Parliament.

The podcast is hosted by IFRS In­ter­pre­ta­tions Committee Chair and IASB member Bruce Mackenzie. Topics discussed include a new sub­mis­sion relating to payments contingent on continued employment during handover periods (IFRS 3) and feedback on three tentative agenda decisions on premium receivable from an intermediary (IFRS 17/IFRS 9), homes and home loans provided to employees, and guarantee over a derivative contract (IFRS 9).

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

The proposed pronouncement includes minor improvements sourced from recent IFRS improvements and narrow scope projects. Comments are requested by 18 December 2023.

Please click for more information and access to the exposure draft on the IPSASB website.

The Board will discuss the following:

• Second comprehensive review of the IFRS for SMEs Standard
• Primary financial statements
• Dynamic risk management
• Amendments to classification and measurement (IFRS 9)
• Rate-regulated activities
• Equity method
• Disclosure initiative — Subsidiaries without public accountability: Disclosures
• Maintenance and consistent application

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.

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.

On the topic of connectivity, the standard setters highlight that close alignment and connectivity between financial and sustainability reporting is paramount to ensure that the information produced for investors is compatible and comparable. They also note that communicating the ISSB’s long-term objectives and clarifying how these relate to the IASB’s roadmap was a critical next step.

The standard setters submitted individual responses to the ISSB agenda consultation, but felt that it was necessary to combine their statements in an additional joint letter given their shared concerns:

• Feedback from UK stakeholders, as well as the UKEB’s own research, indicate that close alignment and connectivity between financial and sustainability reporting should be a priority for both Boards and they do not consider that this is yet complete.
• The AcSB strongly encourages the ISSB to continue working together with the IASB to prioritise issues related to connectivity in reporting.
• The MASB is of the view that connectivity is paramount to ensure high quality and compatible information in financial statements and in sustainability disclosures.
• The AASB recommends that the ISSB focus on the development of additional guidance on connectivity to better support comparability.
• The XRB highlights that simply relying on generic aspirations for ‘connectivity’ or ‘interoperability’ may undermine the credibility of the work of the ISSB.

Please click to access the full letter, which also notes that the highest priority of the ISSB should be the successful implementation of the inaugural standards. 

The DPOC discussed the development of material to illustrate interoperability. It agreed that the “due process specified for the development of educational material in paragraphs 8.8–8.11 of the Due Process Handbook should apply to the development of the material to support the interoperability of the ISSB Standards. It also agreed that such material is most akin to the material described in paragraph 8.10(c) of the Handbook and therefore that it should be subject to the review of at least three ISSB members.”

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

The agenda for the DPOC meeting is sum­marised below.

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

In the report, the FSB welcomes the publication of the ISSB Standards, which will serve as a global framework for sustainability disclosures and, when implemented, will enable disclosures by different companies around the world to be made on a common basis. The FSB will work with the ISSB, International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) and other relevant bodies to promote the timely and wide use of the standards. Interoperability of the ISSB standards with jurisdictional disclosure frameworks is necessary in order to achieve global comparability of climate-related disclosures. The report also notes encouraging progress on development of a global assurance, ethics and independence framework for sustainability disclosures.

In keeping with previous years, this year’s progress report highlights the findings of the 2023 TCFD Status Report. The TCFD Status Report, which has been published alongside the progress report, reveals that the percentage of public companies disclosing TCFD-aligned information continues to grow, but more progress is needed. With the ISSB’s inaugural standards having been released, the TCFD’s work is now complete, and the FSB has requested the ISSB to assume responsibility for monitoring progress on the state of climate-related financial disclosures by companies as of 2024, which will help to support adoption of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.

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

The revisions to the Standards were drawn from feedback collected from Exposure Draft Methodology for Enhancing the International Applicability of the SASB Standards and SASB Standards Taxonomy Updates. No comments are being sought on the blackline documents and their purpose is to provide a comprehensive overview of the proposed revisions, allowing stakeholders time to acquaint themselves with the impending changes. The blackline documents will be available until 10 November 2023 and are not considered final until they are officially ratified and issued by the ISSB. It is anticipated that the ratification will occur in December 2023.

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