IFRS Foundation Trustees announce five-year plan including new seat of the ISSB in Geneva

The IFRS Foundation Trustees have today announced a series of strategic initiatives that strengthen the IFRS Foundation’s capability to serve global capital markets through high-quality IFRS Standards:

• approval of a five-year operating and financing plan for both the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB);
• opening of an ISSB office in Geneva, Switzerland, during 2027 to enhance the ISSB’s multi-location model; and
• publication of proposed targeted amendments to the IFRS Foundation’s Constitution that codify previously announced Trustee decisions, open for comment until 16 November 2026.

The operating and financing plan sets out progress and a path to long-term financial resilience, based on a review of separate projected funding and resourcing requirements for the IASB and the ISSB over five years.

Approved plan for funding the IASB into the future

The IASB funding plan reflects the widespread global acceptance of IFRS Accounting Standards, addresses the need for a more diversified and durable funding base, and incorporates the efficiencies gained from the IFRS Foundation’s recent transformation programme.

In addition to working with all adopting jurisdictions to secure financial contributions, the IFRS Foundation will seek contributions from capital market participants that benefit from the Standards and will enhance licensing of the IASB’s intellectual property.

The plan relies on a principle of shared responsibility: those who benefit from IFRS Standards as critical capital market infrastructure have a responsibility to contribute to their development and maintenance.

The plan confirms the IASB’s primarily single-location model and permits use of the IASB’s accumulated reserves in the short term as a long-term, stable funding plan is implemented, consistent with the purpose for which those reserves are held.

Enhancing the ISSB’s multi-location model

Already, more than 45 jurisdictions are using ISSB Standards. By 2027, companies in 18 jurisdictions will be issuing reports.

Funding for the ISSB has been secured that—alongside existing funding agreements and earned revenue streams—provides a path for resourcing the ISSB to deliver its priorities through 2031. From this point, as adoption of ISSB Standards matures, the ISSB will move to a more durable, long-term funding model.

Thanks to seed funding, the ISSB has used a multi-location model to foster adoption and build capacity for implementation since its creation in 2021. Such funding arrangements have enabled the ISSB to establish a presence in key locations including Beijing, Frankfurt, Montreal and Tokyo.

The Trustees have reaffirmed this model and will expand on it by setting up an office in Geneva to serve as the seat of the ISSB. Building on the ISSB’s successful presence in Germany, the ISSB’s Frankfurt office will continue to act as a hub for the ISSB’s EU engagement. Each of the ISSB’s offices will continue to provide key functions that enable the ISSB to deliver its strategy.

Have your say: proposed targeted amendments to the Constitution

The Trustees have also published, for consultation, proposed targeted amendments to the Constitution, which sets out the IFRS Foundation’s purpose, objectives, governance structure and due process requirements.

The proposed amendments operationalise the Trustees’ decision to gradually reduce the size of the IASB and ISSB—the Trustees expect each board to comprise 10 members from 2028. The Trustees are focused on maintaining geographically diverse and balanced board memberships as well as appropriate diversity of professional backgrounds, skills and perspectives so that the boards can continue to deliver the IFRS Foundation’s mission effectively.

New leadership team

Today’s announcements follow the appointment of Steven Maijoor as the next Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees, Sam Woods as Chair of the IASB and Laura Forzani as incoming Managing Director of the IFRS Foundation.

Together with the ISSB leadership, they will be responsible for delivering the five-year plan, so that the IFRS Foundation has the resources to continue to bring transparency, accountability and efficiency to capital markets through high-quality IFRS Standards.

IFRS Foundation Trustee Chair, Erkki Liikanen said:

Our five-year operating and financing plan helps ensure the IFRS Foundation and its boards are equipped to deliver high-quality Standards critical to global capital markets. On behalf of the Trustees, I extend my thanks to all those, current and future, who fund the important work of the IASB and the ISSB.

In addition, I thank our funders—including those in Beijing, Frankfurt, Montreal and Tokyo—for supporting the ISSB as its journey began. Furthermore, we deeply appreciate the trust and support, including from philanthropies, for this next phase, as well as Swiss and Geneva authorities and private donors, as we establish a new office in Geneva as the seat of the ISSB.

ISSB Chair, Emmanuel Faber said:

I am thrilled that Switzerland, through our new Geneva office, is joining our global network. As a major international hub for sustainable finance and a unique centre for multilateral cooperation, Geneva is a natural ecosystem for our work.

Access to resources and supply chains is being challenged amid rising geopolitical uncertainties, climate events and other emerging sustainability-related risks and opportunities. Now more than ever, capital markets need a global language for companies to communicate their resilience to investors. My sincere thanks to all those who make this work possible through their ongoing support.

IASB Vice-Chair and Acting Chair, Linda Mezon Hutter, said:

The IFRS Foundation’s five-year plan provides clarity on the resources available to the IASB during this period. It will help us to plan accordingly as we deliver on our priorities and begin to consider our future agenda under a new Chair.

Further information:

• The Trustees are responsible for the IFRS Foundation’s governance, strategy and oversight of the IASB and the ISSB. IFRS Standards are set independently by the IASB (IFRS Accounting Standards) and by the ISSB (IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards or ‘ISSB Standards’).
• The five-year plan:
  • integrates changes already introduced through the IFRS Foundation’s transformation programme. The programme was started in 2024 to improve the IFRS Foundation’s efficiency and effectiveness, secure appropriate long-term resourcing and align stakeholder ambitions with the human and financial resources required to deliver them.
  • sets out how the funding committed to the ISSB from philanthropic, jurisdictional and other contributors for 2027 to 2031 helps the ISSB transition between its initial seed funding and the implementation of a long-term funding model as adoption of ISSB Standards matures.
• Information on financial contributors will be set out in the IFRS Foundation’s 2026 Annual Report. Access the 2025 Annual Report.
• The IFRS Foundation expects the ISSB’s Geneva office to open in mid-2027. The ISSB’s Montreal office will continue to host key functions for the ISSB, in balance with Geneva. Each of the ISSB’s offices will continue to provide key functions that enable the ISSB to deliver its strategy, with Frankfurt as a hub for the ISSB’s EU engagement.
• The proposed amendments to the Constitution address board size, the geographical allocation of board membership, the attributes of board members and voting arrangements.