IASB proposes ED/2021/3 Disclosure Requirements in IFRS Standards – A Pilot Approach (Proposed Amendments to IFRS 13 and IAS 19)

On 25 March 2021, the IASB has published for public comment the Exposure Draft ED/2021/3 Disclosure Requirements in IFRS Standards – A Pilot Approach (Proposed Amendments to IFRS 13 and IAS 19) (further information).

In this Exposure Draft, the IASB proposes guidance for itself to use when developing and drafting disclosure requirements in IFRS Standards. In addition, the IASB has applied this guidance to the disclosure sections of IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement and IAS 19 Employee Benefits and proposes amendments to the disclosure requirements of these IFRS Standards.

The proposed amendments are based on the feedback on the previous Discussion Paper DP/2017/1 Disclosure Initiative – Principles of Disclosure. A key finding was that the way the IASB develops and drafts disclosure sections in IFRS Standards contributes to the disclosure problem. In particular, it was argued that:

• Some IFRS Standards lack clear disclosure objectives. This makes it difficult for entities to apply judgement and decide what information to disclose.
• Some disclosure requirements use overly prescriptive language (for example “shall disclose” and “at a minimum“). This wording might give the impression that the specific disclosures must be provided, regardless of whether the information is material.

In response to the feedback received on the Discussion Paper, the IASB decided to add a targeted Standards-level review project to its agenda. The objective of the project is to improve the way the IASB drafts disclosures sections in IFRS Standards and to help stakeholders improve the usefulness of disclosures for the primary users of financial statements.

With the ED/2021/3 now published for public comment, the IASB proposes:

• guidance that the IASB itself should use when developing and drafting disclosure requirements; and
• amendments to the disclosure requirements in IFRS 13 and IAS 19 that it has developed by applying that guidance.

Comments can be submitted to the IASB until 21 October 2021.