The IFRS Foundation Trustees focused on implementation of the Foundation’s five-year operating and financing plan when they met in Amsterdam on 20-22 October 2026. The plan provides a clear framework for the Foundation’s next phase and supports the continued delivery of high-quality standards for the capital markets.
Budget and funding strategy
The Trustees approved the 2027 budget, which focuses on three priorities: enabling the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) to deliver their priorities, growing sustainable income and maintaining cost control.
The Trustees discussed the Foundation’s funding strategy as part of their collective responsibility under the Constitution for establishing and maintaining appropriate financing arrangements for the Foundation. The Trustees supported the funding strategy’s underlying principle: those who benefit from the essential capital market infrastructure provided by IFRS Standards should contribute their fair share towards the development and maintenance of those Standards.
In particular, the Trustees emphasised the importance of working collaboratively with jurisdictions that have adopted IFRS Accounting Standards to develop funding mechanisms suited to their circumstances in support of the IASB’s work.
As announced in August, the Foundation has secured new funding for the ISSB that, together with existing and committed funding, as well as commercial revenue streams, will support the ISSB’s work until 2031.
Erkki Liikanen, Chair of the Trustees, said:
IFRS Standards are a global public good and essential capital market infrastructure. Delivery of the five-year plan requires working collaboratively with all who benefit from this infrastructure to share the costs of developing and maintaining the Standards.
Succession and governance
The Amsterdam meeting was the first attended by Laura Forzani, who joined as Managing Director in September, and Sam Woods, who joined as IASB Chair in October. It was also the last in-person meeting chaired by Erkki Liikanen before he steps down at the end of 2026. Steven Maijoor will succeed him from 1 January 2027. The Trustees thanked Mr Liikanen for his leadership during a period of significant change for the Foundation, including the creation of the ISSB. The Trustees have started the search for a new European Trustee.
The meeting was also the last for Trustee Vice-Chair Masamichi Kono and Trustees Bob Pozen and Ken Robinson, who are also stepping down at the end of the year. The Trustees thanked them for their service to the Foundation.
Bertrand Badré, Rudolf Bless, Morgan Deprés, Chong-Tee Ong, Giovanni Sabatini and Richard Sexton have been reappointed to serve as Trustees for a second three-year term, starting on 1 January 2027. The reappointments followed a thorough process, including approval by the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board, an independent body of capital market authorities to which the Trustees are publicly accountable.
The Trustees also welcomed the successful leadership transitions and thanked Michel Madelain, who attended part of the meeting, for his service as Managing Director until September 2026.
Evolving corporate reporting landscape
During their committee meetings, the Trustees considered forward-looking issues, including the impact of technological developments such as artificial intelligence (AI) on corporate reporting. They also discussed progress made on improving the understanding of the Foundation’s workforce needs.
Updates and strategic dialogue
The Trustees received progress updates from IASB Chair Sam Woods and ISSB Chair Emmanuel Faber on the boards’ work plans. The Trustees commended progress on the boards’ work plans. For the IASB, this included its work to support implementation of IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements and its project on equity accounting. For the ISSB, this included its consultation on nature-related disclosures and adoption of its Standards.
The Trustees met with the Monitoring Board as part of the important ongoing collaboration between the two bodies and had an exchange with Jean-Paul Servais, Chair of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO). They also received an update from Merran Kelsall AO, Chair of the IFRS Foundation Advisory Council—the strategic advisory body to the Trustees and the two boards.
The Trustees thanked De Nederlandsche Bank for hosting the meeting in Amsterdam.
Access the papers for and recordings of the Due Process Oversight Committee’s October 2026 meeting.
Followable tags
IFRS Foundation strategy and governance
Media
