2017 IFRS Foundation Annual Report Released

The IFRS Foundation, which is a not-for-profit public interest organisation that oversees the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), recently released its 2017 annual report and financial statements.

Here are some of the key milestones the IFRS Foundation reported in 2017, along with their priorities for 2018. 

IFRS 17 issued

One of the key achievements the IFRS Foundation reported for the year-end 31 December 2017 was the introduction of IFRS 17, a new standard relating to insurance contracts that was released in May 2017.

IFRS 17 promises to change insurance accounting, which should, in turn, give investors and interested parties a deeper understanding of an insurance company’s financial performance and exposure.

Although the standard will not take effect until 2021, the IFRS Foundation has released some instructional material to help those affected get ready for the adoption of the new standard.

What’s more, the Foundation reported that it also published additional educational materials relating to IFRS 9, 15, and 16, as well as IFRS 17, over the course of the year.

Increased use of IFRS

The IFRS Foundation’s annual report stated that the number of jurisdictions that required the use of IFRS standards increased from 126 in 2016 to 144 in 2017, meaning that 87% of the 166 jurisdictions assessed in 2017 required the use of IFRS (International Financial Reporting Standards).

The increase in jurisdictions was bolstered largely by the fact that 17 new jurisdictions from West and Central Africa will be required to use IFRS as of 2019.

Overall, the IFRS Foundation reported that 75% of the G20 economies are required to use the standards, which shows how fundamental they have become around the world today.

Development of IFRS taxonomy

There were also positive steps forward to report when it came to the increased use of IFRS taxonomy.

In particular, the IFRS Foundation noted in the annual report that:

• The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has permitted Foreign Private Issuers to file their financial statements using IFRS taxonomy
• The European Securities and Markets Authority announced that iXBRL reporting will be required for certain entities that submit their accounts under IFRS

With such major institutions lending their support to the adoption of IFRS taxonomy, it’s likely that the number of institutions and jurisdictions that adopt it will continue to grow in the coming years.

Looking ahead

In 2018, the IFRS Foundation has a lot of work ahead of them.

Some of the key priorities for the IFRS Foundation in 2018 are:

• Issuing a revision to the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting, which was released in March 2018
• Releasing a discussion paper in the first half of 2018 relating to IAS 32, specifically, Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity
• Continuing work implementing IFRS 17

Overall, the IFRS Foundation’s annual report for December 2017 showed that support for IFRS standards and IFRS taxonomy continues to grow across the globe, and there are no signs of its popularity slowing down.

DataTracks has extensive experience with accounting taxonomies, including IFRS, and specialises in preparing financial statements in XBRL and iXBRL formats.