The IASB recently announced its intention to explore targeted actions to improve the reporting of climate-related uncertainties in financial statements. Like the ISSB, the IASB is part of the IFRS. Where the ISSB develops the IFRS standards for use in sustainability disclosure, the IASB develops international accounting standards. The press release announcing the new project states:
“As part of this project, which is named Climate-related and Other Uncertainties in the Financial Statements, the IASB has brought together in one place all its available materials supporting companies in their reporting of the effects of climate-related and other uncertainties in the financial statements. The materials can be found on the project page, and will include translations of educational material published earlier in the year as they become available.”
The release also notes that the IFRS Accounting Standards may be subject to targeted amendments in line with the IASB’s findings. Additionally, the IASB technical staff is said to be working closely with the ISSB technical staff in developing this project. This is particularly notable because the IASB is focused specifically on climate-related uncertainties in financial statements, rather than separate climate-related reporting. This action could signal a broader trend toward such integration.
It is important to note that should IASB issue such a standard at some point, it is not automatically applicable to US companies and SEC reporting. In the US, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) is recognized by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission as the designated accounting standard setter for public companies. Back in 2021, Lawrence wrote a detailed explanation/analysis of the interplay between international accounting standards development (particularly for climate matters) and SEC/FASB. You can keep up with the IASB’s progress and view background supporting materials on their webpage.
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