International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Chair Emmanuel Faber and ISSB Member Ndidi Nnoli-Edozien have met with the Presidents of Kenya and Nigeria and government ministers in South Africa—as well as regulators and other stakeholders—to discuss the work of the ISSB.
A key theme of discussions throughout the week was around the opportunity for unlocking capital flows through the introduction of the ISSB Standards.
Furthermore, the ISSB heard about the expected benefits from establishing transparency within value chains, providing investors with a great understanding of the associated sustainability-related risks and opportunities through comparable, reliable and assurable disclosures.
The visit was an important opportunity for the ISSB leadership to engage with stakeholders and discuss considerations for the implementation of the ISSB Standards in the region.
Kenya
In Kenya, Emmanuel and Ndidi met with the President of Kenya William Ruto. They also participated in an event hosted by the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Kenya (ICPAK), the Capital Markets Authority of Kenya and the Nairobi Securioties Exchange. ICPAK—the Kenyan regulator—has stated its intention to adopt the ISSB Standards.
The discussion focused on the role of the African region in the development and implementation of the ISSB’s work.
Emmanuel also spoke about the importance of capacity building in the region to help companies get ready to use the Standards, highlighting key partnerships for delivering capacity building programmes.
A key theme emerging from the discussions was around what the introduction of the ISSB Standards means for smaller companies, many of which operate within global value chains.
Emmanuel emphasised the proportionality mechanisms built into the ISSB Standards to ensure application is appropriate to a company’s circumstances. For example, the instruction to use reasonable and supportable information without undue cost or effort, and the consideration of skills, capabilities and resources.
Nigeria
In Nigeria, Emmanuel and Ndidi met with the President of Nigeria Bola Ahmed Tinubu, who reaffirmed Nigeria’s commitment to implementing the ISSB Standards 'aimed at unlocking capital investments, transforming business models, and safeguarding the environment in the country.'
Emmanuel and Ndidi also held discussions with Vice President Kashim Shettima and Ministers of Finance, Environment, Agriculture and Food Security, Industry, Trade and Investment, and Foreign Affairs, as well as regulators and company CEOs. These conversations focused on Nigeria’s journey toward the adoption of the ISSB Standards—including with a number of companies that have already committed to voluntarily apply the Standards—and the tools available to help. The ISSB heard about perceived benefits of its Standards in managing and communicating about transition and physical risks to secure a competitive advantage in attracting upstream supply chain investment.
During the visit, the ISSB members attended the launch of Nigeria’s Adoption Roadmap hosted by the Nigerian Stock Exchange. The publication follows a consultation earlier this year by the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria on the Roadmap, which sets out the path from voluntary adoption of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 this year, with a five-year plan for phased mandatory adoption.
South Africa
In South Africa, IFRS Foundation Trustee Suresh Kana, Emmanuel and Ndidi met Deputy Finance Minister David Masondo, as well as representatives from the Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the Institute of Directors South Africa and the Integrated Reporting Committee of South Africa.
The ISSB members also participated in a regulatory roundtable hosted by financial services company Absa Group.
Discussions focused on the value of the ISSB Standards for supporting resilient economies and as a tool for companies to communicate to investors how they are meeting South African decarbonisation and just transition-related objectives.
They also discussed the role of integrated reporting in South Africa and how the ISSB has embedded concepts from the Integrated Reporting Framework into the objective of IFRS S1. South Africa was the first jurisdiction to require integrated reporting through its King Code of Corporate Governance.
As part of the trip, the IFRS Foundation announced a partnership with the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) and the Pan African Federation of Accountants (PAFA). FCDO will provide seed funding to PAFA to create a comprehensive PAFA ISSB Capacity Building Strategy for the African Continent.
The program will aim to empower PAFA’s network of 125,000 African accountants on the use of the ISSB Standards and assist global progress towards high-quality, comparable sustainability-related financial information.
Find out more about the use of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards around the world.
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