About us Reports Our organisation Governance 2019 review and 2020 priorities Financials Appendices Contents About us Our mission statement 4 About this report 4 Reports Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees 6 Chair of the International Accounting Standards Board 7 Chair of the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board 8 Our organisation Our objectives 10 How we work 11 Our stakeholders and how we engage 12 Our people 14 International Accounting Standards Board 15 Governance Our structure 17 Trustees of the IFRS Foundation 18 Trustee committees 20 Risks and how we mitigate them 22 2019 review and 2020 priorities 2019 review and 2020 priorities—Foundation activities 24 2019 review—Board activities 28 2020 priorities—Board activities 31 Financials Introduction to the financial statements 33 Report from the Trustees’ Audit, Finance and Risk Committee 35 Independent auditor’s report 36 Financial statements 40 Notes 43 Appendices Financial supporters 54 IFRS Advisory Council members 58 IFRS Interpretations Committee members 60 IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board members 61 Thank you In memoriam—Paul Volcker 62 Thank you message 63 IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2019 | 3 About us Reports Our organisation Governance 2019 review and 2020 priorities Financials Appendices About us The IFRS Foundation is a not-for-profit organisation established The IFRS Foundation Trustees, who are accountable to to develop a single set of high-quality, understandable, a Monitoring Board of public authorities, are responsible enforceable and globally accepted accounting standards— for strategy and governance. IFRS® Standards—and to promote and facilitate their adoption. The Foundation was founded in 2001 and is headquartered IFRS Standards are set by the Foundation’s standard-setting in London, United Kingdom, and has a regional Asia-Oceania body, the International Accounting Standards Board, which office in Tokyo, Japan. in turn is aided by the IFRS Interpretations Committee in supporting consistent application of the Standards. Our mission statement Our mission is to develop IFRS Standards that bring transparency, accountability and efficiency to financial markets around the world. Our work serves the public interest by fostering trust, growth and long-term financial stability in the global economy. IFRS Standards bring transparency by enhancing the international comparability and quality of financial information, enabling investors and other market participants to make informed economic decisions. Transparency IFRS Standards strengthen accountability by reducing the information gap between the providers of capital and the people to whom they have entrusted their money. Our Standards provide information needed to hold management to account. As a source of globally comparable information, IFRS Standards are also of vital importance to regulators around the world. Accountability IFRS Standards contribute to economic efficiency by helping investors to identify opportunities and risks across the world, thus improving capital allocation. For businesses, the use of a single, trusted accounting language lowers the cost of capital and reduces international reporting costs. Efficiency About this report This report covers the financial year ended 31 December We have sought to keep this report concise, with links to 2019 and was published in June 2020. further information on our website. If you have questions that you can’t find the answers to in this report, general An inline XBRL version can be found in the annual report feedback on the report, or if you would like to receive a section of our website: www.ifrs.org/about-us/who-we-are. printed copy, please email [email protected]. 4 Reports About us Reports Our organisation Governance 2019 review and 2020 priorities Financials Appendices Enhancing our relevance in a changing world Report from the Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees Responsible for the governance and oversight of the IFRS Foundation and the International Accounting Standards Board, the Trustees focused on stakeholder relationships and organisational strategy in 2019. During my first full year as Chair of the and members of the IFRS Advisory five-year term, will be an important task IFRS Foundation Trustees, I have invested Council; and for the Trustees. much time meeting with stakeholders • the newly formed Business Processes around the world, discussing their views and Technology Committee guiding Covid-19 and considering how their feedback might and overseeing the multi-year, multi- help shape the Foundation’s priorities. Finally, this report would not be million pound digital transformation of complete without mentioning the The overriding message I have received is the Foundation. covid-19 pandemic that, at the time of strong support for the Foundation’s work Indeed, a defining feature of 2019 has writing, has led to an international public and its mission, with encouragement been the enhanced role played by the health emergency and a corresponding to ensure that we continue to adapt Trustee committees—in their operational shutdown of many parts of the global to evolving stakeholder needs— economy. The Trustees’ main priority responsibilities and in helping to shape hence the focus of this annual report has been the wellbeing of our staff and our future strategy. on strengthening relevance in a stakeholders around the world. changing world. Priorities for 2020 We closed our London office in March Enhanced focus on and beyond and the staff have coped admirably with the transition to remote working, strategic matters Our work helps to prepare the ground due in large part to having appropriate for the next review of the strategy and technology solutions in place. In 2019, the Trustees have spent time of the Foundation’s Constitution, due considering our global strategic focus to begin towards the end of 2020. An The Trustees fully back efforts by the ahead of our next strategic review, while important part of our role as Trustees is Board and staff to support stakeholders also continuing to oversee the Board’s by responding to covid-19-related monitoring emerging trends and their work to develop and maintain IFRS questions about applying IFRS Standards effect on the work and responsibilities of Standards and support their consistent and by adjusting the Board’s work plan the Foundation and the Board. application. Notable examples of this to defer less critical consultations. strategic focus include: Corporate reporting has evolved since the last strategic review, five years ago. • the Trustees’ Due Process Oversight Thank you Most investors use financial information Committee revising the Due Process I would like to thank my fellow Trustees, published electronically and they pay Handbook, which the Board and the members of the Board, staff and the far greater attention to sustainability Interpretations Committee follow many stakeholders around the world for and other non-financial reporting topics. when developing and maintaining the continued support for our mission. We and the Board will seek feedback our Standards; I wish you all well during these on these trends during our respective challenging times. • the Nominating Committee leading upcoming public consultations. the process to appoint or reappoint Trustees, a new Chair and other Furthermore, appointing a Board Chair members of the Board, members of to replace Hans Hoogervorst, who will the IFRS Interpretations Committee step down in June 2021 after his second Erkki Liikanen 6 About us Reports Our organisation Governance 2019 review and 2020 priorities Financials Appendices Enhancing the relevance of IFRS Standards Report from the Chair of the International Accounting Standards Board Companies and markets continuously adapt to changes in the business, economic and technological landscape. Similarly, IFRS Standards must also evolve to remain relevant in meeting the financial information needs of investors. This is the primary work of the Board. To meet this objective, during the last complements the financial statements. priorities and we have, therefore, decided decade we introduced four major new While financial statements provide the to extend the comment periods on some Standards: IFRS 9 Financial Instruments, foundation for investors’ decisions, they consultation documents. IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with cannot provide the whole story. The We will prioritise time-sensitive Customers, IFRS 16 Leases and IFRS 17 project addresses information needed projects such as the one dealing with Insurance Contracts. All but IFRS 17 to understand a company’s longer- the effect of interest rate benchmark are now in use, with IFRS 17 effective term prospects—its business model, its reform on financial reporting, and the from 2023. intangible resources and relationships, IFRS 17 amendments. In addition, we its progress in fulfilling its strategy and have dedicated resources to support As we enter a new decade, our focus climate-related factors where relevant. is on enhancing the communication application of IFRS Standards where effectiveness of financial reports. Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment. covid-19 has raised questions. We have named this effort Better We are seeing whether improvements We will also continue to work with the Communication in Financial Reporting can be made to the information Interpretations Committee to support the and made good progress in 2019. We companies provide about mergers and consistent application of our Standards also put much effort into supporting acquisitions,