Four takeaways from the IFRS Foundation Conference

Marking the Foundation’s 25th anniversary, the annual IFRS Foundation Conference took place in London on 29–30 June and brought together more than 500 companies, investors, consultants, regulators and standard-setters from close to 80 jurisdictions—in person and online.

The two-day event gave delegates an update on the latest projects and progress from the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and insights from prominent guest speakers.

In his keynote speech ‘The whole truth’, Federated Hermes CEO Saker Nusseibeh CBE highlighted the importance of investors having access to both financial statements and sustainability disclosures to make informed decisions.

Here are four key themes from the conference:

1. IFRS Standards enable companies to provide investors with the information they need

Across plenaries, panels and breakouts, speakers and delegates discussed evolving demands for decision-useful information and expected changes in corporate reporting practices. Read or watch Saker Nusseibeh’s keynote speech, in which he called the creation of the ISSB to operate alongside the IASB ‘one of the most significant developments in corporate reporting’ in his professional lifetime.

2. Implementation is front and centre

The workshop on IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements unpacked application questions considered by the IFRS Interpretations Committee, including the reasoning behind its conclusions. The session on IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures drew on the experience of companies already applying or preparing to apply the Standard. The IFRS 20 Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities session walked delegates through the main requirements ahead of the effective date.

3. The baseline is working across borders

Sessions on regulatory adoption of ISSB Standards highlighted efforts to mitigate fragmentation and enhance comparability in sustainability-related disclosures through passporting and efforts to support efficient reporting for companies using both the revised European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and ISSB Standards.

4. Active standard-setting continues

Delegates heard the latest on projects, including the IASB’s projects on Risk Mitigation Accounting, Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity and the Statement of Cash Flows, and the ISSB’s projects on Nature-related Disclosures and industry-specific disclosure guidance.

The conference closed with an ‘Ask me anything’ session, in which IFRS Foundation Managing Director Michel Madelain, IASB Vice-Chair Linda Mezon-Hutter and ISSB Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd took questions from delegates on a range of topics, including the boards’ future work plans.

Thank you to all the speakers, delegates and sponsors who made the event a success.

Watch Saker Nusseibeh's keynote speech

Read the transcript of the keynote speech.