The IFRS Foundation is the legal entity under which the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) operates. The Foundation is governed by a board of 22 trustees.
IFRS Foundation is the new name, approved in January 2010, of the IASC Foundation. The name change formally took effect on 1 July 2010. From that date, the Foundation's website (including IASB materials) also changed to www.ifrs.org and email addresses changed to end in '@ifrs.org'.
Constitution
- Click here for IFRS Foundation Constitution.
- Click here for 2003-2005 Trustees constitution review.
- Click here for 2008-2010 Trustees constitution review
- Click here for 2015 Trustees constitution review.
Objectives of the IFRS Foundation
The objectives of the IFRS Foundation are:
- to develop, in the public interest, a single set of high quality, understandable, enforceable and globally accepted financial reporting standards based upon clearly articulated principles. These standards should require high quality, transparent and comparable information in financial statements and other financial reporting to help investors, other participants in the world’s capital markets and other users of financial information make economic decisions
- to promote the use and rigorous application of those standards
- in fulfilling the above objectives, to take account of, as appropriate, the needs of a range of sizes and types of entities in diverse economic settings
- to promote and facilitate adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), being the standards and interpretations issued by the IASB, through the convergence of national accounting standards and IFRSs.
Responsibilities of the Trustees
The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have responsibility to:
- assume responsibility for establishing and maintaining appropriate financing arrangements;
- establish or amend operating procedures for the Trustees;
- determine the legal entity under which the IFRS Foundation shall operate, provided always that such legal entity shall be a foundation or other body corporate conferring limited liability on its members and that the legal documents establishing such legal entity shall incorporate provisions to achieve the same requirements as the provisions contained in this Constitution;
- review in due course the location of the IFRS Foundation, both as regards its legal base and its operating location;
- investigate the possibility of seeking charitable or similar status for the IFRS Foundation in those countries where such status would assist fund raising;
- open their meetings to the public but may, at their discretion, hold certain discussions (normally only about selection, appointment and other personnel issues, and funding) in private; and
- publish an annual report on the IFRS Foundation's activities, including audited financial statements and priorities for the coming year.
The Trustees also have responsibility to:
- appoint the members of the IASB and establish their contracts of service and performance criteria;
- appoint the members of the IFRS Interpretations Committee (the Interpretations Committee) and the IFRS Advisory Council (the Advisory Council);
- review annually the strategy of the IFRS Foundation and the IASB and its effectiveness, including consideration, but not determination, of the IASB's agenda;
- approve annually the budget of the IFRS Foundation and determine the basis for funding;
- review broad strategic issues affecting financial reporting standards, promote the IFRS Foundation and its work and promote the objective of rigorous application of IFRSs, provided that the Trustees shall be excluded from involvement in technical matters relating to financial reporting standards;
- establish and amend operating procedures, consultative arrangements and due process for the IASB, the Interpretations Committee and the Advisory Council;
- review compliance with the operating procedures, consultative arrangements and due process;
- approve amendments to this Constitution after following a due process, including consultation with the Advisory Council and publication of an exposure draft for public comment and subject to the voting requirements given in section 14;
- exercise all powers of the IFRS Foundation except for those expressly reserved to the IASB, the Interpretations Committee and the Advisory Council; and
- foster and review the development of educational programmes and materials that are consistent with the IFRS Foundation's objectives.
Trustee voting
The Trustees act by simple majority vote except for amendments to the IFRS Foundation Constitution, which require a three-fourths majority.
IFRS Foundation Trustees
Click here for a list of the IFRS Foundation Trustees.
IFRS Foundation XBRL Project
An IFRS Foundation team Click here for information about the IFRS XBRL taxonomy.
28 Mar 2024 The IFRS Foundation is seeking Trustees from Africa, two from Asia-Oceania, and one from any part of the world ('at large') for terms beginning on 1 January 2025. 27 Mar 2024 The IFRS Foundation has issued its 2024 IFRS Accounting Taxonomy. The IFRS Taxonomy enables electronic reporting of financial information prepared in accordance with IFRS Accounting Standards. 06 Mar 2024 The IFRS Foundation has announced its annual IFRS Foundation conference, which is to be held on 24–25 June 2024. The conference with include discussions and speeches on both, IASB and ISSB developments. It will be held in London. 05 Mar 2024 The IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board (MB) has released a report on the meeting with the IFRS Trustees and the leadership of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) in Madrid, Spain. 27 Feb 2024 The IFRS Foundation has issued a comprehensive summary that compiled evidence from national accounting standard-setters concerning the impact of guidance on materiality judgements within IFRS Accounting Standards and related materials. 21 Feb 2024 The IFRS Foundation announces the release of Azeri, Bosnian, Brazilian Portuguese, French, Hebrew, Macedonian, Russian, Spanish and Ukrainian translations. 14 Dec 2023 The IFRS Foundation has published Spanish and Ukrainian translation4s of the IFRS Taxonomy 2023. 28 Nov 2023 The IFRS Foundation has issued a video featuring IASB Member Ann Tarca who provides an explanation of the proposed changes to the IFRS Accounting Taxonomy for 2023. 09 Nov 2023 The Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) has announced the upcoming launch of the Sustainability Innovation Lab (SIL), in partnership with the IFRS Foundation. Through the SIL, representatives of GRI, the ISSB and other key stakeholders will collaborate to identify emerging sustainability disclosure topics, developing concepts, best practices and data-driven solutions. 06 Nov 2023 The IFRS Foundation has issued a proposed IFRS Taxonomy Update, 'IFRS Accounting Taxonomy 2023 — Proposed Update 2 'Common Practice for Financial Instruments, General Improvements and Technology Update''. 03 Nov 2023 The IFRS Foundation announces the release of simplified Chinese, French, Japanese, Montenegrin, Portuguese and Spanish translations. 19 Oct 2023 The IFRS Foundation Trustees have convened in Panama for the first time, emphasising the region's significance in shaping international accounting and sustainability standards. 11 Oct 2023 The Sustainability Consultative Committee (SCC) will meet via video conference on 12 October 2023. An agenda for the meeting is now available on the IFRS Foundation website. 06 Oct 2023 The IFRS Foundation has announced the appointment of Bertrand Badré, Rudolf Bless, Morgan Després, Chong-Tee Ong, and Richard Sexton as Trustees of the IFRS Foundation. Their appointments will begin on 1 January 2024 and will expire on 31 December 2026. 05 Oct 2023 The IFRS Foundation has issued a proposed IFRS Taxonomy Update, 'IFRS Accounting Taxonomy 2023 — Proposed Update 1 'International Tax Reform—Pillar Two Model Rules', 'Supplier Finance Arrangements' and 'Lack of Exchangeability''. 08 Sep 2023 The IFRS Foundation has updated its brochure on how consistent application of IFRS Accounting Standards is supported. 04 Sep 2023 The annual exchange of views between the Committee on Economic and Monetary Affairs (ECON) of the European Parliament and representatives of the IFRS Foundation took place this afternoon. Erkki Liikanen, Chairman of the IFRS Foundation Trustees, IASB Chairman Andreas Barckow and ISSB Chairman Emmanuel Faber stood ready to answer questions of the Parliamentarians. 16 Aug 2023 The IFRS Foundation announces the release of Albanian, Arabic, Bosnian, Finnish, French, Georgian, Japanese, Montenegrin, Portuguese, and Spanish translations. 14 Aug 2023 The 2023 IFRS Foundation Conference was held in London on 26–27 June 2023 and featured a gathering of over 550 delegates from 60 countries. The conference provided perspectives on financial reporting and sustainability standards and coincided with the launch of the inaugural IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. 27 Jul 2023 The IFRS Foundation has published the 'Proposed IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Taxonomy' for public comment. 24 Jul 2023 The IFRS Foundation has compiled a comparison of the requirements in IFRS S2 'Climate-related Disclosures' and the TCFD recommendations. 10 Jul 2023 The IFRS Foundation has welcomed the completion of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures’ (TCFD) work and the transfer of monitoring responsibilities to the ISSB starting in 2024. 22 Jun 2023 The IFRS Foundation has published French, Japanese, simplified Chinese, and Spanish translations of the the ISSB exposure draft and ISSB request for information currently open for comment. 06 Jun 2023 The World Economic Forum (WEF) has announced the establishment of a Forum ISSB Preparers Group, comprising corporate leaders with expertise in sustainability reporting. The group aims to provide insights and practical examples to the ISSB following the release of its first sustainability standards later this month. 01 Jun 2023 The Sustainability Consultative Committee (SCC) will meet via video conference on 2 June 2023. An agenda for the meeting is now available on the IFRS Foundation website.Related news
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