IASB concludes project to improve its approach to developing disclosure requirements in IFRS Accounting Standards

The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has today concluded its project on improving its approach to developing and drafting disclosure requirements. The improved approach is designed to help the IASB develop Accounting Standards that would enable companies to make better judgements about which information is material and should be disclosed, thereby providing more useful information to investors.

The improved approach is summarised in guidance that the IASB has published, alongside a Project Summary and Feedback Statement, as part of the IASB’s Targeted Standards-level Review of Disclosures project.

The improved approach involves:

• engaging early with investors to understand their information needs;
• developing disclosure requirements alongside recognition and measurement requirements;
• considering the digital reporting implications of new disclosure requirements;
• using general and specific objectives that describe and explain investors’ information needs; and
• supporting specific objectives by requiring companies to disclose items of information that would satisfy the objectives in most cases.

The IASB intends to use this approach when developing disclosure requirements.

The Project Summary and Feedback Statement provides an overview of the Targeted Standards-level review of Disclosure Project, summarises feedback on the Exposure Draft Disclosure Requirements in IFRS Standards—A Pilot Approach and sets out the IASB’s response to that feedback.

The Targeted Standards-Level Review is one of several of Disclosure Initiative projects designed to improve disclosures in the financial statements. Only one Disclosure Initiative project remains—Subsidiaries without Public Accountability.