The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has published a summary of its project on extractive activities, which considered whether to amend or replace IFRS 6 Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources. The IASB issued IFRS 6 as an interim step in the accounting for extractive activities.
The document explains the reasons for the IASB taking on the project, the work done and the key decisions made, including the reasons for deciding to retain IFRS 6.
The IASB concluded the project at its September 2023 meeting. Based on evidence collected between 2018 and 2023, the IASB decided not to develop new or amended recognition, measurement or disclosure requirements for exploration and evaluation expenditure or other aspects of accounting for extractive activities. The IASB did not find compelling evidence that standard-setting would be necessary.
The IASB acknowledged that diverse accounting policies for exploration and evaluation expenditure would continue to be used in practice. However, feedback from investors and other users of financial statements suggested that those diverse accounting policies were not a significant concern.
Overall, the research findings suggested that any improvements to financial reporting that might result from amending or replacing the requirements in IFRS 6 or other IFRS Accounting Standards are likely to be outweighed by the costs of developing and implementing any such changes.
Project summaries are overviews of information already available to the public through papers published to inform the IASB’s discussions. They do not provide any new material and do not form part of IFRS Accounting Standards.
Followable tags
IFRS Accounting Standards development
IFRS 6 Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources
