IFRS Foundation

The International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation or IFRS Foundation (sometimes IFRSF) is a nonprofit organization^[a] that sets corporate reporting standards for the capital markets globally founded on the belief that better information from companies leads to better investment decisions. Its main objectives include the development and promotion in the public interest a single set of high quality, understandable, enforceable and globally accepted International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS Standards), through the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) for accounting standards and the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) for sustainability-related disclosure standards.^[2]

IFRS Foundation

International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation.
Founder	Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and the United States (1973)
Founded at	London
Tax ID no.	13-4164140 (TIN)
Purpose	Global corporate reporting standards for the capital markets[1]
Headquarters	Columbus House 7 Westferry Circus, Canary Wharf, London, E14 4HD UK
Location	Legal domicile: Delaware, physical office location: San Francisco, United States
Coordinates	37°47′41″N 122°23′57″W
Chair of the trustees	Erkki Liikanen
Managing director	Michel Madelain
Revenue	£ 67.6 m
Disbursements	£ 14.8 m (US GAAP)
Expenses	£ 68.9 m
Staff	369 total employees (2024)
Website	www.ifrs.org
Formerly called	IASC Foundation
Use of IFRS Accounting Standards by jurisdiction Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Barbados, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bermuda, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cayman Islands, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Costa Rica, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Denmark, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Estonia, Eswatini, Ethiopia, European Union, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Honduras, Hong Kong, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Macau, North Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Montserrat, Morocco, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of the Congo, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

History

Main article: International Accounting Standards Committee

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.^[3][4] 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.^[2]

During the first twenty years of activity, the IASB was the IFRS Foundation's dominant standard-setting body.^[5] In 2021, the IFRS Foundation created a second standard-setting board, the International Sustainability Standards Board.^[6][7][8][9]

Chronology of major milestones in the history of the IFRS Foundation

Year	Event	Description
1973	IASC founded	The International Accounting Standards Committee (IASC) is established by agreement among accountancy bodies from ten countries (Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Mexico, Netherlands, UK, Ireland, USA) to harmonize accounting standards.
1988	IOSCO joins	The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) joins the IASC and begins cooperating to create a core set of international standards.
1997	Strategic review	The IASC resolves to undertake a comprehensive restructuring to enable closer cooperation with securities regulators and make the standards enforceable worldwide.
2000	IFRS Foundation launched	The IFRS Foundation (initially IASC Foundation) is established to replace the IASC and create a new governance structure. Trustees take oversight, and the IASB is established.
2001	IASB founded	The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) assumes responsibility for developing and publishing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS®).
2002	"Norwalk Agreement"	The IASB and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) sign the Norwalk Agreement to converge their respective accounting standards.
2005	EU mandate	The European Union (EU) mandates the use of IFRS for the consolidated financial statements of all listed companies. This is a crucial step for the global spread of IFRS.
2009	Monitoring Board established	The Monitoring Board is established to provide a formal link between the trustees and public authorities (capital market regulators) and to strengthen public accountability.
2010	Name change	The IASC Foundation is officially renamed the IFRS Foundation.
2015	IFRS 9, 15, 16	Completion of major IFRS projects on financial instruments (IFRS 9), revenue from contracts with customers (IFRS 15), and Leases (IFRS 16), significantly changing global accounting practice.
2021	ISSB founded	The IFRS Foundation establishes the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) at COP26 to develop global standards for sustainability disclosures (IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards).
2023	S-Standards published	The ISSB publishes its first two standards: IFRS S1 (General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information) and IFRS S2 (Climate-related Disclosures).

IFRS Foundation governance structure

The IFRS Foundation has a three-tier governance structure that strengthens the ability to carry out their mission. The IFRS Foundation states that its mission is to develop high-quality IFRS Standards that bring transparency, accountability and efficiency to capital 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.^[10][1]

The IFRS Foundation serves the public interest through integrity, transparency, and accountability, acts as a unified entity, shapes the future of financial reporting for a sustainable economy, and fosters a supportive environment for all colleagues.^[1]

IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board

The foundation is governed by a group of 22 trustees,^[11][12] themselves under the oversight of a monitoring board.^[13]

• European Commission
• Growth and Emerging markets Committee and the Board of International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
• Financial Services Agency of Japan
• US Securities and Exchange Commission
• Comissão de Valores Mobiliários (CVM) of Brazil
• Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Korea
• Ministry of Finance of the People’s Republic of China
• Financial Conduct Authority of United Kingdom
• United States Securities and Exchange Commission
• Basel Committee on Banking Supervision (IFRSF Monitoring Board observers)^[14][15]

Its aim is 'providing a formal link between the Trustees and public authorities' in order to enhance the public accountability of the IFRS Foundation.^[16][17][18]

IFRS Foundation trustees

The governance of the IFRS Foundation is primarily managed by the trustees, who may appoint other governing organs and are formally linked to public authorities via the Monitoring Board, with minor constitutional variations allowed by a 75% trustee majority.^[19] The trustees' responsibilities^[20] include IFRS Foundation governance, strategy and funding; due process oversight; and IASB, ISSB, IFRS Interpretations Committee and advisory body^[21][22][23] appointments to ensure the independence of the Board Members when adopting the standards^[24] Trustees must offer balanced professional backgrounds (regulators, investors, auditors, preparers, users, academics, public officials) and share a global interest in transparent corporate reporting.^[25] The IFRS Foundation is mandated to conduct a comprehensive review of its strategy, effectiveness, and governance structure—including Trustee geographical distribution—at least every five years, with all proposals published for public comment.^[25] They are accountable to a monitoring board of public authorities, the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board.^[26]

The foundation is governed by a board of 22 trustees^[27][12] including, as of 2024^[update]:

• Erkki Liikanen (chair), previously a governor of the International Monetary Fund and a member of the Governing Council of the European Central Bank^[28]
• Teresa Ko (vice-chair), Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer's China chairman and founding partner^[29]
• Maria Theofilaktidis (vice-chair), executive vice president and chief auditor at Scotiabank^[30]

IFRS Foundation Ttustee chairs:

• Paul Volcker (2000–January 2006)^[31]
• Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa (January–May 2006)
• Philip A. Laskawy (May 2006–December 2007)
• Gerrit Zalm (December 2007–June 2010)
• Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa (June–December 2010)
• Robert R. Glauber and Tsuguoki Fujinuma (acting co-chairs, December 2010–December 2011)
• Michel Prada (December 2011–October 2018)
• Erkki Liikanen (October 2018–present)

Independent standard-setting boards

The IFRS Foundation aims to develop high-quality, globally accepted financial and sustainability standards (via the IASB and ISSB), promote their rigorous worldwide application, address diverse entity needs, and facilitate convergence with national standards.^[19] IFRS standards primarily serve the needs of investors and capital market participants, but the ISSB ensures its sustainability disclosure standards are interoperable with other reporting initiatives to address the broader information needs of various stakeholders.^[19]

IFRS accounting

The IASB is an independent group of experts with an appropriate mix of recent practical experience and broad geographical diversity, as required by the IFRS Foundation Constitution.^[19]

IASB members are responsible for the development and publication of IFRS Accounting Standards, including the IFRS for SMEs Accounting Standard.^[32][33][34] The IASB works with the IFRS Interpretations Committee to support consistent application of the Standards.^[35]

IFRS Accounting Standards are required for use by more than 140 jurisdictions.^[36] The IASB’s work includes continually developing and improving the Standards.^[2]

IFRS sustainability

Responding to the need for consistent and comparable sustainability information to inform economic and investment decisions, in 2021 the IFRS Foundation created the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB),^[37] which operates alongside the IASB. The ISSB develops IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, designed to deliver a truly global baseline of sustainability disclosures to inform capital markets.^[2][38]

The ISSB builds on the work of market-led investor-focused reporting initiatives, including the Climate Disclosure Standards Board (CDSB), the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD), the Value Reporting Foundation’s Integrated Reporting Framework and industry-based SASB Standards.^[7]

The ISSB issued its inaugural Standards, IFRS S1 General Requirements for Disclosure of Sustainability-related Financial Information and IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures, in 2023. Jurisdictions around the world are determining how to adopt or use the Standards.^[39][40][41]

IFRS digital taxonomies

The IFRS digital taxonomies facilitate the reporting of information prepared in accordance with IFRS Standards in a computer-readable, structured data format.^[39][42] They consist of elements that can be used to tag information in financial reports 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^[43] content. The IFRS digital taxonomies include the IFRS Accounting Taxonomy, the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy and the SASB Standards Taxonomy.

Organisation

The Columbus Building at 7 Westferry Circus in Canary Wharf has been home to the IFRS Foundation since August 2018.^[44]

The building at 30 Cannon Street was the previous head office of the IFRS Foundation and IASB, from 2001 to 2018.

The IFRS Foundation receives contributed revenue made up of voluntary contributions from jurisdictions, ISSB seed funding, philanthropic grants and contributions from companies (61%).^[45] The foundation receives earned revenue from intellectual property licensing, publications, subscriptions, membership fees, education programmes and conferences (39%).^[46] The IFRS Foundation maintains a multi-location model with offices in London (main base for IASB and central staff), Montreal (ISSB hub for the Americas), Frankfurt (ISSB seat and hub for EMEA), Beijing (ISSB hub for emerging economies and Asia engagement), San Francisco (ISSB technical support), and Tokyo (support for both IASB and ISSB in Asia-Oceania), to support its global mission.^[47]

IFRS Foundation (IASB) funding contributions 2024

Contributor/jurisdiction	Amount (GBP £)	Percentage (%)
Canada	7,982,213	17.75%
Germany	5,657,719	12.58%
United Kingdom	4,553,595	10.12%
China	4,273,528	9.50%
Japan	3,447,857	7.67%
International Accounting Firms (Big Four Collective)	3,094,570	6.88%
European Union (European Commission)	2,588,555	5.76%
United States	2,455,053	5.46%
Netherlands	1,988,520	4.42%
All other jurisdictions	8,935,363	19.86%
Total (approx.)	44,976,973	100.00%

As of 2024,^[update] its managing director is Michel Madelain.^[48] He leads the IFRS Foundation’s strategic planning, governance, funding and expenditure activities and day-to-day operations. He also supports the work of the trustees and both boards.

Chronology of major amendments to the IFRS Foundation Constitution

Date	Version/review	Key change summary
March 2000	Original constitution approved	First approval
24 May 2000	Constitution effective	Trustees took office
6 Feb 2001	IASC Foundation formed	Part C deleted
5 March 2002	Revision	IFRS Interpretations Committee created
8 July 2002	Amendment	Organizational changes
1 July 2005	First five-yearly review	First scheduled review
31 Oct 2007	Amendment	Minor amendments
1 Feb 2009	Second five-yearly review (part 1)	Public accountability & IASB size
1 March 2010	Second five-yearly Rrview (conclusion)	Name change to IFRS Foundation
23 Jan 2013	Amendment	Separation of IASB chair/executive director roles
Oct 2016	Structure & effectiveness review	Structure and effectiveness amendments
1 Dec 2018	Narrow-Scope Amendment	Extended trustee terms (max. 9 years)
August 2020	Due Process Amendment	Advisory Council: strategic only
Oct 2021	Sustainability Reporting Amendment	Established the ISSB

See also

• Financial Accounting Foundation in the United States

Notes

1. The IFRS Foundation under the General Corporation Law of the State of Delaware, USA operates in England and Wales as an overseas company (Company number: FC023235) with its principal office at Columbus Building, London.