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Dear National Standard-setters,

Welcome to our newsletter dedicated to keeping you up to date on the IFRS Foundation’s activities.

In this edition

2026 World Standard-setters Conference

Thank you to those who attended this year’s World Standard-setters Conference (WSS) in London on 28 and 29 September. We’re grateful for your participation and engagement with the work of the Foundation and its two boards. We enjoyed connecting and exchanging views with you all—more than 150 delegates and observers from 73 jurisdictions. We value National Standard-setters’ continued support and active contribution to our work. The recordings and presentations from the plenary sessions are now available on the World Standard-setters Conference 2026 event page.

Inside the Foundation

IFRS Foundation Trustees Chair Erkki Liikanen and IFRS Foundation Managing Director Laura Forzani kicked off the conference with an update on the Foundation’s activities, including the five-year operating and financing plan and leadership succession arrangements.

International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) Acting Chair and Vice-Chair Linda Mezon-Hutter and IASB Executive Technical Director Riana Wiesner gave an update on the IASB’s recent activities. The session included an open Q&A and covered what’s currently on the IASB’s work plan as well as a glimpse of what’s coming next.

International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd and ISSB Executive Technical Director Bryan Esterly gave an update on the ISSB’s work over the past year and highlighted forthcoming priorities. Attendees had the opportunity to ask questions about the ISSB’s work.

Plenary session—Consistent application of IFRS Accounting Standards

IASB members Bruce Mackenzie and Bob Uhl and IFRS Interpretations Committee member Gary Berchowitz provided an update on the work of the IASB and the Committee in supporting the consistent application of IFRS Accounting Standards. The session focused on questions about IFRS 18—our new Standard on the presentation of financial statements, which will be effective next year.

Plenary session—Statement of Cash Flows and Related Matters

IASB member Bob Uhl and IASB Technical Staff members Nick Barlow, Thathsara Ramanayake, Dennis Deysel and Easton Bilsborough explained recent developments in the IASB’s project Statement of Cash Flows and Related Matters, sharing fresh insights and highlighting recent progress.

Plenary session—Adoption of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards

ISSB Vice-Chair Sue Lloyd, Director of Regulatory Affairs Jonathan Bravo and Regulatory Affairs Manager Anna Hemmant explained how jurisdictions are adopting or otherwise using IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards and discussed the tools available to support jurisdictions in adopting or otherwise using the Standards.

Drop-in session—IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard

IASB members and technical staff provided an overview of the materials available to support application of the third edition of the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard.

Breakout sessions

The conference included breakout sessions on:

For an overview of the breakout sessions, watch the 'Welcome back—Report back from breakout sessions on Day 1' recording, which is available on the World Standard-setters Conference 2026 webpage.

The conference proved to be an excellent platform for networking and exchanging insights on corporate reporting. Our ongoing collaboration with National Standard-setters is instrumental in identifying key challenges, shaping our globally recognised Standards and ensuring that stakeholder perspectives are well represented. The Foundation looks forward to reconnecting with National Standard-setters at the next World Standard-setters Conference in October 2027.

IASB recent highlights

Chair of the IASB

Sam Woods joined the IFRS Foundation as Chair of the IASB on 1 October 2027. Mr Woods is a recognised leader in international financial regulation, having previously served as Deputy Governor of the Bank of England and Chief Executive Officer of the UK Prudential Regulation Authority. He succeeds Andreas Barckow, whose term as IASB Chair concluded in June 2026. Mr Woods has been appointed for a five-year term.

Before joining the Prudential Regulation Authority, Mr Woods held various senior roles in HM Treasury in the UK, the New Zealand Treasury and in the private sector. Originating from New Zealand, Mr Woods holds an MBA from INSEAD and is a graduate of the University of Oxford.

He brings a proven track record of leading highly technical organisations, as well as broad experience in financial regulation, public policy and managing complex stakeholder relationships. His strategic and organisational leadership skills—and his experience in driving change and technology-led innovation—make him well suited to lead the IASB in achieving its mission and responding to evolving market needs efficiently and effectively. Mr Woods has long championed high-quality financial reporting standards as essential for a sound global financial system.

IASB seeks stakeholder feedback on hedge accounting requirements in IFRS 9 and IFRS 7

On 28 September the IASB published the Request for Information Post-implementation Review of IFRS 9 and IFRS 7—Hedge Accounting Requirements to review its hedge accounting requirements. The review will assess whether the requirements are working as intended and delivering the expected benefits for investors and other users of financial statements. It will also consider whether the costs of applying the requirements are broadly in line with the IASB’s expectations.

Hedge accounting helps to reflect in financial statements the effects of a company’s risk management activities that use financial instruments to manage particular risk exposures.

This review sits across two IFRS Accounting Standards:

  • the hedge accounting requirements in IFRS 9 Financial Instruments; and
  • the hedge accounting disclosure requirements in IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures.

The IASB is seeking feedback from stakeholders including investors, companies, auditors, regulators and standard-setters.

This review will complete the IASB’s Post-implementation Review of IFRS 9, following the earlier reviews of classification and measurement as well as impairment requirements.

Post-implementation reviews are an important part of the IASB’s due process. The IASB conducts a review a few years after a Standard has been implemented to assess its real-world effects. The Request for Information is open for comment until 26 January 2027.

Equity Method

The IASB has concluded its technical discussions on the Equity Method project, bringing it closer to completion. The project will result in a revised IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures that will address questions on how to apply the equity method, reducing diversity in practice. The requirements in the revised IAS 28 will be set out in a style consistent with more recent IFRS Accounting Standards, improving the understandability of the Standard.

The revised IAS 28 will be effective for reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2029, with early application permitted.

The balloting process for the project has now begun. This process will ensure the revised Standard accurately reflects the IASB’s decisions. The IASB expects to issue the revised IAS 28 in the first half of 2027.

ISSB recent highlights

ISSB consults on its proposals for nature-related disclosures

The proposals have been developed to help companies provide material information to investors about nature-related risks and opportunities, including material information about how their dependencies and impacts on nature give rise to those risks and opportunities.

Companies applying the ISSB’s foundational Standard, IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information, are already required to disclose material information about their sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could affect their prospects, which include those related to nature. The focus of the ISSB’s nature-related disclosures project is to provide more detail on how companies can provide this information, improving the quality and comparability of nature-related financial information globally.

In line with its existing Standards, the ISSB’s approach is designed to avoid siloed reporting so that investors can understand the connections between nature-related risks and opportunities, other sustainability-related risks and opportunities including climate, and information in the financial statements.

The ISSB has drawn extensively from the work of the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) in developing its proposals, especially to emphasise the relevance of location and interactions with Indigenous Peoples, Local Communities and affected stakeholders when providing nature-related disclosures.

The ISSB’s proposals come in the form of a Practice Statement—a stand-alone, prominent part of IFRS Foundation materials, subject to the IFRS Foundation’s full due process. From a content and drafting perspective there is no difference between a Practice Statement and a Standard. The key difference is that a company is not required to comply with a Practice Statement to state compliance with ISSB Standards, so this approach supports high-quality nature-related disclosures but prevents disruption in companies and jurisdictions’ efforts to implement the ISSB Standards.

In addition to seeking feedback on the content of the proposals, the ISSB is asking for feedback on whether to finalise the Practice Statement or issue nature-related content in another form (for example, as a Standard).

In developing its proposals, the ISSB has worked to ensure that companies that choose to or need to apply the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards or European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) alongside an IFRS Sustainability Practice Statement can do so efficiently.

The ISSB is asking for feedback on its proposals for nature-related disclosures until 19 February 2027. Access the materials and share your feedback:

Workforce-related Disclosures

The ISSB met on 24 September 2026 to receive an update on the research project and to consider:

  • changing the name of the project; and
  • focusing on five specific areas in the next stage of research.

The ISSB decided to change the name of the project from 'Human Capital' to 'Workforce-related Disclosures' to better reflect its scope.

The ISSB is researching disclosure of workforce-related risks and opportunities as part of its 2024–2026 work plan. The term ‘workforce’ refers to the people in a company’s own workforce and the workers in its value chain. Such disclosure may include information about workforce size, composition, compensation, engagement, turnover, training and development, working conditions and health, safety and wellbeing, and other possible topics. The research project will help the ISSB decide whether it should pursue standard-setting for disclosure requirements on some or all of these topics. You can access the Workforce-related Disclosures project page here.

News for National Standard-setters

IFRS Foundation updates

In August, The IFRS Foundation Trustees announced strategic initiatives to strengthen the IFRS Foundation’s capability to serve global capital markets through high-quality IFRS Standards:

  • approving a five-year operating and financing plan for both the IASB and the ISSB;
  • opening an ISSB office in Geneva, Switzerland, in 2027 to enhance the ISSB’s multi-location model; and
  • proposing targeted amendments to the Constitution that codify previously announced Trustee decisions. The consultation is 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.

Accounting updates

  • The Foundation is publishing educational materials to support implementation of IFRS 20 Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities. The second webcast in a series on IFRS 20 explains how to determine total allowed compensation and identify differences in timing. The webcast focuses on common types of compensation that regulatory agreements might include in regulated rates.

    Explore the IFRS 20 supporting materials webpage to find other useful educational materials.
  • After the IASB issued the third edition of the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard, the Foundation is publishing educational materials to support implementation of the Standard.

    Twenty educational modules are available to support anyone learning about or applying the Standard. Eleven webcasts are available, these complement the educational modules, that are designed to help entities applying the Standard. Finally, quarterly newsletters and a podcast series dedicated to the Standard are also available. The IFRS for SMEs Update summarises news, events and other information related to the Standard. The IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard podcasts offer bite-sized insights to support implementation.
  • The Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF) met in London in October 2026. ASAF members discussed several projects on the IASB’s work plan and related issues. You can watch the meeting recording on the October 2026 ASAF meeting page.

Sustainability updates

  • The Sustainability Standards Advisory Forum (SSAF) met in October 2026. SSAF members discussed projects on the ISSB’s workplan including:
    • Supporting implementation of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2;
    • Enhancing the SASB Standards;
    • Workforce-related Disclosures; and
    • Nature-related Disclosures.

You can watch the meeting recording on the October 2026 SSAF meeting page.

Consultations open for comment

Consultations and tentative Agenda Decisions (of the IFRS Interpretations Committee) that are open for comment can be found on our open for comment page.

  • In August 2026 the IFRS Foundation published the Exposure Draft Proposed Targeted Amendments to the IFRS Foundation Constitution to operationalise their 2025 decision to gradually reduce the size of the IASB and the ISSB. The amendments proposed in the Exposure Draft would provide an appropriate governance framework for the smaller boards, facilitating their effective functioning and giving stakeholders clarity about the smaller boards' governance arrangements. The deadline for submitting comment letters is 16 November 2026.

Accounting consultations

  • The IASB published for public comment the Exposure Draft Risk Mitigation Accounting, which proposes amendments to IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures. The comment letter period is open until 30 November 2026.
  • The IASB published a Request for Information as part of its post-implementation review of the hedge accounting requirements in IFRS 9 and the hedge accounting disclosure requirements in IFRS 7. The comment letter period is open until 26 January 2027.

Sustainability consultations

If you have any questions regarding the cooperation of the Foundation with National Standard-setters, please contact Elena Kostina, IASB Technical Staff, via the Contact button.