IFRS Interpretations Committee
Background
Role of the IFRS Interpretations Committee
Under the IFRS Foundation Constitution, the IFRS Interpretations Committee (the 'Committee'), formerly called the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC), has the following roles:
- interpret the application of IFRSs and provide timely guidance on financial reporting issues not specifically addressed in IFRSs, in the context of the IASB’s Framework, and undertake other tasks at the request of the IASB
- in carrying out its work above, have regard to the IASB‘s objective of working actively with national standard-setters to bring about convergence of national accounting standards and IFRSs to high quality solutions
- publish after clearance by the IASB draft Interpretations for public comment and consider comments made within a reasonable period before finalising an Interpretation
- report to the IASB and obtain the approval of nine of its members for final Interpretations if there are fewer than sixteen members, or by ten of its members if there are sixteen members.
Composition
The Committee comprises fourteen voting members, appointed by the IFRS Foundation Trustees for renewable terms of three years.
The Trustees select members of the Committee so that it comprises a group of people representing, within that group, the best available combination of technical expertise and diversity of international business and market experience in the practical application of IFRSs and analysis of financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRSs.
Development and approval of Interpretations
Interpretations are developed by the Committee, exposed for public comment (these are called Draft Interpretations and numbered D1, D2, etc.), approved by IFRIC, and then sent to the IASB Board for review and approval as Final Interpretations. At the IFRIC level, consensus is reached if not more than three of the 14 Interpretations Committee members object to a draft Interpretation or final Interpretation. At the Board level, the same vote is required as for a Standard, which is 9 of the 14 Board members.
Authority of Interpretations
Interpretations are part of IASB's authoritative literature (see IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements). Therefore, financial statements may not be described as complying with International Financial Reporting Standards unless they comply with all the requirements of each applicable Standard and each applicable Interpretation.
Annual improvements
In 2009 the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) asked the (then) IFRIC to assume responsibility for the annual process for making relatively minor improvements to IFRSs. The IASB must approve both the Exposure Draft of proposed improvements and the final improvements (which are amendments to IFRSs).
Current membership of the IFRS Interpretations Committee
Voting members
| Name | Position | Term |
|---|---|---|
| Renata Bandeira | Accounting and Tax Director, GOL Linhas Aéreas Inteligentes SA | Term expires 30 June 2023 |
| Andre Besson | Head of Financial Reporting Guidelines at Nestlé SA, Switzerland | Term expires 30 June 2024 |
| Lisa Bomba | Managing Director, Deutsche Bank | Term expires 30 June 2025 |
| Jens Freiberg | Head of BDO Germany’s Accounting Advisory and Technical Accounting Groups | Term expires 30 June 2025 |
| Karsten Ganssauge | Senior Partner, Global Accounting Consulting Services, PwC | Term expires 30 June 2025 |
| Karen Higgins | Leader of the Canadian IFRS Center of Excellence of Deloitte, and the Canadian firm representative on the Deloitte Global IFRS Leadership Team | Term expires 30 June 2024 |
| Guy Jones | Partner in the Toronto office of EY’s Professional Practice Group and member of EY’s Global IFRS Policy Committee | Term expires 30 June 2024 |
| Goro Kumagai | Senior Fellow of the Markets Strategic Intelligence Department at Mizuho Securities Co. and Visiting Professor of the Graduate School of Management at Kyoto University | Term expires 30 June 2024 |
| M P Vijay Kumar | Chief Financial Officer at Sify Technologies, council member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and chair of its Accounting Standards Board | Term expires 30 June 2024 |
| Yanli Liu | Executive Vice President and the Chief Finance Officer of the State Grid International Development Company Ltd | Term expires 30 June 2025 |
| Sophie Massol | Head of Group Accounting Policies, AXA | Term expires 30 June 2023 |
| Jon Nelson | Vice President and Corporate Controller, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles | Term expires 30 June 2023 |
| Brian O'Donovan | Partner, KPMG | Term expires 30 June 2025 |
| Donné Sephton | Head of Advisory Services, FirstRand Limited group | Term expires 30 June 2023 |
Non-voting Chair
- Bruce Mackenzie, IFRS Interpretations Committee Chair and IASB Board member
