IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 3
Contents
About us
Our mission statement 4
About this report 4
Reports
Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees 6
Chair of the International Accounting Standards Board 7
Chair of the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board 8
Our organisation
Our objectives 10
How we work 11
Our stakeholders and how we engage 12
Our people 14
International Accounting Standards Board 15
Governance
Our structure 17
Trustees of the IFRS Foundation 18
Trustee committees 20
Risks and how we mitigate them 22
2019 review and 2020 priorities
2019 review and 2020 priorities—Foundation activities 24
2019 review—Board activities 28
2020 priorities—Board activities 31
Financials
Introduction to the financial statements 33
Report from the Trustees’ Audit, Finance and Risk Committee 35
Independent auditor’s report 36
Financial statements 40
Notes 43
Appendices
Financial supporters 54
IFRS Advisory Council members 58
IFRS Interpretations Committee members 60
IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board members 61
Thank you
In memoriam—Paul Volcker 62
Thank you message 63
4
The IFRS Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation established
to develop a single set of high-quality, understandable,
enforceable and globally accepted accounting standards—
IFRS® Standards—and to promote and facilitate their adoption.
IFRS Standards are set by the Foundation’s standard-setting
body, the International Accounting Standards Board, which
in turn is aided by the IFRS Interpretations Committee in
supporting consistent application of the Standards.
The IFRS Foundation Trustees, who are accountable to
a Monitoring Board of public authorities, are responsible
for strategy and governance.
The Foundation was founded in 2001 and is headquartered
in London, United Kingdom, and has a regional Asia-Oceania
office in Tokyo, Japan.
About us
Our mission statement
Our mission is to develop IFRS Standards that bring transparency, accountability and efficiency to financial markets around the
world. Our work serves the public interest by fostering trust, growth and long-term financial stability in the global economy.
IFRS Standards strengthen accountability by reducing the information gap between the providers
of capital and the people to whom they have entrusted their money. Our Standards provide
information needed to hold management to account. As a source of globally comparable
information, IFRS Standards are also of vital importance to regulators around the world.
IFRS Standards contribute to economic efficiency by helping investors to identify opportunities and
risks across the world, thus improving capital allocation. For businesses, the use of a single, trusted
accounting language lowers the cost of capital and reduces international reporting costs.
IFRS Standards bring transparency by enhancing the international comparability and quality
of financial information, enabling investors and other market participants to make informed
economic decisions.
TransparencyAccountabilityEfficiency
This report covers the financial year ended 31 December
2019 and was published in June 2020.
An inline p_xBRL version can be found in the annual report
section of our website: www.ifrs.org/about-us/who-we-are.
We have sought to keep this report concise, with links to
further information on our website. If p_you have questions
that you can’t find the answers to in this report, general
feedback on the report, or if you would like to receive a
printed copy, please email communications@ifrs.org.
About this report
Reports
6
Enhancing our relevance in a changing world
During my first full year as Chair of the
IFRS Foundation Trustees, I have invested
much time meeting with stakeholders
around the world, discussing their views
and considering how their feedback might
help shape the Foundation’s priorities.
The overriding message I have received is
strong support for the Foundation’s work
and its mission, with encouragement
to ensure that we continue to adapt
to evolving stakeholder needs—
hence the focus of this annual report
on strengthening relevance in a
changing world.
Enhanced focus on
strategic matters
In 2019, the Trustees have spent time
considering our global strategic focus
ahead of our next strategic review, while
also continuing to oversee the Board’s
work to develop and maintain IFRS
Standards and support their consistent
application. Notable examples of this
strategic focus include:
• the Trustees’ Due Process Oversight
Committee revising the Due Process
Handbook, which the Board and the
Interpretations Committee follow
when developing and maintaining
our Standards;
• the Nominating Committee leading
the process to appoint or reappoint
Trustees, a new Chair and other
members of the Board, members of
the IFRS Interpretations Committee
and members of the IFRS Advisory
Council; and
• the newly formed Business Processes
and Technology Committee guiding
and overseeing the multi-year, multi-
million pound digital transformation of
the Foundation.
Indeed, a defining feature of 2019 has
been the enhanced role played by the
Trustee committees—in their operational
responsibilities and in helping to shape
our future strategy.
Priorities for 2020
and beyond
Our work helps to prepare the ground
for the next review of the strategy and
of the Foundation’s Constitution, due
to begin towards the end of 2020. An
important part of our role as Trustees is
monitoring emerging trends and their
effect on the work and responsibilities of
the Foundation and the Board.
Corporate reporting has evolved since
the last strategic review, five years ago.
Most investors use financial information
published electronically and they pay
far greater attention to sustainability
and other non-financial reporting topics.
We and the Board will seek feedback
on these trends during our respective
upcoming public consultations.
Furthermore, appointing a Board Chair
to replace Hans Hoogervorst, who will
step down in June 2021 after his second
five-year term, will be an important task
for the Trustees.
Covid-19
Finally, this report would not be
complete without mentioning the
covid-19 pandemic that, at the time of
writing, has led to an international public
health emergency and a corresponding
shutdown of many parts of the global
economy. The Trustees’ main priority
has been the wellbeing of our staff and
stakeholders around the world.
We closed our London office in March
and the staff have coped admirably
with the transition to remote working,
due in large part to having appropriate
technology solutions in place.
The Trustees fully back efforts by the
Board and staff to support stakeholders
by responding to covid-19-related
questions about applying IFRS Standards
and by adjusting the Board’s work plan
to defer less critical consultations.
Thank you
I would like to thank my fellow Trustees,
members of the Board, staff and the
many stakeholders around the world for
the continued support for our mission.
I wish you all well during these
challenging times.
Report from the Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees
Responsible for the governance and oversight of the IFRS Foundation
and the International Accounting Standards Board, the Trustees focused
on stakeholder relationships and organisational strategy in 2019.
Erkki Liikanen
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisation
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 7
ReportsAbout us
Enhancing the relevance of IFRS Standards
To meet this objective, during the last
decade we introduced four major new
Standards: IFRS 9 Financial Instruments,
IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with
Customers, IFRS 16 Leases and IFRS 17
Insurance Contracts. All but IFRS 17
are now in use, with IFRS 17 effective
from 2023.
As we enter a new decade, our focus
is on enhancing the communication
effectiveness of financial reports.
We have named this effort Better
Communication in Financial Reporting
and made good progress in 2019. We
also put much effort into supporting
consistent application of our Standards.
Some of our priority projects in 2019 were:
Primary Financial Statements. In
response to investors’ needs, we are
overhauling the way companies provide
financial performance information in
the financial statements. In December,
we published Exposure Draft General
Presentation and Disclosures, a proposed
new Standard, and initial reactions have
been encouraging. I believe the proposals
could be game changers—in boosting
comparability in the income statement
and increasing transparency and
discipline around management-defined
performance measures— and look
forward to hearing from stakeholders
and discussing their views.
Management Commentary. We are
revising our guidance to companies
on the provision of information that
complements the financial statements.
While financial statements provide the
foundation for investors’ decisions, they
cannot provide the whole story. The
project addresses information needed
to understand a company’s longer-
term prospects—its business model, its
intangible resources and relationships,
its progress in fulfilling its strategy and
climate-related factors where relevant.
Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment.
We are seeing whether improvements
can be made to the information
companies provide about mergers and
acquisitions, and whether change is
warranted in the accounting for goodwill.
We have set out some early stage
thinking in Discussion Paper Business
Combinations—Disclosure, Goodwill and
Impairment and look forward to hearing
views before deciding how to proceed.
IFRS 17. We have worked hard to help
the market prepare for the introduction
of IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts,
working alongside market participants
and supervisors to ensure a smooth
transition to the new Standard. As part
of this work, we issued some targeted
amendments to IFRS 17 in June 2020.
2020 priorities
During 2020 we had expected
to undertake various important
consultations. However, the covid-19
pandemic has resulted in challenging
times for many of our stakeholders. We
understand they may have different
priorities and we have, therefore, decided
to extend the comment periods on some
consultation documents.
We will prioritise time-sensitive
projects such as the one dealing with
the effect of interest rate benchmark
reform on financial reporting, and the
IFRS 17 amendments. In addition, we
have dedicated resources to support
application of IFRS Standards where
covid-19 has raised questions.
We will also continue to work with the
Interpretations Committee to support the
consistent application of our Standards
and with the IFRS Taxonomy Consultative
Group to develop the IFRS Taxonomy—
our system for electronic tagging of
financial statements.
Finally, we will advance the preparations
for our next agenda consultation, which
will help determine which technical
projects the Board should work on in the
years ahead. We expect to publish this
consultation early 2021 to inform the
Board’s work from 2022 to 2026.
We appreciate the support and
engagement from all our stakeholders
in helping us continue delivering
improvements that matter.
Report from the Chair of the International Accounting Standards Board
Companies and markets continuously adapt to changes in the
business, economic and technological landscape. Similarly, IFRS
Standards must also evolve to remain relevant in meeting the financial
information needs of investors. This is the primary work of the Board.
Hans Hoogervorst
8
Enhancing accountability and governance
Report from the Chair of the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board
8
The Monitoring Board´s objective is to
reinforce the Foundation’s public interest
remit and the Trustees´ responsibilities in
promoting the development of a single
set of high-quality, understandable,
enforceable and globally accepted
financial reporting standards.
High-quality financial information is
the foundation for effective, fair and
transparent capital markets. It underpins
investors´ confidence in these markets
and facilitates optimal capital allocation.
The application of high-quality financial
reporting standards is the cornerstone
for high-quality financial reporting.
The formal relationship between the
Monitoring Board and the Foundation
enables the Monitoring Board members
to fulfil their mandate to protect
investors, ensure market integrity and
facilitate and promote capital formation.
Our priorities in 2019 focused on
three objectives:
1. Regulatory and policy matters
and market developments
In 2019, we strengthened our
engagement with the Trustees on broad
regulatory and policy matters and
developments that could potentially
affect financial reporting. I believe it
is essential that accounting standards
are kept up to date to reflect changes
in the business environment and
business practices. Monitoring Board
members and Trustees have continued
to deliberate on the challenges as well
as the opportunities posed by FinTech
and emerging innovative technologies,
which could potentially affect financial
reporting in the future.
The Monitoring Board and the
Foundation share an interest in
enhancing comparability, which requires
IFRS Standards to be consistently applied
in many jurisdictions. The growth in
the number of jurisdictions using the
Standards, the number of new, significant
Standards, and the perceived growing
complexity of IFRS Standards, has focused
attention on promoting consistent
application. We continued discussing the
initiatives and efforts by the Foundation,
Board and Interpretations Committee to
support consistent application.
2. Nominations
We approved the nomination of three
new Trustees to the Foundation who
started their terms 1 January 2020.
They bring a wealth of international
experience, a deep knowledge of
corporate reporting and a profound
understanding of the financial sector.
As a group of public authorities,
the Monitoring Board has a duty
to contribute to ensuring that the
constitutional arrangements for the
Foundation are adequately applied. To
this effect, we continue to support a
body of Trustees that brings together
globally respected, experienced and
competent individuals with a clear
public interest focus, and who are
fully committed to supporting the
development and consistent application
of IFRS Standards around the globe.
3. Due process
Given the relevance of the Due Process
Handbook in setting the due process
principles that apply to the Board and the
Interpretations Committee, the Trustees’
review of the Handbook was a priority in
our work plan. The Monitoring Board—
its principals and deputies—has regularly
discussed with the Trustees their
proposed revisions to the Handbook,
published in an exposure draft in 2019,
and the feedback from stakeholders on
the proposals. Our attention focused
on those regarding agenda decisions
and effects analyses. We will continue
to monitor the developments until the
review is finalised in 2020.
Thank you
I would like to express my gratitude
to Monitoring Board members, our
Deputies Working Group and the
Secretariat for their support. I look
forward to continuing to work closely
with the Trustees, the Board and global
stakeholders to support our common
objective of achieving high-quality
financial reporting.
Jean-Paul Servais
The mission of the Monitoring Board is to monitor the
Foundation, whose Trustees in turn are responsible for
the oversight of the Board.
Our organisation
10
Our objectives
The IFRS Foundation’s objectives are set out in our Constitution. In short, they are to:
• develop a single set of high-quality, understandable,
enforceable and globally accepted financial reporting
standards based upon clearly articulated principles;
• promote the use and rigorous application of those standards;
• take account of the needs of varied sizes and types of
companies in diverse economic settings; and
• promote and facilitate adoption of those standards.
How we create value
Resources Activities Outcomes
• Increased transparency
in financial reporting
around the world
• Strengthened
accountability in the
financial markets
• Lower capital costs and
reduced reporting costs
for companies
• Improved trust, growth
and long-term stability in
the global economy
• Empowered employees
• IT and office infrastructure
• Global network of engaged
stakeholders
and partners
• A transparent due process
for standard-setting
• Finances: donations and
self-generated income
• Intellectual property,
brand and reputation
Develop IFRS Standards
and the IFRS Taxonomy
Proactively support
consistent application
of IFRS Standards
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisationReportsAbout us
How we work
In developing IFRS Standards and the IFRS Taxonomy, and supporting consistent application of the Standards, the Board and the
IFRS Interpretations Committee follow a due process based on three principles.
Transparency
All technical discussions and
decisions made by the Board and the
Interpretations Committee take place in
public meetings so that interested parties
can follow the progress of technical
projects. Meeting papers are published
on our website in advance. The meetings
are broadcast live via our website and
our stakeholders can also observe them
in person at our London offices. Written
summaries, video and audio recordings
are published on our website shortly
after the meetings.
Full and fair consultation
The Board and the Interpretations
Committee consult on proposals to
introduce or change our Standards,
proposed interpretations of a Standard
and tentative agenda decisions to
enable all those who are affected by
our Standards to share their views.
Feedback to these consultations is
published online. The consultation
process also typically includes meetings
and discussions with advisory groups,
consultative bodies and others.
Accountability
The Board analyses the likely effects—
costs and benefits—of its proposals
on those affected by them and
explains the rationale for developing
or amending a Standard. The Board’s
effects analysis takes place throughout
the development of a Standard. When
the Board issues major Standards,
it also publishes separate effects
analysis reports.
The Trustees’ Due Process Oversight Committee is responsible for maintaining the due process, which is described in detail in the
Due Process Handbook.
The work of the Interpretations Committee
The work of the Board
Research and consultation
Research
possible
solutions
Develop
proposals
Issue Standard
Support
consistent
application of
Standard
Check
Standard works
as intended and
maintain it
Determine
which projects
to work on
Public
consultation
before
finalisation
Committee
discusses question
in public meeting
and determines
appropriate response
Standard-setting
needed
No standard-
setting needed
Stakeholder
submits question
about applying
Standard
Board proposes narrow-scope
amendment to Standard
Committee proposes
interpretation of Standard,
Board approves
Committee publishes
tentative agenda decision
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 11
1212
Our stakeholders and how we engage
Effective stakeholder engagement is a prerequisite for the Foundation achieving its objectives. The Foundation publishes formal
consultation documents and we also engage with different stakeholder groups, tailoring that engagement to their needs.
Stakeholders Why? How?
Academia
Provide high-quality
research, teach students
about IFRS Standards
Annual academic research forum, literature reviews
as part of the Board’s standard-setting work, student
group visits to the Foundation’s offices
Accounting
profession
and auditors
Promote, develop and support
accountants worldwide, audit
financial statements
Joint conferences and events, regular meetings,
cooperation with International Federation
of Accountants
Accounting
standard-
setters
Provide local knowledge
and relationships, technical
expertise and standard-setting
experience, play a role in
endorsement of Standards
Annual conference for standard-setters, meetings
with the Accounting Standards Advisory Forum, the
Emerging Economies Group*, and the International
Forum for Accounting Standard Setters, regular
engagement with individual standard-setters
Companies
Use our Standards when
preparing financial
statements, provide important
input to consultations and
feedback on application of
Standards
Meetings with the Global Preparers Forum (advisory
group consisting of preparers of financial statements),
regular meetings, conferences, education and
explanatory materials
Funding
providers
Provide financial support Regular updates and engagement
Investors
Use financial reports,
provide important input and
feedback to the standard-
setting process
Meetings with the Capital Markets Advisory Committee
(advisory group consisting of users of financial
statements), Investors in Financial Reporting
programme, dedicated investor relations team,
regular communication and meetings
Media
Publish information about
technical developments to
a wider audience
Press office, regular communication and briefings
*The Trustees thank the Chinese Ministry of Finance for providing the permanent secretariat for the group.
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisationReportsAbout us
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 13IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 13
Stakeholders Why? How?
Other
standard-
setters
Provide subject-matter
expertise
Cooperation and regular engagement with standard-
setting organisations and forums
Policy makers
Make decisions about
adoption, endorsement and
funding
Regular meetings and events
Regulators
Enforce use of our Standards,
provide subject-matter
expertise
Cooperation and regular meetings, including with the
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision, European
Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and the
International Organization of Securities Commissions
(IOSCO)
14
Our people
To deliver the Foundation’s mission we need to have the right people with the right skills and expertise.
Staff length of service
We are proud of our diverse
workforce. We believe this diversity
is key to the strong performance of
the Foundation. In 2019 our 150 staff
came from six different continents
and 36 countries, bringing different
perspectives and experiences to
our work.
The majority—85% of our staff—hold
university or equivalent degrees.
To ensure our staff thrive and perform
their best we:
• invest in their development by
offering a range of training and
learning opportunities;
• celebrate our inclusive and
diverse culture;
• invest in the technology and tools
they need to do their job well; and
• focus on their wellbeing.
All staff
55% female
45% male
Board members
36% female
64% male
Staff by function
10% Board
members
35% operational
55%
technical
Staff age distribution
2% 21-24
27% 25-34
21% less than 1 year
19%
1-2 years
21%
2-3 years
15%
4-6 years
24%
7+ years
33% 35-44
19% 45-54
19% 55+
All data as at 31 December 2019.
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 15
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisationReportsAbout us
At 31 December 2019
International Accounting Standards Board
Hans Hoogervorst
Chair
From: The Netherlands
Region: Europe
Second term ends
30 June 2021
Sue Lloyd
Vice-Chair
From: New Zealand
Region: at large
Second term ends
31 December 2023
Nick Anderson
From: United Kingdom
Region: Europe
First term ends
31 August 2022
Darrel Scott
From: South Africa
Region: Africa
Second term ends
30 September 2020
Tadeu Cendon
1
From: Brazil
Region: Americas
First term ends
30 June 2024
Tom Scott
From: Canada
Region: Americas
First term ends
31 March 2022
Martin Edelmann
From: Germany
Region: Europe
Second term ends
30 June 2021
Chungwoo Suh
From: South Korea
Region: Asia-Oceania
Second term ends
30 June 2020
Françoise Flores
2
From: France
Region: Europe
First term ends
31 December 2021
Rika Suzuki
1
From: Japan
Region: Asia-Oceania
First term ends
30 June 2024
Gary Kabureck
From: United States
Region: Americas
Second term ends
30 June 2020
Ann Tarca
From: Australia
Region: Asia-Oceania
First term ends
30 June 2022
Jianqiao Lu
From: China
Region: Asia-Oceania
First term ends
31 August 2022
Mary Tokar
From: United States
Region: Americas
Second term ends
30 June 2022
Amaro Gomes and Takatsugu Ochi completed their second
terms on 30 June 2019.
Further information about the Board members, including
their biographies, can be found at www.ifrs.org/groups/
international-accounting-standards-board.
The geographical balance of the Board is set out in
the Constitution.
1 Joined the Board 1 July 2019
2 Part-time Board member
Governance
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisationReportsAbout us
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 17
The IFRS Foundation’s three-tier governance structure is designed to keep standard-setting independent of special interests
and deliver a high level of accountability to stakeholders from around the world.
Public accountability
Governance and oversight
Standard-setting and
related activities
Follow the due process
The Monitoring Board is a group of capital market authorities
responsible for setting the form and content of financial
reporting in their jurisdiction. It reinforces the public interest
oversight of the IFRS Foundation and the Trustees. The
Monitoring Board is responsible for approving all Trustee
appointments. See page 61.
Chair: Jean-Paul Servais
The Trustees are 22 individuals from all over the world and
with various professional backgrounds. They maintain the IFRS
Foundation’s Constitution and appoint members to the Board
and its advisory bodies. They also ensure appropriate financing
is in place, review the Foundation’s strategy and make sure
that the organisation follows the due process set out in the
Due Process Handbook. See page 18.
Chair: Erkki Liikanen
The Board is the independent standard-setting body
of the Foundation. Its 14 members are appointed from
varied national and professional backgrounds, including
academia, accountancy, investment, preparation of financial
statements, regulation and standard-setting. The Board issues
IFRS Standards, the IFRS for SMEs® Standard and the IFRS
Taxonomy. See page 15.
Chair: Hans Hoogervorst
The IFRS Interpretations Committee comprises 14 external
members and a non-voting chair that works with the Board
by responding to questions about applying IFRS Standards.
The Committee proposes the Board makes narrow-scope
amendments to the Standards, develops proposed IFRIC®
Interpretations of the Standards and publishes agenda
decisions. See page 60.
Chair: Sue Lloyd
The IFRS Advisory Council is the formal strategic advisory
body to the Trustees, consisting of representatives from wide-
ranging groups affected by and interested in the Foundation’s
work. See page 58.
Chair: Joanna Perry
IFRS
Advisory Council
IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board
IFRS Foundation Trustees
IFRS Foundation
International Accounting
Standards Board
IFRS Interpretations Committee
Our structure
At 31 December 2019
18
Sarah J. Al Suhaimi (at large)
Chair of the Board of Directors of
Tadawul, the Saudi Stock Exchange
First term ends 31 December 2021
Attendance 2019: 2 of 3 meetings
Guillermo Babatz (Americas)
Managing Partner at Atik Capital, S.C.
Second term ends 31 December 2021
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Alan Beller (Americas)
Senior Counsel at
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton LLP
Second term ends 31 December 2020
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Else Bos (Europe)
Member of the governing Board,
Executive Director and Chair for
Prudential Supervision at the
Dutch Central Bank
Second term ends 31 December 2022
Attendance 2019: 2 of 3 meetings
Trustees of the IFRS Foundation
At 31 December 2019
Erkki Liikanen (Europe)
Chair
Former Governor of
the Bank of Finland
First term ends 30 September 2021
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Sheila Fraser (Americas)
Vice-Chair
Former Auditor General of Canada
Second term ended 31 December 2019
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Takafumi Sato (at large)
Vice-Chair
Former President of
Japan Exchange Regulation
Second term ends 31 December 2020
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Colette Bowe (Europe)
Former Chair of the UK Banking
Standards Board
First term ends 31 December 2020
Attendance 2019: 2 of 3 meetings
Werner Brandt (Europe)
Former Board member
and CFO of SAP SE
Second term ends 31 December 2020
Attendance 2019: 2 of 3 meetings
Suresh P. Kana (Africa)
Former Chair of the Financial
Reporting Standards Council
of South Africa
First term ends 31 December 2021
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Teresa Ko (Asia-Oceania)
Chairman of Freshfields
Bruckhaus Deringer
First term ends 31 December 2020
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Su-Keun Kwak (Asia-Oceania)
Professor of Accounting at
Seoul National University
Second term ends 31 December 2022
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Larry Leva (Americas)
Former Global Vice-Chairman—
Quality, Risk and Regulatory for
KPMG International
First term ends 31 December 2020
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Michel Madelain (at large)
Former Vice-Chairman and
President of Moody’s Investors
Service
First term ends 31 December 2020
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Kazuyuki Masu (Asia-Oceania)
Executive Vice President, CFO
and a member of the Board
of Mitsubishi Corporation
First term ends 31 December 2021
Attendance 2019: 2 of 3 meetings
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisationReportsAbout us
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 19
Ross McInnes (Europe)
Chairman of the Board of Safran
First term ends 31 December 2020
Attendance 2019: 2 of 3 meetings
Vinod Rai (Asia-Oceania)
Former Comptroller and
Auditor General of India
First term ends 31 December 2020
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Lucrezia Reichlin (Europe)
Professor of Economics at the
London Business School
First term ends 31 December 2020
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Maria Helena Santana (Americas)
Former Chair and President of
the Securities and Exchange
Commission of Brazil
Second term ended 31 December 2019
Attendance 2019: 2 of 3 meetings
Kurt Schacht (Americas)
Managing Director of CFA
Institute’s Standards and
Advocacy Division
Second term ends 31 December 2020
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Lynn Wood (Asia-Oceania)
Former Chairman of the Australian
Financial Reporting Council
Second term ended 31 December 2019
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Guangyao Zhu (Asia-Oceania)
Former Vice Finance Minister of
the People’s Republic of China
Second term ends 31 December 2022
Attendance 2019: 3 of 3 meetings
Trustees’ gender and geographical balance
The Constitution requires the Trustees to be appointed from varied
professional backgrounds and geographical regions.
36% female
64% male
Data is as at 31 December 2019.
Africa 1
Americas 6
Asia-Oceania 6
Europe 6
At large* 3
* The ‘at large’ category comprises Trustees from any region to ensure an
appropriate balance.
New Trustees serving from
1 January 2020:
Alexsandro Broedel, Joanna Perry
and Maria Theofilaktidis.
Further information about the
Trustees, including their biographies,
can be found at www.ifrs.org/groups/
trustees-of-the-ifrs-foundation.
20
Joined: July 2001
From: United Kingdom
I work closely with the Trustees’ Nominating Committee
to ensure the right people are appointed to the right
positions. Recruiting for the Board, Interpretations
Committee, Advisory Council and Trustees has a lot of
moving parts. My job is to manage these processes and
to begin building relationships with the people we bring
on board.
Focus
Jill Robinson
Senior Governance Officer
Business Processes and Technology Committee
Responsible for overseeing the Foundation’s multi-year
project to update its technology infrastructure, digital
experience and related business processes. This committee
was established in 2019.
Meetings in 2019: 3
Chair: Werner Brandt
Due Process Oversight Committee
Responsible for ensuring that the Board and Interpretations
Committee follow the Due Process Handbook.
The Committee’s meetings are public.
Meetings in 2019: 7
Chair: Alan Beller
Human Capital Committee
Responsible for oversight of the Foundation’s people
management to ensure that it meets the organisation’s
needs.
Meetings in 2019: 3
Chair: Takafumi Sato
Audit, Finance and Risk Committee
Responsible for reviewing the Foundation’s annual budget,
accounts, plans and forecasts. The Committee also reviews
the Foundation’s operating funds and oversees its financial
policies as well as its compliance and risk reports.
Meetings in 2019: 5
Chair: Werner Brandt (Jan-May), Larry Leva (June-Dec)
Nominating Committee
Responsible for appointments to the Trustees, the Board,
IFRS Interpretations Committee and IFRS Advisory Council;
also responsible for appointing the Executive Director.
Meetings in 2019: 3
Chair: Sheila Fraser
Trustee committees
The Trustees meet three times a year and operate through several committees. In 2019, the meetings took place in Kuala Lumpur,
Malaysia; Munich, Germany; and New York, United States.
The following committees met in 2019.
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisationReportsAbout us
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 21
Trustees routinely meet with senior stakeholders from
around the world. These meetings provide the Trustees
with important insight into how the Foundation and IFRS
Standards are viewed which is essential for the Trustees
to work effectively.
In addition to individual Trustee outreach, the Foundation
hosts stakeholder events to coincide with the three
Trustee meetings each year, normally in association with
a local partner.
During 2019, Trustees jointly hosted stakeholder events in
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, with the Malaysian Accounting
Standards Board; Munich, Germany, with the Accounting
Standards Committee of Germany; and in New York,
United States, with CFA Institute.
Focus
Trustees’ outreach activities
Tan Sri Azlan Zainol, Chairman of the Financial Reporting
Foundation, delivered the opening remarks in Kuala Lumpur.
Keynote presentation by Bob Pozen, former Chairman of
MFS Investment Partners, at the event in New York.
Panel discussion in Munich, featuring Matthias Meitner,
International School of Management; Ute Wolf, Evonik Industries;
Jörg Rocholl, ESMT; Hans Hoogervorst, International Accounting
Standards Board; and Andreas Barckow, Accounting Standards
Committee of Germany.
Panel discussion moderated by Jason Zweig (WSJ), featuring
Hans Hoogervorst and FASB Chair Russ Golden in New York.
22
Risks and how we mitigate them
The IFRS Foundation’s Executive Risk Committee identifies, evaluates and manages the risks the Foundation faces. It reports to the
Trustees’ Audit, Finance and Risk Committee.
In 2019 the principal risks identified for management were as follows:
Brand
• The risk that the Foundation fails to protect its reputation
as a professional and competent global accounting
standard-setter.
• The risk that the Foundation is perceived to lose its
organisational relevance.
Product
• The risk that the Foundation fails to develop high-quality
IFRS Standards and an IFRS Taxonomy that meet the needs
of stakeholders.
• The risk that inconsistent application of IFRS Standards
and the IFRS Taxonomy undermines the benefits of global
financial reporting.
Geopolitical
• The risk that reduced support for globalisation affects
the Foundation, including support for adoption of IFRS
Standards in some jurisdictions.
Technological infrastructure
• The risk of breaches of both the Foundation’s IT
infrastructure and the data it contains as a result of cyber
hacks, phishing campaigns, system failure or human error.
Focus
Our assistant technical staff members
Our assistant technical staff members
have a passion for accounting and
are recruited for a two-year period
to support the teams that work on
the Board’s standard-setting projects.
Typically newly qualified accounting
professionals, they bring fresh
perspectives and provide an important
link to the next generation of financial
experts, while gaining valuable
international experience and technical
accounting knowledge.
From left: Christos Sortsis
(Greece), Anuj Deuba (Nepal),
Nkumbulo Mabaso (South
Africa), Chalani Mohotti
(Sri Lanka), Frank Fan (China)
and Wenyi Zheng (China; inset)
2019 review and
2020 priorities
24
2019 review and 2020 priorities—
Foundation activities
2019 activities 2020 priorities
Governance
The Trustees reviewed the Due Process Handbook and
published proposed changes to it for public consultation
(see page 27).
Publish the revised Due Process Handbook
and finalise consequential amendments to
the Constitution.
The Trustees had extensive engagement with the
Monitoring Board, including attending a meeting with the
Monitoring Board in Munich in June 2019.
Engagement with the Monitoring Board,
including a meeting of all Trustees with the
Monitoring Board in Brussels, February 2020.
Strategy
The Trustees prepared for their review of the
organisation’s strategy and effectiveness. This included
facilitating a presentation by economist Nicolas Véron,
senior fellow at the European think tank Bruegel and at
the Peterson Institute for International Economics, during
the Trustees’ meeting in New York in October 2019.
Continue the Trustees’ review of strategy in
the changing global conditions and prepare
for public consultation.
Financing
The Foundation delivered audited financial statements
and the 2018 annual report.
Complete audit of annual financial statements.
The Trustees reviewed appropriate financing arrangements. Continue to seek broader diversity in funding.
Stakeholder
engagement
The Trustees planned and hosted stakeholder events in
Malaysia, Germany and the United States to engage with
stakeholders in the region (see page 21).
Enhance Trustee stakeholder engagement
on strategic priorities.
The Foundation organised several events and regular
meetings with advisory bodies, consultative groups and
other stakeholders, including:
• the annual IFRS Foundation conference, held in
London in June, with 300 attendees from over
50 different jurisdictions, with the piloting of an
online version of the conference;
• the annual World Standard-setters Conference in
London in September, where standard-setters from
more than 65 jurisdictions attended; and
• the annual academic research forum in partnership
with the Journal of International Accounting Research
in New Jersey, United States, in October.
Organise events, including a virtual conference
in September to replace the annual IFRS
Foundation Conference and the annual World
Standard-setters Conference, and regular
meetings with our advisory groups.
To provide a public record of Board members’ stakeholder
meetings and speaking engagements, the Foundation is
publishing a stakeholder engagement register, which is
updated quarterly.
Review the effectiveness of the Advisory
Council, under the chairmanship of Bill Coen,
who was appointed in February 2020.
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisationReportsAbout us
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 25
2019 activities 2020 priorities
Appointments
to key roles
The Trustees appointed and reappointed six Trustees,
two Board members, six members to the Interpretations
Committee and 16 representatives to the Advisory Council.
Aid the Trustees in appointing Trustees,
members to the Interpretations Committee
and a Chair and representatives to the
Advisory Council.
The Trustees started the process of searching for a
successor to the Chair of the Board, who will complete his
second term in June 2021.
Complete the process of finding a successor to
the Chair of the Board and appoint successors to
the Board members whose terms end in 2020.
Growth and
development
of our people
The Foundation continued investing in the development
of staff through training, coaching and organisation-
wide programmes offering instructor-led group learning,
combined with the launch of online learning platforms,
to give all staff the chance to learn new technical, IT and
interpersonal skills.
Continue investing in staff’s development
and wellbeing.
Efficient and
effective
operations
The Trustees launched a multi-year digital transformation—
Business Processes and Technology—programme to make
the best use of technology in supporting staff and delivering
value to our stakeholders (see page 26).
The Trustees established a committee to oversee
the programme.
Continue developing and implementing
the Business Processes and Technology
programme, including preparations for
website improvements.
26
Our vision is that by 2021 we will have improved how we
work digitally, using modern systems and processes that:
• make our engagement with stakeholders more efficient;
• foster accountability in our interactions; and
• enhance the transparency and robustness of our
standard-setting process.
In 2019, we increased our focus on how technological
developments affect our work and launched a Business
Processes and Technology programme, which will be
implemented over three years.
Developments in the programme have so far included the
introduction of new human resources, finance, internal
engagement and online learning systems, and a new
production software system to manage and produce our
documents and books.
We have identified and mapped a large volume of business
processes that will be examined and adjusted as new systems
are implemented during 2020 and 2021, leveraging our
ability to automate tasks and improve efficiency across
the organisation.
The programme is overseen by a Trustee committee.
Focus
Business Processes and Technology (BP&T) programme
Data-driven insights
Customer relationship management
Content management system
IFRS Taxonomy software
Finance
Human resources and payroll
Microsoft Office 365
Self-service capabilities
Stable platform
Personalisation
Digital
experience
Efficiency
Two-way flow
of information
Integrated systems
and streamlined
business processes
Effective
use of
technology
to achieve
our
objectives
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisationReportsAbout us
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 27
The Due Process Handbook sets out the procedural
requirements for the Board and the Interpretations
Committee. The requirements are fundamental to the
transparency, quality and legitimacy of the Foundation’s
work. The Trustees’ Due Process Oversight Committee
oversees the Foundation’s compliance with due process.
In April 2019, the Trustees proposed amendments to
the Handbook for public consultation. The proposals aim
to ensure the due process remains fit for purpose and
continues to reflect best practice.
The main proposed changes to the
Handbook, which will be finalised in 2020,
are to update procedures for use of effects
analyses in standard-setting and to clarify
the role of agenda decisions published by
the Interpretations Committee. To reflect review findings,
the Trustees approved an amendment to the Constitution
to specify that the Advisory Council provides strategic advice
to the Trustees.
More information about the project can be found at
https://www.ifrs.org/projects/work-plan/due-process-
handbook-review.
Focus
Due Process Handbook Review
Joined: June 2017
From: Poland/Canada
My team and I are responsible for the preparation of all the
Foundation’s publications—from consultation documents
to the books of IFRS Standards. Over the past two years,
we have spearheaded an upgrade of the technology we
use to publish and disseminate our content in printed and
online formats to make our processes more efficient and
ensure we can continue to meet our stakeholders’ needs
as they evolve.
Focus
Thomas Hyrkiel
Head of Publishing
Joined: September 2019
From: Singapore
I work in the Foundation’s Asia-Oceania office in Tokyo,
supporting the Board’s various technical projects. I am
seconded to the IFRS Foundation from an accounting
firm in Singapore and I look forward to being involved
in activities that will strengthen the Foundation’s
relationships in the Asia-Oceania region.
Focus
Wei Shun Tan
Technical Staff Member
28
2019 review—Board activities
The Board has made good progress on its Better Communication in Financial Reporting projects. This work has been a central
theme since 2016. The project’s focus is on improving the information provided to users of general purpose financial reports and
the way in which this information is delivered.
Primary Financial Statements
Completed technical discussions and published Exposure Draft General Presentation
and Disclosures (see box).
Disclosure Initiative
Published an exposure draft on proposed amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Financial
Statements and IFRS Practice Statement 2 Making Materiality Judgements.
Advanced the project reviewing disclosure requirements in selected Standards
(IAS 19 Employee Benefits and IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement) with a plan to consult
publicly in 2021 on proposed improvements.
Management Commentary
Held three meetings with the Board’s Management Commentary Consultative Group
and held technical Board discussions; a public consultation on proposed revisions to the
IFRS Practice Statement 1 Management Commentary will take place in 2020.
IFRS Taxonomy
Published the 2019 IFRS Taxonomy and updated the Using the IFRS Taxonomy—A
preparer’s guide, proposed a Taxonomy update to reflect the amendments resulting from
Phase 1 of the Interest Rate Benchmark Reform project for public consultation (see box).
In 2018, the Board added a project
considering the effects on financial
reporting of the reform to replace
interest rate benchmarks such as
LIBOR—including possible changes
to IFRS Standards—to its workplan.
The Board split this project into
two phases.
• Phase 1 considered issues affecting financial reporting
in the period before new rates are in place. The Board
worked to an accelerated timeline to consult on and
finalise amendments to the financial instruments
Standards, IAS 39 and IFRS 9, addressing uncertainties
about contractual cash flows stemming from the reform.
• Phase 2 considers issues that might affect financial
reporting once financial instruments or hedges are
amended to reflect changes in benchmark interest rates.
The Board consulted on further proposed amendments
in April 2020 and will issue the final amendments later
in 2020.
In December 2019, the Board
published Exposure Draft General
Presentation and Disclosures—
proposing improvements to the
way information is communicated
in the financial statements, with
a focus on financial performance.
The proposals respond to investors’
needs and include:
• new profit subtotals—including ‘operating profit’—
in the statement of profit or loss;
• disclosures to improve transparency and discipline
around management-defined performance measures;
and
• improved guidance to help companies disaggregate
information in the most useful way for investors.
The consultation is open for comments until
30 September 2020.
Focus
Interest Rate Benchmark Reform
Focus
Primary Financial Statements
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisationReportsAbout us
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 29
The Board advanced several of its other projects to consultation stage.
2019 exposure drafts
May
Reference to the Conceptual Framework, which proposed amendments to IFRS 3 Business Combinations.
May
Annual Improvements to IFRS Standards 2018–2020.
May
Interest Rate Benchmark Reform, which proposed amendments to IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and
IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement.
Final amendments were issued in September (see box on page 28).
May
Proposed amendments to IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts to aid implementation of the Standard.
Final amendments were issued in May (see box on page 30).
October
Deferred Tax related to Assets and Liabilities arising from a Single Transaction, which proposed
amendments to IAS 12 Income Taxes.
The Board also spent considerable time discussing projects which will result in consultation documents in 2020 or 2021, including:
Business Combinations under Common Control, Dynamic Risk Management and Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity.
The Board is undertaking its second comprehensive review of the IFRS for SMEs Standard. As part
of the review, the Board is requesting views on its approach to updating the Standard, specifically
on whether and how to align the IFRS for SMEs Standard with full IFRS Standards. The consultation
published in January 2020 is open for comment until 27 October 2020.
Focus
Comprehensive Review of the IFRS for SMEs® Standard
30
When a new Standard is issued, the Foundation develops
a range of educational materials to help jurisdictions and
companies understand and implement the requirements.
For some Standards, the Board establishes a Transition
Resource Group to further aid implementation.
The IFRS Interpretations Committee works with the Board to
promote consistent application by responding to application
questions from stakeholders. Anybody can submit a question
to the Committee. See page 11 for information about the
process the Committee follows.
In 2019, the Committee discussed 33 topics, ranging
from accounting for holdings of cryptocurrencies to the
definition of a lease. Thirty were addressed through the
Committee publishing agenda decisions, explaining how the
requirements in IFRS Standards apply to the transaction or
fact pattern in question. One topic resulted in the Committee
recommending that the Board makes narrow-scope
amendments to a Standard. Two topics were still work in
progress at the end of the year.
To enhance access to the agenda decisions, the Foundation
is now providing a compilation of agenda decisions twice
a year. The first volume of these was published in
October 2019.
Focus
Supporting consistent application of our Standards
Questions to the Interpretations Committee in 2019
Further information on how we support consistent application of our Standards can be found at
https://www.ifrs.org/supporting-implementation.
30 addressed by
agenda decision
2 still work in progress
(at 31 Dec 2019)
1 addressed
through proposed
amendment to
IFRS Standard
IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts was issued in May 2017. It introduces fundamental and much-needed
changes to existing insurance accounting practices, and implementing it involves significant
operational costs for insurers.
In June 2019, the Board proposed targeted amendments to IFRS 17 to ease implementation of
the Standard by reducing implementation costs and making it easier for companies to explain the
results of applying IFRS 17 to investors and others. Feedback received through comment letters and
meetings held in many different jurisdictions demonstrated support for the proposed amendments.
The Board issued the amendments in June 2020.
Focus
IFRS 17 Insurance Contracts
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 31
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisationReportsAbout us
2020 priorities—Board activities
The Board’s work plan was adjusted in March and April 2020 in the light of the covid-19 pandemic to ensure we provide
appropriate support to our stakeholders and focus the Board’s resources on its most time-sensitive projects.
Provide covid-19-related support
Educational materials to support application of IFRS Standards
Accounting for covid-19-related rent concessions, amendment to IFRS 16 Leases
Classification of Liabilities as Current or Non-current—Deferral of Effective Date,
amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements
Finalise time-sensitive projects
IFRS 17 amendments (issued in June 2020, see box on page 30)
IBOR reform and its effect on Financial Reporting—Phase 2 (see box on page 28)
Consult with stakeholders
We expect to publish consultation documents as part of the following projects.
Discussion papers—present accounting problems and possible solutions
• Business Combinations—Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment (published in March)
• Business Combinations under Common Control
Exposure drafts—present proposed new Standard or amendments to Standards
• Management Commentary
• Rate-regulated Activities
Requests for information—seek information to inform reviews of requirements or priorities
• Comprehensive Review of the IFRS for SMEs® Standard (published in January) (see box on page 29)
• Post-implementation Reviews of IFRS 10, IFRS 11 and IFRS 12
Other
• Consult on the core model in the Dynamic Risk Management project
Advance other projects
The Board will also work to advance the other projects on its work plan, including the Agenda Consultation, which we expect to
consult on in 2021
Develop the IFRS Taxonomy
Propose Taxonomy updates reflecting requirements in IFRS Standards issued during the year and common reporting
related to primary financial statements
Follow the Board’s work
More information about the Board’s projects and how they are progressing can be found at
https://www.ifrs.org/projects/work-plan.
32
Financials
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 33
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisationReportsAbout us
Introduction to the financial statements
Focus
How we are funded
Stakeholders contribute to the Foundation in many ways, including by providing funding.
The Foundation’s income comes from three main sources: voluntary contributions from jurisdictions around the world;
voluntary contributions and license fees from international accounting firms; and self-generated income from subscriptions,
selling publications and licensing our intellectual property. The full list of financial supporters in 2019 can be found on
pages 54-57.
The Trustees would like to thank our finance providers for their continued support.
More information about our funding can be found at https://www.ifrs.org/about-us/who-we-are/#funding.
2019 financial results
The Foundation’s financial statements
are prepared in accordance with IFRS
Standards. The highlights of this year’s
financial statements are presented
below and more details are included in
the notes.
• The Foundation is reporting £3.7
million in comprehensive income for
2019, up from £2.9 million in 2018,
primarily due to the result of changes
in finance income and finance costs
(see note 10);
• total revenue from all activities
remained practically level at
£30.9 million compared to
£31.0 million in 2018;
• total operating expenses increased
to £28.0 million from £27.2 million
in 2018; and
• as of 31 December 2019 the
Foundation’s net assets increased
to £38.1 million from £34.4 million
in 2018.
Contributions
In 2019 contributions were £20.0 million,
a decrease of £2.0 million from 2018.
Most of the funding—£13.8 million or
69%—was received in US dollars and
euros (2018: £15.9 million, 72%). All
contributions are voluntary, and most are
unrestricted; but the contributions from
the European Union (2019 and 2018:
€4.7 million) and funding for the Asia-
Oceania office (2019: £372,000; 2018:
£340,000) are made subject to certain
conditions for their use. See note 6.
Publications and
related activities
Overall, publications revenue increased
by £1.9 million to £10.5 million (2018:
£8.6 million) in 2019. The increase is
attributable to additional licence fees
paid under agreements with accounting
firms that have increased their access to
and use of the Foundation’s intellectual
property. Subscription revenues
decreased to £1.6 million (2018: £1.8
million). Publication sales remained at
£1.5 million, aided by the introduction of
new products. The Foundation continues
to research and develop enhancements
to our products to facilitate better access
to and understanding of IFRS Standards.
See note 7.
The cost of publications and related
expenses decreased to £3.5 million
(2018: £3.7 million). Net income from
publications and related activities
increased by £2.1 million, amounting
to £7.0 million in 2019.
Expenses
Total operating expenses increased
to £28.0 million (2018: £27.2 million).
The main changes since 2018 were an
increase in the cost of technical and
operational activities of £1.8m and a
decrease in occupancy costs of £1.0
million. See notes 1 and 3.
Although the Foundation’s headcount
has remained relatively constant,
the organisation has improved its
recruitment methods and resource
allocation so that the open positions
that occur in the normal course of
business can be filled more efficiently.
In addition, as discussed in note 1, the
Trustees’ Human Capital Committee
reviews, benchmarks and recommends
salary and benefit levels. During 2019
the Foundation reconsidered its salary
benchmarks as part of a major review of
pay, performance and progression.
34
Focus
Translating IFRS Standards into other languages
The Foundation’s working language is
English—and our Standards are issued
in English. Thus, the availability of
high-quality translations is vital to the
successful adoption and consistent
application of the Standards globally.
We encourage, facilitate and
coordinate translation of our Standards
into other languages by partners—
accounting institutes, regulators,
standard-setters and other qualified
translating partners.
Our translation team relies on the
cooperation, goodwill and resources of
the translating partner, working with the
Foundation in the common interest of
achieving high-quality financial reporting
globally. A comprehensive and effective
translation process, involving review by
a committee of experts, is essential to
developing high-quality translations.
The Trustees would like to thank the
translating partners and all members of
the review committees for providing this
important support to the Foundation.
More information about our
translation policy and available
translations can be found at
https://www.ifrs.org/issued-
standards/ifrs-translations.
The Foundation had operating leases for
two premises in London in 2018 to allow
for the fit-out of its new headquarters in
Canary Wharf; the Foundation relocated
there in August 2018. In effect, rent and
other occupancy-related expenses were
duplicated for 2018. See note 3.
Reserves
As of 31 December 2019 the
Foundation’s reserves were £38.1 million
(2018: £34.4 million). The Foundation’s
goal is to maintain its future operating
reserves of cash and working capital
equal to the amount of at least one
year’s operating expenditure. The
operating reserve is an unrestricted
fund balance set aside to stabilise the
Foundation’s finances by providing a
cushion against unexpected events or
losses of income.
2020 outlook
The Foundation acknowledges and
appreciates the continuing support
by contributors listed on pages 54
to 57. In 2020 the Foundation will
continue to manage its operating
expenditure prudently and effectively
and it will actively pursue further
initiatives to enhance the organisation’s
operational stability.
The 2020 plan includes the multi-year
comprehensive BP&T programme,
discussed earlier in this report.
The Foundation is undertaking this
programme to review and update its
IT systems and to improve its digital
platform as it considers how best to use
technology in delivering its mission.
The BP&T programme has a budget of
£5.4 million and will last three years.
The organisation’s other operating
requirements are not expected to
increase significantly.
The Foundation’s Trustees continue to
monitor the covid-19 pandemic (see note
11), the United Kingdom’s departure
from the European Union, known
as Brexit, and the possible resulting
risks. As an international organisation
working in the public interest with broad
support, the Foundation expects minimal
disruption to its operations.
Trustee approval
These financial statements cover the
year ended 31 December 2019. They
have been prepared in compliance with
the IFRS Standards that were effective or
applied early at 1 January 2019.
The financial statements were approved
and authorised for issue by the Trustees
of the Foundation on 23 June 2020 . At
that date, aside from the disclosure in
note 11, there had been no events since
31 December 2019 that required an
adjustment to the financial statements.
Erkki Liikanen
Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 35
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisationReportsAbout us
Report of the Trustees’ Audit, Finance
and Risk Committee
The Audit, Finance and Risk Committee
has responsibility for:
• reviewing the Foundation’s annual
budget, accounts, three-year plan and
any forecasts;
• reviewing the Foundation’s fundraising
and financing efforts;
• advising the Trustees on whether the
annual report and financial statements
are fair, balanced and reasonable;
• advising the Trustees on the
appointment, reappointment and
removal of the Foundation’s external
auditors, as well as their effectiveness;
• ensuring an appropriate framework for
reporting and accountability; and
• reviewing the Foundation’s risk reports
and monitoring the integrity, adequacy
and effectiveness of the Foundation’s
system of risk management and
internal controls.
The Committee met five times during
2019, including one meeting with
the external auditors. As well as its
responsibilities set out above the
Committee reviewed and revised its
terms of reference and initiated reviews
of the Foundation’s framework for
identifying risks and its policy for
whistle-blowers.
The Committee commissioned the
external auditors to undertake a limited
assurance audit of operating expenditure
as part of the annual report to the
European Commission.
36
Independent auditor’s report to
the Trustees of the IFRS Foundation
ethical requirements that are relevant
to our audit of the financial statements
in the UK, including the Financial
Reporting Council’s (FRC) Ethical
Standard, and we have fulfilled our other
ethical responsibilities in accordance
with these requirements. We believe
that the audit evidence we have obtained
is sufficient and appropriate to provide
a basis for our opinion.
The impact of
macro-economic
uncertainties on our audit
Our audit of the financial statements
requires us to obtain an understanding of
all relevant uncertainties, including those
arising as a consequence of the effects
of macro-economic uncertainties such as
Covid-19. All audits assess and challenge
the reasonableness of estimates made by
the Trustees and the related disclosures
and the appropriateness of the going
concern basis of preparation of the
financial statements. All of these depend
on assessments of the future economic
environment and the Foundation’s future
prospects and performance.
Covid-19 is one of the most significant
economic events currently faced by the
UK, and at the date of this report the
effects are subject to unprecedented
levels of uncertainty, with the full range
of possible outcomes and their impacts
unknown. We applied a standardised
firm-wide approach in response to
these uncertainties when assessing
the Foundation’s future prospects and
performance. However, no audit should
be expected to predict the unknowable
factors or all possible future implications
for a Foundation associated with these
particular events.
Conclusions relating to
going concern
We have nothing to report in respect
of the following matters in relation to
which the ISAs (UK) require us to report
to you where:
• the Trustees’ use of the going concern
basis of accounting in the preparation
of the financial statements is not
appropriate; or
• the Trustees have not disclosed in the
financial statements any identified
material uncertainties that may cast
significant doubt about the Foundation’s
ability to continue to adopt the going
concern basis of accounting for a period
of at least twelve months from the
date when the financial statements
are authorised for issue.
In our evaluation of the Trustees’
conclusions, we considered the risks
associated with the Foundation’s
business, including effects arising from
macro-economic uncertainties such
as Covid-19, and analysed how those
risks might affect the Foundation’s
financial resources or ability to continue
operations over the period of at least
twelve months from the date when the
financial statements are authorised for
issue. In accordance with the above, we
have nothing to report in these respects.
However, as we cannot predict all future
events or conditions and as subsequent
events may result in outcomes that are
inconsistent with judgements that were
reasonable at the time they were made,
the absence of reference to a material
uncertainty in this auditor’s report is not
a guarantee that the Foundation will
continue in operation.
Opinion
Our opinion on the financial
statements is unmodified
We have audited the financial
statements of the IFRS Foundation
(Foundation) for the year ended
31 December 2019, which comprise
the statement of comprehensive
income, statement of financial
position, statement of changes in
equity, statement of cash flows and
notes to the financial statements,
including a summary of significant
accounting policies. The financial
reporting framework that has
been applied in their preparation
is applicable law and International
Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs)
as issued by the International
Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
In our opinion, the financial
statements:
• give a true and fair view of the state
of the Foundation’s affairs as at
31 December 2019 and of its profit
for the year then ended; and
• have been properly prepared in
accordance with IFRSs.
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance
with International Standards on
Auditing (UK) (ISAs (UK)) and applicable
law. Our responsibilities under those
standards are further described in the
‘Auditor’s responsibilities for the audit
of the financial statements’ section
of our report. We are independent of
the Foundation in accordance with the
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 37
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisationReportsAbout us
Key audit matters
Key audit matters are those matters that, in our professional judgment, were of most significance in our audit of the financial
statements of the current period and include the most significant assessed risks of material misstatement (whether or not due to
fraud) that we identified. These matters included those that had the greatest effect on: the overall audit strategy, the allocation of
resources in the audit, and directing the efforts of the engagement team. These matters were addressed in the context of our audit of
the financial statements as a whole, and in forming our opinion thereon, and we do not provide a separate opinion on these matters.
• Overall materiality: £621,000, which
represents approximately 2% of the
Foundation’s income.
• Key audit matters were identified as
unpaid revenue from publications and
related activities and the valuation of
forward currency contracts.
• We took a substantive-based
approach to our audit as this was
considered to be the most effective.
Key audit matter How the matter was addressed in the audit
Unpaid revenue from publications
and related activities
As part of our audit risk assessment,
we distinguished between paid and
unpaid revenue from publications and
related activities. The risk of occurrence
was considered greater in respect of
revenue transactions that had not been
settled in cash by the reporting date.
We therefore identified the occurrence
of this revenue as a significant risk,
which was one of the most significant
assessed risks of material misstatement.
Our audit work included, but was not restricted to:
• Documenting our understanding of the processes and controls over the recording
of revenue transactions.
• Performing substantive testing on a sample of transactions and agreeing to relevant
supporting documents to confirm the correct timing of revenue recognition.
• Performing an analytical review of income against the previous year and expectations
to understand unexpected and significant variances, of which none were noted.
The Foundation’s accounting policy on revenue is shown in note 7 (Publications and
related activities) to the financial statements, and related disclosures are included
within these notes.
Key observation
Our work did not identify any material misstatements concerning unpaid revenue from
publications and related activities. We are satisfied that the accounting policies are
appropriate, consistently applied from previous years and in line with the IFRS.
Valuation of forward
currency contracts
The Foundation uses forward
contracts to hedge a proportion of
future contributions expected to be
received—it does not implement hedge
accounting. We therefore identified
the valuation of these contracts as
a significant risk, which was one of
the most significant assessed risks of
material misstatement.
Our audit work included, but was not restricted to:
• Documenting our understanding of the processes and controls for forward
currency contracts.
• Verifying contract valuations to management’s third-party reports.
• Using specialist software to value the contracts and compare that to management’s
third-party valuations.
• Recalculation of gains and losses in the statement of comprehensive income.
The Foundation’s accounting policy on this risk is shown in notes 8, 9 and 10 to the
financial statements, and related disclosures are included in those notes.
Key observation
Our work did not identify any material misstatements concerning the valuation of
forward currency contracts. We are satisfied that the accounting policy is appropriate,
consistently applied from previous years and in line with the IFRS.
Overview of our audit approach
38
Our application
of materiality
We define materiality as the magnitude
of misstatement in the financial
statements that makes it probable that
the economic decisions of a reasonably
knowledgeable person would be changed
or influenced. We use materiality in
determining the nature, timing and
extent of our work, and in evaluating
the results of that work.
We determined materiality for the audit
of the financial statements as a whole
to be £621,000, which is approximately
2% of income. This benchmark is
considered the most appropriate
because the Foundation is not a profit-
orientated entity.
Materiality for the current year is lower
than the level that we determined for the
year ended 31 December 2018 to reflect
the reduction in income.
We use a different level of materiality,
performance materiality, to drive the
extent of our testing and this was set at
75% of financial statement materiality.
The graphic below illustrates how
performance materiality interacts with
our overall materiality and the tolerance
for potential uncorrected misstatements.
We determined the threshold at which
we will communicate misstatements
to the audit committee to be £31,000.
In addition, we will communicate
misstatements below that threshold
that, in our view, warrant reporting on
qualitative grounds.
An overview of the scope
of our audit
Our audit approach was a risk-based
approach founded on a thorough
understanding of the Foundation’s
business, its environment and risk profile,
and in particular included:
• performing an evaluation of the design
effectiveness of controls over key
financial statement risks as identified
as part of our risk assessment process;
• gaining an understanding of the
financial reporting and accounts
production process; and
• undertaking substantive testing on
significant classes of transactions,
account balances and disclosures,
the extent of which was informed by
an overall assessment of the control
environment.
Other information
The Trustees are responsible for the
other information. The other information
comprises the information included
in the annual report, other than the
financial statements, and our auditor’s
report thereon. Our opinion on the
financial statements does not cover the
other information and, except to the
extent otherwise explicitly stated in our
report, we do not express any form of
assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the
financial statements, our responsibility
is to read the other information and, in
doing so, consider whether the other
information is materially inconsistent
with the financial statements or our
knowledge obtained in the audit or
otherwise appears to be materially
misstated. If we identify such material
inconsistencies or apparent material
misstatements, we are required to
determine whether there is a material
misstatement in the financial statements
or a material misstatement of the other
information. If, based on the work we
have performed, we conclude that there
is a material misstatement of this other
information, we are required to report
that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
Responsibilities of Trustees
for the financial statements
As explained more fully in the Trustees’
responsibilities statement, the Trustees
are responsible for the preparation of
the financial statements and for being
satisfied that they give a true and fair
view, and for such internal control as
the Trustees determine is necessary
to enable the preparation of financial
statements that are free from material
misstatement, whether due to fraud
or error.
In preparing the financial statements,
the Trustees are responsible for assessing
the Foundation’s ability to continue as a
going concern, disclosing, as applicable,
matters related to going concern
and using the going concern basis of
accounting unless the Trustees either
intend to liquidate the Foundation or
to cease operations, or have no realistic
alternative but to do so.
25%
Tolerance for
potential uncorrected
misstatements
75%
Performance
materiality
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 39
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance Financials AppendicesOur organisationReportsAbout us
Auditor’s responsibilities
for the audit of the
financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable
assurance about whether the financial
statements as a whole are free from
material misstatement, whether due to
fraud or error, and to issue an auditor’s
report that includes our opinion.
Reasonable assurance is a high level of
assurance, but is not a guarantee that
an audit conducted in accordance with
ISAs (UK) will always detect a material
misstatement when it exists.
Misstatements can arise from fraud
or error and are considered material
if, individually or in the aggregate,
they could reasonably be expected
to influence the economic decisions
of users taken on the basis of these
financial statements.
A further description of our
responsibilities for the audit of the
financial statements is located on the
Financial Reporting Council’s website at:
www.frc.org.uk/auditorsresponsibilities.
This description forms part of our
auditor’s report.
Use of our report
This report is made solely to the
Foundation’s Trustees as a body. Our
audit work has been undertaken so
that we might state to the Foundation’s
Trustees those matters we are required
to state to them in an auditor’s report
and for no other purpose. To the fullest
extent permitted by law, we do not
accept or assume responsibility to
anyone other than the Foundation and
the Foundation’s Trustees as a body, for
our audit work, for this report, or for the
opinions we have formed.
for and on behalf of
Grant Thornton UK LLP
Statutory Auditor,
Chartered Accountants
London
23 June 2020
40
Statement of comprehensive income
Note
2019
£’000
2018
£’000
Income
Contributions 6 19,994 22,007
Revenue from publications and related activities 7 10,540 8,622
Other income 6 405 375
Operating expenses
Technical and operational activities
• Board members and staff costs 1 (18,488 ) (17,059 )
• Other technical and operating costs 1 (2,762 ) (2,418 )
• IFRS Advisory Council, IFRS Interpretations Committee
and other advisory bodies 1 (277 ) (249 )
Publications and related activities expenses 7 (3,500 ) (3,661 )
Trustee oversight 2 (1,055 ) (971 )
Premises, occupancy and related expenses 3 (1,888 ) (2,884 )
(27,970 ) (27,242 )
Net operating income 2,969 3,762
Finance income 10 1,762 500
Finance costs 10 (984 ) (1,335 )
Income before tax 3,747 2,927
Income tax expense 5 – –
Comprehensive income for the year 3,747 2,927
Statement of changes in equity
Year ended 31 December 2019
Retained surplus at beginning of year 34,428 31,501
Cumulative effect of applying IFRS 16 (111 ) –
Retained surplus at beginning of year restated 34,317 –
Comprehensive income for the year 3,747 2,927
Retained surplus at end of year
The notes on pages 43 to 52 form part of these financial statements.
Year ended 31 December 2019
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 41
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ReportsAbout us
As at 31 December 2019
The notes on pages 43 to 52 form part of these financial statements.
Statement of financial position
Note
2019
£’000
2018
£’000
Assets
Current assets
Cash and cash equivalents 10,022 10,588
Contributions receivable 6 2,528 2,545
Trade and other receivables 7 977 949
Prepaid expenses 717 542
Inventories 7 113 67
Bonds at fair value, including accrued interest 9 4,227 2,582
Forward currency contracts at fair value 8 213 –
Non-current assets
Bonds at fair value, including accrued interest 9 20,688 19,805
Forward currency contracts at fair value 8 180 –
Leasehold improvements, furniture and equipment 3 2,883 3,372
Right-of-use assets 4 5,582 –
Intangible assets 3 689 –
Total assets
Liabilities
Current liabilities
Trade and other payables 150 288
Payroll taxes payable 643 609
Accrued expenses 1,289 1,115
Contributions received in advance 6 140 157
Lease liability 4 898 –
Rent incentive 4 – 88
Forward currency contracts at fair value 8 309 652
Publications revenue received in advance 7 1,313 1,375
Non-current liabilities
Lease liability 4 5,544 –
Rent incentive 4 – 706
Reinstatement provision 3 457 459
Forward currency contracts at fair value 8 12 573
Total liabilities 10,755 6,022
Net assets 38,064 34,428
Erkki Liikanen
Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees
42
Statement of cash flows
Note
2019
£’000
2018
£’000
Operating activities
Cash received
Contributions 20,011 21,562
Publications and related activities 10,605 8,839
Funding for Asia-Oceania office 6 334 318
Interest 533 547
Foreign exchange settlements – 217
Other receipts 34 42
Cash paid
Salaries, wages and benefits (18,653 ) (17,117 )
Publications and related activities expenses (3,369 ) (3,568 )
Trustees’ fees (675 ) (638 )
Foreign exchange settlements (683 ) –
Other operating expenses (4,284 ) (4,944 )
Net cash from operating activities 3,853 5,258
Investing activities
Matured bond receipts 2,341 2,371
New bond purchases (4,951 ) (6,965 )
Purchase of leasehold improvements, furniture
and equipment (757 ) (3,254 )
Net cash from investing activities (3,367 ) (7,848 )
Financing activities
Payments of principal on lease liabilities (789 ) –
Payments of interest on lease liabilities (202 ) –
Net cash from financing activities (991 ) –
Effects of exchange rate changes on cash and cash
equivalents (61 ) 33
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents (566 ) (2,557 )
Cash and cash equivalents at the beginning
of the year 10,588 13,145
Cash and cash equivalents at the end of the year 10,022 10,588
The notes on pages 43 to 52 form part of these financial statements.
Year ended 31 December 2019
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 43
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ReportsAbout us
Year ended 31 December 2019
Notes to the financial statements
Significant accounting
policies
The Foundation is an independent,
in the State of Delaware, USA , on 6
February 2001. Its primary operations
are based in London . The functional and
The financial statements were
approved and authorised for issue
by the Trustees of the Foundation on
the disclosure in note 11, there had been
no events since 31 December 2019 that
required an adjustment to the financial
for overseeing the Foundation’s financial
reporting process and for assessing the
going concern, disclosing, as applicable,
matters related to going concern. The
Foundation produces annual budgets
and forecasts which take into account
the Foundation’s activities, operations
and known cash requirements. Having
regard to all relevant circumstances
and the funds held by the Foundation,
the Trustees consider it appropriate to
prepare the financial statements on a
going concern basis.
The Foundation’s most important
intangible asset is the intellectual
property embodied in the IFRS
Standards. The Foundation does not
recognise this asset because the value
and future economic benefits cannot
be reliably measured. Costs related to
the development of IFRS Standards are
recognised as an expense when they
are incurred.
All other accounting policies that are
relevant to an understanding of the
financial statements are provided
throughout the notes to the financial
statements.
When preparing the financial
statements, management makes
judgements, estimates and assumptions
about the recognition and measurement
of assets, liabilities, income and
expenses. There are no significant
judgements or estimates that require
separate disclosures.
Current period and
future changes to the
accounting policies
The financial statements have been
prepared on the basis of IFRS Standards,
effective at 1 January 2019.
The Foundation has applied IFRS 16
Leases using the modified retrospective
method from its effective date of
1 January 2019. Right-of-use assets
have been measured at that date at
their carrying amount as if the
Standard had been applied since the
commencement date but discounted
using the Foundation’s incremental
borrowing rate at 1 January 2019. The
cumulative effect of initially applying
the Standard has been recognised as an
adjustment to retained earnings as at 1
January 2019. Comparative information
was not restated.
The Foundation has concluded that
there are no Standards or Interpretations
in issue that are not yet adopted that
will have a material impact on the
financial statements.
Explanatory information
The explanatory notes have been
organised into sections that provide
a more cohesive presentation of the
financial reporting implications of
the Foundation’s core activity—the
development of IFRS Standards—how it
funds that activity and how it manages
the contributions from the several
currencies of its funding providers. Each
section presents the financial information
and any material accounting policies
that are relevant to understanding the
activities of the Foundation.
44
Activities
1 Technical and operational activities
Board members and staff costs
The main costs associated with developing IFRS Standards are the salaries of the Board members and staff. The Foundation had an
average headcount of 142 employees including Board members and paid-for secondees during 2019 (2018: 142 ).
2019
£’000
2018
£’000
Board member salaries and related costs 7,483 7,158
Staff salaries and related costs 12,877 11,677
Less costs included in publications expenses (see note 6) (1,872 ) (1,776 )
The Trustees’ Human Capital Committee reviews, benchmarks and recommends salary and benefit levels, which are reviewed
and approved annually by the Trustees as a whole. Board members’ gross salaries covering all compensation and benefits for 2019
were as follows: £584,700 for the Chair (2018: £572,500 ); £505,000 for the Board Vice-Chair (2018: £494,500 ), and an average
of £461,800 for other Board members (2018: £452,000 ). The Board had a full complement of 14 members throughout 2019.
In addition to the Trustees, Board Chair and Board Vice-Chair, the ‘key management personnel’ includes the Executive Director,
appointed in 2018, whose gross salary in the year amounted to £291,000 (from May 2018: £204,000 ). The Foundation pays
monthly contributions, at rates between 8 % and 10 % of gross salary, into a defined contribution group personal pension scheme
for substantially all staff except Board members.
Other technical and operating costs
2019
£’000
2018
£’000
Audit, legal and taxation advice 144 144
Communication and technology 497 696
Business Processes and Technology programme 326 –
External relations 61 39
Human resource and recruitment activities 481 341
Technical research library 132 110
Meeting video conferencing 140 137
Travel and meetings 695 701
Other office-related costs 286 250
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 45
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance
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ReportsAbout us
IFRS Advisory Council, IFRS Interpretations Committee and other advisory bodies
In 2019 and 2018 the Foundation paid remuneration to the Chair of the IFRS Advisory Council of £40,000
Foundation reimbursed the Chair’s travel and accommodation costs. Other members of the IFRS Advisory Council are not
paid remuneration and meet their own costs for attending meetings. Members of the IFRS Interpretations Committee are not
remunerated by the Foundation for their work on this body. However, they are reimbursed for their travel and accommodation
costs for attending meetings. The same applies to members of the Capital Markets Advisory Committee as of October 2019.
Members of the Board’s other advisory bodies meet their own costs for attending meetings. No members of these other bodies
are remunerated by the Foundation.
The remuneration, travel and meeting costs for these committees and advisory bodies are as follows:
2019
£’000
2018
£’000
IFRS Advisory Council remuneration costs 40 40
IFRS Advisory Council travel and meeting costs 70 64
IFRS Interpretations Committee travel and meeting costs 154 145
Capital Markets Advisory Committee travel and meeting costs 13 –
2 Trustee oversight
The Foundation’s management and governance is overseen by 22 Trustees (2018: 22 ). The Trustees meet three times a year.
The Chair of the Trustees receives £200,000 per year and other Trustees receive an annual fee of £20,000 . All are reimbursed for
their travel on Foundation business. There are six Trustee committees; committee chairs receive an additional £7,000 per year.
Costs associated with Trustee activities are as follows:
2019
£’000
2018
£’000
Remuneration costs 659 672
Travel and meeting costs 396 299
3 Premises, occupancy and related expenses
The components of premises, occupancy and related expenses are as follows:
2019
£’000
2018
£’000
Rent (see note 4) – 1,727
Rates, insurance and energy 618 833
Service charges 338 513
Depreciation (see notes 3 and 4) 1,287 368
Other costs 126 143
Less amounts allocated to publications expenses (see note 7) (481 ) (700 )
The estimated costs of reinstating the premises when the leases expire are recognised as lease reinstatement obligations
and are included in leasehold improvements and recognised evenly over the remaining lease terms.
46
Leasehold improvements, furniture and equipment, and intangible assets
Leasehold improvements, furniture and equipment, and intangible assets are initially measured at cost , and then depreciated or
amortised on a straight-line basis
assets developed as part of the Business Processes and Technology programme will be amortised over five years—those assets,
primarily replacing current systems, are expected to be available to use from late 2020 to early 2021, at which time amortisation
will begin.
2019
£’000
2019
£’000
2019
£’000
2019
£’000
Leasehold
improvements
Furniture and
equipment Subtotal
Intangible
assets
Cost
1 January 2,868 1,235 –
Additions 56 4 689
Disposals – – –
31 December 2,924 1,239 4,163 689
Accumulated
depreciation/amortisation
1 January 251 480 –
Charge for the year 301 248 –
Disposals – – –
31 December 552 728 1,280 –
Carrying amount 2,372 511 2,883 689
2018
£’000
2018
£’000
2018
£’000
Leasehold
improvements
Furniture and
equipment Subtotal
Cost
1 January 1,515 1,251
Additions 2,611 766
Disposals (1,258 ) (782 )
31 December 2,868 1,235 4,103
Accumulated
depreciation/amortisation
1 January 1,306 1,069
Charge for the year 192 176
Disposals (1,247 ) (765
31 December 251 480 731
Carrying amount 2,617 755 3,372
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 47
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance
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ReportsAbout us
4 Leases
The Foundation has recognised right-of-use assets and lease liabilities for its two office premises leases in London and Tokyo.
The London premises lease commenced in January 2018 for 10 years. The lease includes a five-year break clause and incentives
in the form of rent-free periods both initially and in year six. The Foundation has determined that it is reasonably certain not to
terminate the lease at the end of year five and, thus, that the lease has a term of 10 years for financial reporting purposes.
The Tokyo premises lease commenced in October 2012 for 10 years until September 2022.
Right-of-use assets are recognised at cost, comprising the amount of the initial measurement of the lease liability less accumulated
depreciation. There were no additions during the year :
Premises
£'000
Right-of-use assets 1 January 2019 6,320
Depreciation charge for the year (738 )
Carrying amount of right-of-use assets 31 December 2019 5,582
Lease liabilities are recognised at the present value of lease payments not yet paid discounted using the Foundation’s incremental
borrowing rate of 3 %. Interest expense is included in finance costs (see note 10).
The following table reconciles operating lease commitments disclosed at 31 December 2018 applying IAS 17 to lease liabilities
recognised at 1 January 2019:
Total
£'000
Operating lease commitments (undiscounted) at 31 December 2018 8,208
Effect of discounting at incremental borrowing rate of 3% (977 )
Lease liability at 1 January 2019 7,231
Future undiscounted lease commitments under the premises leases are as follows:
2019
£’000
2018
£’000
Within one year 1,073 991
In two to five years 3,132 3,206
More than five years 3,008 4,011
Effect of discounting (771 ) –
Lease liability at 31 December 2019 6,442 –
Current 898 –
Non-current 5,544 –
Total cash outflows related to leases during the year was £991,000 ; the change in the lease liability of £789,000
(£7,231,000 - £6,442,000 ) represents cash outflows from the repayment of principal (see Statement of Cash Flows).
48
5 Taxation
For US taxation purposes, the Foundation is classified as a not-for-profit, tax-exempt organisation. In 2006 the Foundation reached
an agreement with the UK authorities regarding the status of taxation on its publications and related revenues. For 2019, the
taxation expense is calculated on that basis, and is estimated to be £nil (2018: £nil ).
At the end of 2019 the Foundation is carrying forward a loss for UK tax purposes of £5,635,501 (2018: 6,340,000 ). The Foundation
does not recognise this loss as a deferred tax asset because of the uncertainty of being able to utilise these losses to offset future
taxable income.
Funding
6 Contributions
Contributions to the Foundation are voluntary, mainly publicly sponsored and are recognised as income in the year designated
by the contributor. Contributions that have been received but are designated for use after the reporting date are deferred and
recognised as liabilities. Those received after the reporting date but designated for use in the reporting period are recognised as
income and as contributions receivable. All contributions received are for general use by the Foundation except for funding of the
Asia-Oceania office.
The Foundation receives an annual contribution from the European Union that is supported by an enforceable grant, subject to
various conditions that the Foundation is expected to meet. Contributions receivable includes the final grant instalment expected
for the year of £1,849,000 (2018: £1,024,000 ).
The Foundation received separate funding in 2019 of £334,000 / ¥50,000,000 (2018: £318,000 / ¥50,000,000 ) towards the
operations of the Asia-Oceania office located in Tokyo. £372,000 (2018: £340,000 ) has been recognised in other income.
The Foundation receives contributions in a range of currencies, as follows:
2019
£’000
2018
£’000
UK pounds 2,389 2,308
US dollars 6,957 8,699
Euros 6,798 7,155
Other 3,850 3,845
For more information on how the Foundation manages its currency risk refer to note 8. A full list of contributors can be found
on page 54.
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 49
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ReportsAbout us
7 Publications and related activities
The following table presents the components of the net income generated by the IFRS Foundation’s publications and
related activities:
2019
£’000
2018
£’000
Revenues from contracts with customers
Publications 1,476 1,508
Subscription services 1,638 1,768
Licensing 7,221 5,127
Conferences and speaking engagements 205 219
Expenses
Staff salaries and related costs 1,872 1,776
Cost of goods sold 476 433
Depreciation 247 43
Occupancy 234 657
Communication technology 259 377
Other costs 412 375
Net income from publications and related activities 7,040 4,961
Revenues are generated from the sale of printed publications, subscription services, various licensing contracts, and conference
and speaking engagements. The Foundation recognises revenue when it satisfies its performance obligations to customers.
Revenue is measured based on the consideration specified in the contracts.
• Revenue from printed publications is recognised when control of the publication is transferred to the customer, which occurs
upon shipment. Publications are paid for in advance of shipment.
• Revenue from subscription services is recognised over the subscription period on a time-apportioned basis because the services
provide ongoing access to updated versions of IFRS Standards and other related content. Subscriptions are generally paid for
in advance.
• The Foundation enters non-exclusive licensing contracts granting third parties rights to use IFRS Standards and related content to
provide various products and services. Consideration for these contracts is in the form of fixed fees payable in advance or arrears,
or variable fees that are based on customers’ sales and payable quarterly in arrears. Revenues for fixed fee contracts are recognised
on a time-apportioned basis over the term of the licence because the contracts provide ongoing access to updated versions of IFRS
Standards and other related content. Revenues for variable fee contracts are recognised as the customers’ sales occur.
• Revenues from conferences and speaking engagements are recognised when the conference or other event occurs.
Customers are entitled to refunds or returns in accordance with statutory requirements, but such occurrences based on experience
are expected to be infrequent and insignificant.
Trade and other receivables include £810,000 (2018: £892,000 ) from licensing contracts. Publications revenue received in advance
relates to subscription services and licensing contracts; the amount of £1,375,000 recognised at the beginning of the year has
been recognised as revenue during the year, and the amount of £1,313,000 recognised at the end of the year is expected to be
recognised as revenue in 2020. No further information is provided about remaining performance obligations at the end of the year
that have an original duration of one year or less, as allowed by IFRS 15.
Inventories consist of the Foundation’s publications, which are carried at the lower of the cost of printing, on a first-in, first-out
basis, or their net realisable value.
50
Management of funds
8 Risk Management
Foreign currency management
To manage risks associated with fluctuations in voluntary contribution levels, the Trustees of the Foundation provided guidance of
maintaining sufficient funds to be able to meet at least 12 months of its operating costs. The Foundation’s expenses arise largely in
sterling, whereas the organisation receives funding and future commitments, under various publicly sponsored funding regimes,
primarily in US dollars and euros (refer to note 6). Some expenses are incurred and paid in US dollars and euros after which the net
contributions in those currencies are exchanged for sterling. This exposes the organisation to currency risk. This note explains the
financial reporting consequences of how the Foundation manages foreign currency risk.
The Trustees have implemented a strategy to mitigate the foreign exchange fluctuation risks connected with these expected future
net contributions. The Foundation generally forward sells approximately 90 % of its expected net US dollar contributions, 70 % of
its expected net euro contributions and 50 % of its expected net Japanese yen contributions to fix a sterling equivalent. Foreign
currency is sold forward on a two-year rolling basis with an established financial institution; credit risk is deemed minimal.
The forward foreign exchange contracts used by the Foundation to mitigate foreign exchange risk are recognised at fair value and
subsequently measured at fair value through profit or loss. The following table presents the fair value and notional value of these
contracts by currency at 31 December 2019:
2019 2018
Forward foreign exchange
contracts
by currency:
Fair
value
’000
Notional
value
’000
Weighted
average
rate
Fair
value
’000
Notional
value
’000
Weighted
average
rate
Financial assets
USD (Level 2) £128 $16,150 1.319 – – –
EUR (Level 2) £259 €7,050 1.111 – – –
JPY (Level 2) £6 ¥282,000 140.859 – – –
Financial liabilities
USD (Level 2) (£301 ) $6,550 1.412 (£858 ) $23,050 1.363
EUR (Level 2) (£13 ) €1,650 1.159 (£278 ) €10,100 1.129
JPY (Level 2) (£7 ) ¥47,000 146.510 (£89 ) ¥282,000 144.244
The fair value of forward foreign exchange contracts is bank-provided and based on pricing models using observable exchange
rates, described as Level 2 in IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement. All non-current forward contracts expire by 2022. The effect of these
forward contracts is that the Foundation is exposed to the currency risk associated with the expected remaining 10 % of projected
net US dollar contributions, 30 % of projected net euro contributions and 50 % of projected net Japanese yen contributions that are
not covered by the forward contracts.
A potential 10% increase in average exchange rates for sterling would have produced estimated losses on the remaining actual net
US dollar contributions received during the year of £178,000 and on the remaining actual net euro contributions received during
the year of £179,000 . To the extent that projected contributions in either currency change, the Foundation actively manages the
amount of each currency forward sold.
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 51
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance
Financials
Appendices
Our organisation
ReportsAbout us
Liquidity and interest rate risk
The Foundation manages its working capital to ensure sufficient cash resources are maintained to meet short-term liabilities.
The Foundation has no borrowings.
The Foundation has a target of keeping an amount in cash equal to or exceeding the upcoming quarter’s expenditure including
amounts to meet maturing forward foreign exchange contracts. Cash is held either as current or as short-term deposits at floating
rates of interest. Part of the cash at bank is held in euro, Japanese yen and US dollar accounts to meet expenditure obligations.
Surplus funds are invested in sterling-denominated, fixed rate bonds of governments, governmental agencies, or international
organisations, with AAA minimum ratings at the time of purchase. These funds are reserves for continuing operations and
capital expenditure.
The Foundation manages and receives information from its advisors on its investments in bonds on a fair value basis that includes
value changes attributable to interest rate risk. Bonds can be converted into cash if necessary.
Credit risk
The Foundation has financial assets measured at amortised cost comprising cash and cash equivalents, contributions receivable
and publication-related receivables. The Foundation has assessed the credit risk of its financial assets measured at amortised cost
and has determined that the loss allowance for expected credit losses of those assets is immaterial to the financial statements.
The Foundation’s exposure to credit losses has been historically very low.
Cash and cash equivalents are all held in financial institutions with high credit ratings.
At 31 December 2019, the Foundation had a receivable of £1,849,000 from a single contributor. This contribution receivable
reflects the final grant instalment from the European Union, which has a high credit rating and stable outlook. The Foundation has
determined this receivable to have low credit risk.
Exposure to credit risk arising from publications and related activities is managed by requiring advance payments for some
products and services and with the contractual control of the use of the Foundation’s intellectual property. The Foundation retains
a right to terminate contracts and cancel all rights and licences, although such occurrences are expected to be infrequent and
not significant.
The carrying amount of the Foundation’s financial assets represent the maximum credit exposure.
52
9 Investments
Bonds are recognised at fair value and subsequently measured at fair value through profit or loss. The values of these bonds
are quoted on active markets, described as Level 1 in IFRS 13. Fair values and face values of current and non-current bonds are
presented in the following table.
2019
Fair
value
£’000
2019
Face
value
£’000
2018
Fair
value
£’000
2018
Face
value
£’000
Current, including accrued interest 4,227 4,213 2,582 2,568
Non-current, including accrued interest 20,688 20,602 19,805 19,871
The Foundation measures all other financial instruments at amortised cost. Those financial instruments include financial assets
with a total carrying amount of £12,848,000 (2018: £12,823,000 ) and financial liabilities with a total carrying amount of £150,000
(2018: £288,000 ). The carrying amount of these financial assets and liabilities is a reasonable approximation of their fair value.
These financial instruments include cash and cash equivalents, contributions receivable, publication-related receivables, and trade
and other payables.
10 Finance income and finance costs
2019
£’000
2018
£’000
Finance income:
Interest income 314 247
Fair value gains on forward foreign exchange contracts 1,309 9
Fair value gains on bonds 139 –
Exchange gains on forward foreign exchange contracts and cash holdings – 244
Finance costs:
Interest on lease liabilities (202 ) –
Fair value losses on forward foreign exchange contracts (12 ) (1,179 )
Fair value losses on bonds – (156 )
Exchange losses on forward foreign exchange contracts and cash holdings (770 ) –
(984 ) (1,335 )
Fair value gains and losses from bonds do not include interest income.
11 Events after the reporting period
Covid-19
The World Health Organisation (WHO) declared covid-19 a global health emergency on 30 January 2020, upgrading the status
to global pandemic on 11 March 2020. At the time of signing the financial statements the pandemic continues and therefore the
Foundation is unable to estimate any possible financial impact.
Appendices
54
Financial supporters
Jurisdiction Organisation
Australia
£547,100 Financial Reporting Council
Brazil
£71,757
£25,000 + Fundação de Apoio ao Comitê de Pronunciamentos Contábeis
Central Bank of Brazil
Canada
£541,479
£500,000 + Chartered Professional Accountants of Canada
Less than
£25,000
Office of the Superintendent of Financial Institutions
Chinese Taipei
£62,000
Less than
£25,000
Accounting Research and Development Foundation Taiwan Futures Exchange
Taipei Exchange Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation
Taiwan Depository & Clearing Corporation
European Union
£4,135,545 European Commission
France
£861,995 Ministry for the Economy and Finance—Autorité des Normes Comptables
Germany Voluntary levies through the Accounting Standards Committee of Germany (DRSC)
£683,211
£25,000+ Allianz SE Fresenius SE & Co KGaA
BASF SE Merck KGaA
Bayer AG Münchener Rückversicherungs-Gesellschaft
AG
BMW—Bayerische Motoren Werke AG ProSiebenSat1.Media SE
Continental AG RWE AG
Daimler AG SAP AG
Deutsche Börse AG Siemens AG
Deutsche Post AG Volkswagen AG
Deutsche Telekom AG Wirecard AG
Fresenius Medical Care AG & Co KGaA
Less than
£25,000
Aareal Bank AG Infineon Technologies AG
AIXTRON SE K+S AG
alstria office REIT-AG KION Group AG
CECONOMY AG Knorr-Bremse AG
Commerzbank AG LANXESS AG
DekaBank METRO AG
Deutsche Beteiligungs AG MTU Aero Engines Holding AG
DEUTZ AG NORMA Group SE
Drägerwerk AG & Co KGaA PATRIZIA AG
Fielmann AG SAF-HOLLAND S.A.
Fraport AG Sartorius AG
Gerresheimer AG Schaeffler Technologies AG & Co KGaA
Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG SGL Carbon SE
HORNBACH Holding AG & Co KGaA Siemens Healthineers AG
INDUS Holding AG United Internet AG
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 55
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance
Financials
Appendices
Our organisation
ReportsAbout us
Jurisdiction Organisation
Hong Kong SAR
£19,807 Hong Kong Monetary Authority
India
£489,500 Ministry of Corporate Affairs
Indonesia
£68,000
£25,000 + Financial Services Authority (OJK)
Indonesia Stock Exchange
International
£18,831 Bank for International Settlements
Ireland
£7,727 Central Bank & Financial Services Authority of Ireland
Israel
£17,000 Israel Securities Authority
Italy
£658,910 Organismo Italiano di Contabilità
Japan
£2,029,560 Financial Accounting Standards Foundation
£405,000 Financial Accounting Standards Foundation—restricted contribution for the Asia-Oceania office
Kazakhstan
£7,613 National Bank of Kazakhstan
Malaysia
£70,530 Malaysian Accounting Standards Board
Netherlands
£379,666
£250,000 + Ministry of Finance
Less than
£25,000
De Nederlandsche Bank
New Zealand
£101,807 External Reporting Board
Norway
£89,271 Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway
People’s Republic of China Through a system created by the Ministry of Finance
£2,506,790
£500,000 + Ministry of Finance
£100,000 + Chinese Institute of Certified Public Accountants Shenzen Stock Exchange
Shanghai Stock Exchange
£50,000 + China Investment Corporation
£25,000 + China Communications Construction
Company Ltd
China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation
China National Offshore Oil Corporation PetroChina Company Limited
China Pacific Insurance (Group) Co Ltd
56
Jurisdiction Organisation
People’s Republic of China (continued)
Less than
£25,000
Agricultural Bank of China China Mobile Communication Co Ltd
Bank of China Limited China Telecom Corporation Limited
Bank of Communications Co Ltd Huaneng Power International Inc
China CITIC Bank Corporation Limited Industrial and Commercial Bank of
China Limited
China Construction Bank Corporation New China Life Insurance Company Ltd
China Merchants Bank PICC Property and Casualty Company
Limited
Portugal
£19,033 Banco de Portugal
Russia
£427,700 Ministry of Finance of the Russian Federation
Saudi Arabia
£150,000 Saudi Organization for Certified Public Accountants (SOCPA)
Singapore
£70,000 Ministry of Finance
South Africa
£7,000 Johannesburg Stock Exchange
South Korea Donations contributed through the Korea Accounting Standards Board
£491,896
£100,000 + Korea Accounting Standards Board (KASB)
£50,000 + Samsung Electronics Co Ltd
£25,000 + Financial Supervisory Service Samsung Life Insurance Co Ltd
Samsung C&T Corporation Samsung SDS Co Ltd
Less than
£25,000
Hana Financial Holdings Samsung Securities Co Ltd
LG Corporation Shinhan Financial Group Co Ltd
Samsung Card Co Ltd POSCO
Samsung SDI Co Ltd
Spain
£99,350 Bolsas y Mercados Españoles
Switzerland
£65,466
£50,000 + SwissHoldings
Less than
£25,000
Swiss National Bank
Thailand
£50,782 Federation of Accounting Professions (TFAC)
Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC)
Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET)
United Kingdom Levies through the Financial Reporting Council
£847,000
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 57
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance
Financials
Appendices
Our organisation
ReportsAbout us
Jurisdiction Organisation
United States of America
£409,220
£50,000 + American Institute of CPAs (AICPA) Board of Governors of the Federal
Reserve System
Bank of America CFA Institute
£25,000 + Morgan Stanley Oracle
Less than
£25,000
PepsiCo
International accounting firms
£3,968,414
US$1.10
million each)
Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited KPMG
Ernst & Young PricewaterhouseCoopers
£100,000 + BDO (Brussels Worldwide Services BvBA)—US$300,000
Grant Thornton—US$300,000
Mazars—US$200,000
Trustees
£20,000 One Trustee waived his fee, which has been accounted as a contribution
Cumulative amount raised by a jurisdiction appears below the jurisdiction’s name. Amounts translated into sterling on
date received.
58
IFRS Advisory Council members
At 31 December 2019
Chair
Joanna Perry
Non-executive director, New Zealand
Represented body Represented by Position
Accounting Standards Committee of Germany
(representing the national standard-setters of
France, Germany, Italy and the UK)
Andreas Barckow President
ACTEO and MEDEF Olivia Larmaraud Deputy Corporate Accounting Director, PSA Peugeot Citroën
AIA Group Garth Jones Group CFO
Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria, SA Maria Ángeles
Peláez Morón
Chief Accounting Officer
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision Carolyn Rogers Secretary General
BDO Jens Freiberg Head of International Financial Reporting,
Head of Capital Markets, BDO AG
Brazilian Development Bank Vânia Maria da
Costa Borgerth
Deputy Managing Director for the Controlling Division
Business Europe Kristian
Koktvedgaard
Head of VAT Accounting and Auditing,
Confederation of Danish Industry
Capital Markets Board of Turkey Sibel Ulusoy Tokgöz Deputy Head, Accounting Standards Department
CFA Institute Giuseppe Ballocchi Future of Finance Content Council member
Comisión Nacional Bancaria y de Valores Laura Ramírez Deputy General, Director on Accounting Regulation
Corporate Reporting Users Forum Lothar Weniger Owner, ALIAG, Usingen
Council of Institutional Investors James Andrus Investment Manager, Sustainable Investments,
California Public Employees’ Retirement System
Deloitte Trevor Derwin Partner, Deloitte Africa
European Accounting Association Ann Jorissen Professor of Accounting, University of Antwerp,
Antwerp Management School
European Central Bank Jürgen Kirchhof Principal Finance Expert, Financial Reporting &
Policy Division
European Federation of Financial Analysts
Societies
Javier de Frutos Chief Investment Officer, Sailbridge Capital
European Financial Reporting Advisory Group Jean-Paul Gauzès EFRAG Board President
External Reporting Board, New Zealand Ken Warren Chief Accounting Advisor, The Treasury, New Zealand
EY James Luke Technical Partner, Africa Region
Fédération Internationale des Experts
Comptables Francophones
Aziz Dieye Founder of Cabinet Aziz Dieye Senegal and the Centre
Africain d'Etudes Supérieures en Gestion Management
High School in Dakar
Financial Executives International Ron Edmonds Controller and Vice President of Controllers and Tax,
DowDuPont
Financial Reporting Standards Council
of South Africa
Garth Coppin Member
Grant Thornton Daniel Civit Partner, Head of the French Accounting Practice Group
Individual Surya Subramanian Group Chief Financial Officer, Emirates NBD
Indonesian Financial Services Authority Etty Wulandari Deputy Commissioner
Insurance Europe Olav Jones Deputy Director General
International Actuarial Association Micheline Dionne Member of the IAA Executive Committee
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 59
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance
Financials
Appendices
Our organisation
ReportsAbout us
Represented body Represented by Position
International Association for Accounting
Education & Research
Holger Daske Professor and Chair of Accounting and Capital Markets,
University of Mannheim
International Association of
Insurance Supervisors
Abdulrahman Fahd
Almosad CMA
Insurance Supervisor
International Co-operative Alliance Isabelle Ferrand Chief Financial Officer, Confédération Nationale du
Crédit Mutuel
International Corporate Governance Network Ian Burger Head of Corporate Governance, Newton Investment
Management
International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) Russell Guthrie Chief Financial Officer and Executive Director -
External Affairs
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Ellen Gaston Senior Financial Sector Expert, Financial Supervision
and Regulation Division, Monetary and Capital
Markets Department
International Organization of
Securities Commissions
Areewan
Aimdilokwong
Specialist in the Accounting Supervision Department,
Securities and Exchange Commission of Thailand
International Organization of
Securities Commissions
Ton Meershoek Technical Expert in Financial Reporting, Netherlands
Authority for the Financial Markets
Investment Company Institute Clive Brown Chief Executive Officer of RBC Global Asset Management
(UK) Limited
Korea Accounting Standards Board Jee In Jang Advisor to KASB
KPMG Andrew Marshall Senior Technical Partner
Lukoil Sergey Epifanov Head of the Consolidation and International Financial
Reporting Department
Ministry of Finance, People’s Republic of China Yibin Gao Director-General of Accounting Regulatory Department
Nippon Keidanren Hidetake Ishihara Executive Officer, Nippon Steel & Sumitomo
Metal Corporation
Ortec Finance Tessa Kuijl Senior Lead Consultant, Pension and Insurance
Risk Management
PwC Henry Daubeney Partner, Global Head of Reporting and Chief Accountant
Securities Analysts Association of Japan George Iguchi Chief Corporate Governance Officer, Senior General
Manager of Equity Invesment Department,
Nissay Asset Management Corporation
Shanghai University of Finance and Economics Xinyuan Chen Vice President and Professor
South Asian Federation of Accountants M P Vijay Kumar Vice Chairman, Accounting Standards Board and Chairman,
Valuation Standards Board of The Institute of Chartered
Accountants of India
Wipro Ltd Suresh Senapaty Advisor, former member of the board and CFO
World Bank Pam O’Connell Director and World Bank Group Chief Accountant
Observer organisations
European Commission
Japan Financial Services Agency
US Securities and Exchange Commission
More information about the Advisory Council can be found at www.ifrs.org/groups/ifrs-advisory-council.
60
IFRS Interpretations Committee members
At 31 December 2019
Non-voting chair:
Sue Lloyd
Vice-Chair, International Accounting Standards Board
Name Title Organisation Term ends
Lisa Bomba
Managing Director Deutsche Bank 30 June 2022
Carl Douglas
Corporate Controller CCR S.A. 30 June 2020
Karsten Ganssauge
Senior Partner PwC’s Global Accounting
Consulting Services
30 June 2022
Mikael Hagström
Senior Vice President and CFO Dongfeng Commercial Vehicles 30 June 2020
Jongsoo Han
Member Korea Accounting Standards
Board
30 June 2021
Guy Jones
Partner, IFRS Regional Leader Canada EY 30 June 2021
Goro Kumagai
Senior Fellow, Markets Strategic
Intelligence Department
Mizuho Securities Co Ltd 30 June 2021
Bruce Mackenzie
Managing Director W Consulting International 30 June 2020
Brian O'Donovan
Partner KPMG 30 June 2022
Bertrand Perrin
Director, Accounting Standards and
Special Projects
Vivendi 30 June 2022
Robert Uhl
Partner, National Director of
Accounting Standards
Deloitte & Touche LLP 30 June 2021
Bonnie Van Etten
Group Chief Accounting Officer FCA 30 June 2020
Yang Zheng
Vice President and CFO New China Life Insurance Co Ltd 30 June 2022
Andrew Buchanan (Global Head of IFRS, BDO), Tony de Bell (Senior Partner, PwC Global Accounting Services Group), Reinhard
Dotzlaw (Global IFRS Leader, KPMG) and Dr Martin Schloemer (Head of Accounting Principles & Policies, Bayer AG) completed
their terms on 30 June 2019. There was one vacant position at 31 December 2019. This position was filled in February 2020.
Further information about the IFRS Interpretations Committee, including biographies of all members, can be found at
www.ifrs.org/groups/ifrs-interpretations-committee.
IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 61
2019 review and 2020 prioritiesGovernance
Financials
Appendices
Our organisation
ReportsAbout us
IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board members
At 31 December 2019
Public authority Member Position
IOSCO Jean-Paul Servais Chair of the Belgian Financial Services and Markets Authority
and representative of the IOSCO Board (Vice-Chair)
Public authority Member Position
Brazil Securities and Exchange
Commission (Comissão de
Valores Mobiliários)
Marcelo Barbosa Chair
European Commission Valdis Dombrovskis Vice-President for the Euro and Social Dialogue,
also in charge of Financial Stability, Financial Services
and Capital Markets Union
IOSCO Ünal Eryilmaz Board Member of the Capital Markets Board of Turkey
and representative of the IOSCO Growth and
Emerging Markets Committee
Japan Financial Services Agency Ryozo Himino Vice Minister for International Affairs
People’s Republic of China
Ministry of Finance
Cheng Lihua Vice Minister
South Korea Financial Services
Commission
Sung-soo Eun Chair
United States Securities and
Exchange Commission
Jay Clayton Chair
Public authority Member Position
Argentina Securities and Exchange
Commission (Comisión Nacional
de Valores)
Marcos Ayerra Chair and representative of the IOSCO Growth and
Emerging Markets Committee (Vice-Chair)
Basel Committee on Banking Supervision Fernando Vargas Chair of the Basel Accounting Expert Group
South Africa Financial Sector
Conduct Authority
Jurgen Boyd Deputy Executive Officer and representative of the IOSCO
Africa and Middle-East Regional Committee
More information about the Monitoring Board can be found at www.ifrs.org/groups/ifrs-foundation-monitoring-board.
Chair
Members
Observers
62
Paul Volcker
1927–2019
In memoriam
The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation wish
to note the death of Paul A. Volcker, who
served as inaugural Chairman of the
Trustees between 2000 and 2005.
Mr Volcker was a towering figure in
international finance, both physically (at
two metres) and by reputation, having
tamed US inflation in the 1970s during
his tenure as Chairman of the Board of
Governors of the US Federal Reserve.
A dedicated public servant, he was
the eminent financial statesman of his
generation, lending his considerable
skills and expertise to advance many
worthwhile causes.
As the first Chairman of the Trustees, he
led the restructuring of the organisation
from the predecessor body, the
International Accounting Standards
Committee. He oversaw the recruitment
of the first Board of Trustees and the
appointment of the Board and its first
Chair, Sir David Tweedie. He laid the
foundations for encouraging worldwide
support for the mission of global
accounting standards. The institutional
arrangements established under his
leadership provided the necessary
legitimacy and encouragement for a
first wave of jurisdictions to adopt IFRS
Standards in the early 2000s.
Following his retirement, Mr Volcker
remained a strong advocate of the IFRS
Foundation. In 2015 he wrote:
‘If we really believe in open
international markets and the benefits
of global finance, then it can’t make
sense to have different accounting
rules and practices for companies and
investors operating across national
borders. That is why we need global
standards. Ultimately this will get done.’
On behalf of the staff, members of the
Board and the Trustees, we all pass on
our thanks for the legacy of Mr Volcker.
The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation thank all staff, volunteers and partners around the world for contributing to the
delivery the Foundation’s mission during 2019, especially:
• our financial contributors;
• those who have contributed with comments to our consultations;
• event partners, participants and hosts; and
• our customers.
Thank you!
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Photography: Alex Griffiths and IFRS Foundation
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