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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

Debrief on 2024 World Standard-setters Conference in London

More than 130 delegates from 70 jurisdictions joined the IFRS Foundation (Foundation) at its 24th World Standard-setters (WSS) Conference in September. National standard-setters attended in London and online to hear from specialists in accounting and sustainability reporting.

What is happening at the Foundation

IASB Chair Andreas Barckow and IASB Executive Technical Director Nili Shah kicked off the conference with an update on the IASB.

ISSB Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd delivered a speech and joined ISSB Technical Director David Bolderston to give an update on the ISSB.

IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements

IASB member Nick Anderson moderated a panel discussion with national standard-setters from Canada, the European Union and South Korea. Their discussion provided insights into how jurisdictions support stakeholder groups’ implementation of IFRS 18 and the early challenges they have identified.

Consistent application of IFRS Accounting Standards

IASB Technical Director Riana Wiesner moderated a panel discussion with the IFRS Interpretations Committee (Committee) Chair, member and observer. The discussion included an update on the work of the IASB and how the Committee supports the consistent application of IFRS Accounting Standards.

Connectivity between the financial statements and sustainability-related financial disclosures

During the conference’s final plenary session, the Foundation’s connectivity team acknowledged the importance of connectivity between the IFRS Accounting Standards and IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards in enabling companies to provide high-quality financial information to capital markets. The team used examples to illustrate that if companies apply the two types of IFRS Standards, they can provide complementary and connected financial and sustainability-related information.

You can watch the recordings of these sessions on the conference page.

Breakout sessions

The WSS Conference included six breakout sessions on:

Learn more about these sessions and watch the recording ‘Welcome back—Report back from breakout sessions on Day 1’ on the WSS 2024 conference page.

Other topics

In three optional drop-in sessions, participants had an opportunity to learn about:

Conference Chair Andrea Pryde said:

The WSS Conference was a fantastic networking event, filled with valuable insights on the state of ISSB and IASB Standards. Our collaboration with national standard-setters helps us to understand what the problems are, develop globally accepted Standards and represent stakeholder voices. The Foundation looks forward to reconnecting with national standard-setters at the next WSS Conference in September 2025.

IASB recent highlights

IASB launches review of the statement of cash flows

In September the IASB announced the start of the Statement of Cash Flows and Related Matters research project to review and improve the requirements for the statement of cash flows and related matters in IFRS Accounting Standards.

During the IASB’s Third Agenda Consultation, investors, companies and others rated this project as a high priority. Stakeholders suggested that the current requirements in IAS 7 Statement of Cash Flows could be enhanced so that companies provide more useful information to users of financial statements than they do now.

The IASB will now conduct its initial research—by meeting with stakeholders and reviewing studies—to gather evidence on the nature and extent of perceived deficiencies in current reporting and the likely benefits of developing new financial reporting requirements.

The IASB plans to discuss the initial research outcomes and determine the next steps for this project during the first quarter of 2025.

IASB proposes improvements to the equity method

In September the IASB opened a public consultation Exposure Draft Equity Method of Accounting—IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures on proposed amendments aimed at helping companies to account for their investments in associates and joint ventures. The proposals respond to stakeholders’ questions on how to apply the equity method.

IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures sets out how companies report on these investments by applying the equity method. The proposed amendments add to and clarify how to apply the equity method by answering application questions the IASB has received over several years. The IASB is also proposing new disclosure requirements that will enhance the information companies provide about these investments. The IASB expects the proposed amendments will reduce diversity in practice and provide users of financial statements with comparable and useful information.

IAS 28 was first published in 1989 and the IASB has taken this opportunity to reorder the Standard logically and consistently to help companies with the application of the Standard.

Watch the webcast series 'Explore the Equity Method Exposure Draft’. The IASB invites stakeholders to provide feedback on the proposed amendments. The comment period is open until 20 January 2025.

ISSB recent highlights

ISSB discusses two projects from the 2024–2026 work plan

The ISSB met on 18 September 2024 to discuss two of its research and standard-setting projects from the 2024–2026 work plan.

Enhancing the SASB Standards

The ISSB is preparing an exposure draft of proposed amendments to a set of SASB Standards, as set out in its work plan. The ISSB also will consider proposing targeted amendments to other SASB Standards to maintain consistent measurement of common topics across industries. The ISSB is also researching whether to prioritise additional enhancements to the SASB Standards and Sustainable Industry Classification System during its next phase of work.

In its September meeting, the ISSB discussed two SASB Standards from the Extractives & Minerals Processing sector, specifically the Iron & Steel Producers and Metals & Mining SASB Standards.

The ISSB expects to publish the exposure drafts in Q1 2025. Find more information on the Enhancing the SASB Standards project page.

Research projects on Biodiversity, Ecosystems and Ecosystem Services and Human Capital

The ISSB also discussed the connections between the content in the industry-based SASB Standards and the ISSB’s research projects on risks and opportunities related to biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services and human capital (including a company’s own workforce and workers in its value chain). The research review is expected in H1 2025.

Read the meeting papers and watch the recordings from the September ISSB meeting page.

The IFRS Foundation has also produced a new webcast ‘IFRS—Webcast: Overview of the ISSB’s two-year work plan’ that discusses the ISSB two-year work plan.

News for national standard-setters

IFRS Foundation updates

  • The IFRS Foundation Trustees have created the IFRS Foundation Group of Fellows, chaired by Professor Lucrezia Reichlin, that will provide evidence to enhance the Trustees’ understanding of IFRS Standards’ impact on the global economy and other strategic matters relevant to the future of the IFRS Foundation.
  • In August, the former General Manager of the Italian Banking Association, Giovanni Sabatini, was appointed a Trustee of the IFRS Foundation. Mr Sabatini brings a wealth of international finance experience, from both public and private sector appointments.
  • The IFRS Foundation has published new translations of IFRS Accounting Standards, agenda decisions, exposure drafts and educational materials. The new translations into Arabic, French, Georgian, Japanese, Korean and Spanish are now available.
  • The IFRS Foundation has published new translations of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards into Arabic, French, Romanian, Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese.

Accounting updates

Sustainability updates

  • The Transition Implementation Group on IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 (TIG) met on 19 September in Frankfurt. The TIG is a public forum for discussing questions from companies implementing IFRS S1 and IFRS S2. TIG participants discussed the relationship between a financial activities and asset classes not specifically mentioned in the two Standards, its sustainability-related risks and risk mitigation activities. Participants also discussed applying jurisdictional reliefs to part of a reporting entity, Scope 3 Category 15 GHG emissions related to financial activities and asset classes that are not explicitly referenced in IFRS S2 and use of GWP values from the latest IPCC assessment when a jurisdictional authority mandates the use of a different GWP value. You can read the papers and watch the recording from the September TIG meeting page.
  • The Q2 2024 episode of the ISSB Implementation Insights podcast is now available, where ISSB Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd and ISSB Member Veronika Pountcheva discuss the key points from the June Transition Implementation Group on IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 (TIG) meeting, including those related to the requirement for companies to revise estimates in sustainability-related disclosures when new information becomes available.
  • The IFRS Foundation published a guide for companies as investors call for voluntary application of ISSB Standards. To support companies and meet this demand, the IFRS Foundation published Voluntarily applying ISSB Standards—A guide for preparers. The guide aims to support companies as they start to apply ISSB Standards voluntarily as well as help them communicate their progress to investors.
  • The World Bank Group and the IFRS Foundation announced their commitment to expand the coverage of their existing partnership to the adoption of sustainability standards in emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs). The commitment—announced during New York Climate Week—builds on the longstanding partnership between the World Bank Group and the IFRS Foundation that helped deliver the adoption of IFRS Accounting Standards in EMDEs globally.
  • New sustainability disclosure consultations have opened in several jurisdictions. For the convenience of ISSB stakeholders we are providing a list of ongoing and completed jurisdictional consultations at national and supra-national level on sustainability-related disclosures.

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.