The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has announced that it has concluded its decision making on two projects and will begin drafting and balloting two new IFRS Accounting Standards. The IASB expect to issue the new standards in the first half of 2024. The first of these standards will be the result of the Primary Financial Statements project and will supersede IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements. This standard will result in companies reporting more consistently and transparently on their financial performance, making it easier for investors to compare companies. The second standard is the result of the Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosure project and will reduce the disclosure requirements for subsidiaries that are not traded on a public market, or who do not hold assets entrusted to them by their customers. The IASB have decided that the effective date for the two new standards will be periods commencing on or after 1 January 2027, with early adoption permitted.

The Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published a thematic review entitled “CRR Thematic review of climate-related metrics and targets” which assesses the quality and maturity of climate-related metrics and targets disclosures across 20 companies annual reports for 2022. The review focusses on 4 sectors- materials and buildings, energy, banks and asset managers. The report is intended to assist preparers in the preparation of climate-related disclosures and highlights instances of good practice identified as well as opportunities for improvement and omissions identified. Throughout the report the FRC consider the following overarching questions; Has companies’ climate-related metrics and targets reporting improved since last year? Are companies adequately disclosing their plans for transition to a lower carbon economy, including interim milestones and progress? Are companies using consistent and comparable metrics? Are companies explaining how their targets have affected the financial statements? Overall, the report shows an improvement in the quality of companies’ disclosures of net-zero commitments and interim emissions targets, however it also noted that disclosures of actions and milestones required to meet these targets were sometimes unclear.  

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has announced that it plans to issue its proposed sustainability assurance standard, International Standard on Sustainability Assurance 5000 (ISSA 5000) on 2 August. This will then be subject to public consultation until early December to allow for stakeholder feedback. In making the announcement the IAASB stated that "When approved, ISSA 5000 will be the most comprehensive sustainability assurance standard available to all assurance practitioners across the globe. It will apply to sustainability information reported about any appropriate sustainability matter and prepared under any suitable framework. It will also apply for both limited and reasonable assurance engagements."

The FRC Lab has published a report entitled "ESG data distribution and consumption- Optimising the flow of ESG data from companies to investors". This report is the second phase of the FRC Lab's ESG data project, having published "Improving ESG data production" in 2022. This report examines how investors access and collect ESG data and how they use it. Specifically, it looks at the following three elements of relevance to ESG data; Motivation- What motivates investors to collect ESG data? Method- How do investors collect the data? Meaning- How do investors integrate ESG data into their investment processes?

The latest, 11th EU sanctions package was implemented on 23 June 2023. Click here and here for the press releases from the EU Council. The package introduces further trade, transport and energy restrictions. It also lists  over 100 additional individuals and entities subject to asset freezes and other restrictions  such as extension of the media ban to 5 additional channels. Click here for a summary of the key elements. Click here to go to the European Commission website where readers can find further information on the eleventh package including Q&A on the package. The European Union External Action webpage has a booklet on their website summarising the provisions of the eleventh package which you can access here. This information is provided as resources and information only and nothing in these pages purports to provide professional advice or definitive legal interpretation(s) or opinion(s) on the applicable legislation or legal or other matters referred to in the pages. If the reader is in doubt on any matter in this complex area further legal or other advice must be obtained. While every reasonable care has been taken by the Institute in the preparation of these pages, we do not guarantee the accuracy or veracity of any resource, guidance, information or opinion, or the appropriateness, suitability or applicability of any practice or procedure contained therein. The Institute is not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of the resources or information contained in these pages.  

Earlier this year the Dept. of Enterprise Trade and Employment (DETE) sought the views of stakeholders and interested parties on the Member State options contained within the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (EU) 2022/2464, ahead of its transposition into Irish law. 34 responses were received by DETE including one from Chartered Accountants Ireland .A copy of each of the responses is now available on DETE’s website . This week DETE also published its proposed policy response to the public consultation on the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive and readers can access a copy of it here.