IFRS Foundation

Last updated
IFRS Foundation
PurposeDevelopment and promotion of accounting standards [1]
HeadquartersColumbus House 7 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4HD Flag of the United Kingdom.svg  UK
Chair of the Trustees
Erkki Liikanen
Executive Director
Lee White
Website www.ifrs.org
Formerly called
IASC Foundation

The International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation or IFRS Foundation (sometimes IFRSF) is a nonprofit organization that oversees financial reporting standard-setting. Its main objectives include the development and promotion of the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), through the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) for accounting standards and the International Sustainability Standards Board for sustainability-related standards (the latter known as ISSB).

Contents

The IFRS Foundation states that its mission is to develop IFRS Standards that bring transparency, accountability and efficiency to financial markets around the world, and that their work serves the public interest by fostering trust, growth and long-term financial stability in the global economy. [1]

The foundation is governed by a group of 22 trustees, [2] themselves under the oversight of a "Monitoring Board" of public authorities. [3]

Background

In 2001, the International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC, established 1973) reformed itself under a new dual structure consisting mainly of an independent standard-setting body, the International Accounting Standards Board, and a foundation that appoints and funds the IASB, initially named the IASC Foundation. The IASB assumed accounting standard-setting responsibilities from the IASC on 1 March 2001. The IASC Foundation changed its name to IFRS Foundation on 1 July 2010.

During the first twenty years of activity, the IASB was the foundation's dominant standard-setting body. In 2021, the IFRS Foundation established a second standard-setting board under itself, the International Sustainability Standards Board.

Activities

The IFRS Foundation hosts the IASB and a separate committee, the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) which issues interpretations, which are documents that complement the IFRS standards and form part of the IFRS set. Separately, the IASB sets out IFRS for small and medium-sized entities (SMEs) to better meet the specific needs of SMEs than is possible with the full IFRS Standards, which are intended primarily for publicly listed entities. [4] The IASB also develops and maintains the IFRS Taxonomy, [5] consisting of elements that can be used to tag disclosures in financial statements prepared using IFRS Standards. Tagging makes information computer-readable and, therefore, more accessible to investors and other users of electronic company financial reports. The eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) is used to represent and deliver IFRS Taxonomy content.

Organisation and governance

The Columbus Building at 7 Westferry Circus in Canary Wharf has been home to the IFRS Foundation and IASB since August 2018 London MMB >>0F8 1 Westferry Circus.jpg
The Columbus Building at 7 Westferry Circus in Canary Wharf has been home to the IFRS Foundation and IASB since August 2018
the building at 30, Cannon Street was the previous head office of the IFRS Foundation and IASB, from 2001 to 2018 30 Cannon Street, City of London 10 August 2014.jpg
the building at 30, Cannon Street was the previous head office of the IFRS Foundation and IASB, from 2001 to 2018

The IFRS Foundation is funded in part by country-specific funding regimes involving stakeholder groups, or levies and other contributions through regulatory authorities, and also by self-generated income. [7] As of 2022, its executive director is Lee White. [8]

The foundation is governed by a board of 22 trustees, [2] including, as of 2022:

The trustees' responsibilities [11] include appointing members to and establishing the operating procedures of the IASB, Interpretations Committee and Advisory Council, and approving the foundation's budget. They are accountable to a monitoring board of public authorities, the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board.

List of IFRS Foundation chairs

See also

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References

  1. 1 2 IFRS Foundation, 2018. About the IFRS Foundation and the IASB. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  2. 1 2 Deloitte Global Services Limited, 2012. IFRS Foundation. Retrieved April 25, 2012.
  3. IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board. IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  4. IFRS Foundation, 2012. Project history. Retrieved April 26, 2012.
  5. IFRS Foundation, 2018. IFRS Taxonomy. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  6. "The IFRS Foundation has moved". IFRS Foundation. 6 August 2018.
  7. IFRS Foundation, 2018.Financing. Retrieved April 26, 2018.
  8. Lee White steps down from CAANZ. . Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  9. IFRS Foundation, 2019. Trustee Chairman. Retrieved March 14, 2019.
  10. Sarah Alsuhaimi, Chairperson, Saudi Stock Exchange (Tadawul), Saudi Arabia [ permanent dead link ] Financial Sector Conference
  11. IFRS Foundation, 2018.Trustee responsibilities. Retrieved June 20, 2018.
  12. "Statement on the death of Paul Volcker, inaugural Chairman of the IFRS Foundation Trustees". IFRS Foundation. 10 December 2019.