IASB publishes work plan priorities for 2022-2026

Keywords: Mazars, Thailand, IFRS, IFRS IC, IASB, IAS 38, ISSB, IFRS 9, IFRS 15, IFRS 16

21 October 2022

In July, the IASB published a snapshot (available here) of feedback from its Third Agenda Consultation. This is accompanied by a more detailed feedback statement (available here) identifying the key messages from the 161 written responses received in 2021.

The consultation document stated that the IASB’s work plan was already quite full, due to large ongoing standard-setting projects (developing new standards, post-implementation reviews, and interpretations) which account for roughly 60% of the IASB’s capacity. On top of this, stakeholder engagement accounts for a quarter of the Board’s capacity.

Thus, the balance of the IASB’s main activities and resources will remain largely unchanged. However, the Board is planning to significantly increase the amount of resources dedicated to digital financial reporting and to improving the understandability and accessibility of the IFRS framework – activities that currently account for just 10% of its time. This will require the Board to shift some resources away from the development of new standards and amendments.

There was also very little room for manoeuvre on the priorities for standard-setting and maintenance work, as several large projects are already under way (Primary Financial Statements, Goodwill and Impairment, Rate-regulated Activities) as well as the Post-implementation Reviews of IFRS 9, IFRS 15 and IFRS 16, scheduled for three years after implementation of the standards. However, the IASB retained a small amount of flexibility to allow it to respond to urgent issues. It has now decided to add new projects on some “emerging” issues:

• a comprehensive review of IAS 38 – Intangible Assets;
• a review of requirements relating to the statement of cash flows (scope yet to be determined);
• a targeted project to explore whether it is necessary to improve accounting for climate-related risks.

Finally, two projects are on a reserve list:

• operating segments; and
• pollutant pricing mechanisms.

The IASB noted that it had received a strong message on the importance of coordinating its work with its new sister organisation, the ISSB. The willingness to collaborate with the new Board and the choice of emerging projects – which potentially form a point of connection between the two Boards – present an opportunity to demonstrate that the organisations are mutually complementary and can provide the integrated approach that investors require.