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Dear national standard-setters,

Welcome to our newsletter dedicated to keeping you up to date on the activities of the IFRS Foundation.

In this edition

2024 World Standard-setters Conference in London

World Standard-setters Conference 2024 will take place in London on 23–24 September at Hilton London Canary Wharf, South Quay, Marsh Wall, London, E14 9SH.

The conference will feature Q&A sessions and panel discussions in which you will be able to hear about and discuss the IFRS Foundation’s activities. You will also have networking opportunities with fellow delegates, IFRS Foundation staff and members of IASB and ISSB.

The Conference is open to all national standard-setters. The IFRS Foundation has invited two representatives from each national standard-setter to attend in person. If you are not able to attend in London, there will be a recorded livestream of some of the sessions, with the recordings available to watch on the conference page after the conference.

To find out more about the conference agenda, visit the conference page.

IASB recent highlights

IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements

In April 2024, the IASB published a new Standard, IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements. IFRS 18 affects all companies applying IFRS Accounting Standards and will give investors more transparent and comparable information about companies’ financial performance, improving investment decision-making. The effective date of IFRS 18 is 1 January 2027.

Watch the IFRS 18 webcast series where IASB Chair Andreas Barckow and other IASB members explain the requirements in English, Chinese, French, Japanese, Portuguese and Spanish.

IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures

In May 2024, the IASB published a new Standard, IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures. IFRS 19 simplifies reporting systems and processes for companies by reducing the costs of preparing eligible subsidiaries’ financial statements. The effective date of IFRS 19 is 1 January 2027.

Watch the IFRS 19 webcast series for an overview of IFRS 19 and to find out about its benefits from the perspective of preparers and regulators.

ISSB recent highlights

The IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy (ISSB Taxonomy)

On the 30 April 2024, the ISSB published the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy (ISSB Taxonomy), fulfilling its promise to enable investors and other capital providers to efficiently analyse sustainability-related financial disclosures.

Investors in companies using the ISSB Taxonomy will be able to search, extract and compare sustainability-related financial disclosures as the ISSB establishes its global baseline of Standards.

The ISSB Taxonomy reflects IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information, IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures and their accompanying guidance. The Taxonomy has been developed to help support dialogue between companies and investors—it neither introduces new requirements nor affects a company’s compliance with the Standards. Informed by market feedback, the Taxonomy enables companies to consistently tag information prepared using ISSB Standards.

The Inaugural Jurisdictional Guide and the Outline of the Regulatory Implementation Programme

The publication of the Inaugural Jurisdictional Guide at the IOSCO Annual Meeting in Athens came at a time of increasing momentum towards the establishment of the global baseline of sustainability disclosures for capital markets.

The Inaugural Jurisdictional Guide has been developed to help jurisdictions design and plan their journey to the adoption or other use of ISSB Standards and provide transparency to market participants on the path towards adoption.

Over 20 jurisdictions have already decided to use, or are taking steps to introduce, ISSB Standards in their legal or regulatory frameworks. Together, these jurisdictions account for:

  • nearly 55% of global GDP;
  • more than 40% of global market capitalisation; and
  • more than 50% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

The Foundation has also outlined its Regulatory Implementation Programme, which summarises how the IFRS Foundation and its partners intend to support the growing number of jurisdictions wanting to make policy decisions and roadmaps for the adoption or other use of ISSB Standards.

ESRS–ISSB Standards Interoperability Guidance

The IFRS Foundation and EFRAG have published guidance material to illustrate the high level of alignment achieved between the ISSB Standards and the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and how a company can apply both sets of standards, including detailed analysis of the alignment in climate-related disclosures. The guidance provides practical support that explains how companies can efficiently comply with both sets of standards. Read the ESRS–ISSB Standards Interoperability Guidance.

ISSB Feedback Statement on two-year work plan

Following extensive market consultation last year, the ISSB has published the Feedback Statement on its consultation on future priorities and is now embarking on its next two-year work plan.

The ISSB’s priority is supporting the implementation of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, which it is doing in close collaboration with several global partners such as the African Development Bank and the International Finance Corporation.

As part of its work plan, the ISSB has initiated research projects on risks and opportunities associated with biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services, and human capital.

Furthermore, the ISSB is working to maintain and enhance the SASB Standards, which will help facilitate its new research projects and the implementation of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2.

Further information is available in the Feedback Statement on the Consultation on Agenda Priorities.

Updates on a series of strategic relationships

Recently, at London Climate Action Week, the ISSB provided updates on a series of strategic relationships designed to help reduce complexity in the sustainability disclosure landscape. These relationships will help deliver further harmonisation of the sustainability disclosure landscape.

The ISSB is advancing its strategic relationships with five organisations: the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), Transition Plan Taskforce, GHG Protocol, Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures and CDP.

Global Reporting Initiative

In May 2024, the ISSB and GRI’s Global Sustainability Standards Board (GSSB) committed to jointly identify and align common disclosures to deliver a seamless sustainability reporting system. Read the announcement of the ISSB and GSSB collaboration.

This collaboration will help companies looking to meet the information needs of investors and a broader range of stakeholders.

Transition Plan Taskforce

Globally, disclosures on an entity’s plans to address any targets it has in place to transition to a lower-carbon economy—often called transition plans—are a growing proportion of corporate climate-related disclosures. IFRS S2 requires that an entity disclose information about such a plan if it has one.

To support application of these disclosure requirements and more efficiently collect information provided in the market, the ISSB plans to support work to streamline and consolidate frameworks and standards for disclosures about transition plans.

The IFRS Foundation will assume responsibility for the disclosure-specific materials developed by the Transition Plan Taskforce, with plans over the long term to tailor the materials for global applicability and full compatibility with the focus of IFRS S2 in accordance with the IFRS Foundation’s due process and mission. These materials provide guidance to support the provision of high-quality disclosures about transition plans for companies applying IFRS S2.

GHG Protocol

The IFRS Foundation and the GHG Protocol have signed an agreement to put governance arrangements in place to actively engage the ISSB in updates and decisions made in relation to GHG Protocol Corporate Standard, including appointing an ISSB representative as an observer on the GHG Protocol Independent Standards Board.

This agreement will help ensure ongoing compatibility between the work of the GHG Protocol and the ISSB to meet the needs of capital markets.

Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures

As set out in the ISSB’s feedback statement on its next two-year work plan, the ISSB has a new research project on biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services.

As part of this research, the ISSB is considering how to develop some pre-existing initiatives—such as the work of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures—to meet the information needs of investors.

CDP

CDP is the ISSB’s key global climate disclosure partner. In June 2024, CDP opened its new platform to 75,000 organisations. IFRS S2 is the foundational baseline for CDP’s climate disclosure, and the 2024 CDP questionnaire is aligned with IFRS S2. The CDP questionnaire is an effective tool to support companies on their path to ISSB compliance.

These partnerships will improve the quality of information investors have to make decisions, provide clarity in the reporting landscape, lead to further efficiencies and minimise costs for companies preparing reports.

News for national standard-setters

IFRS Foundation updates

Accounting updates

Sustainability updates

  • The Sustainability Standards Advisory Forum (SSAF) meeting took place on 11 June 2024. SSAF members discussed the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy, enhancements to the SASB Standards and involving the SSAF in the ISSB’s research projects. You can watch the meeting recordings from the meeting page.
  • The Transition Implementation Group on IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 (TIG) meeting took place on 13 June 2024. TIG members discussed the revision of preceding period estimated amounts when estimating information from an entity in the value chain, and application of the requirements on comparative information when acquiring or disposing of a subsidiary. Watch the recording on the TIG meeting page.

Consultations open for comment

Accounting consultations

These consultations can be found in our open for comment section.

If you have any questions regarding the cooperation of the IFRS Foundation with national standard-setters, please reach out to Elena Kostina, IASB Technical Staff, via the contact us button below.