Wednesday July 20 2016

News Source: Global Exchanges

Focus: MiFID (Global Exchanges)

Type: General




The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has issued a Public Statement on the implementation of IFRS 15 in order to promote consistent application of European securities and markets legislation, and more specifically that of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS Standards). In light of the expected impact and importance of the implementation of IFRS 15, ESMA has highlighted:

  • the need for consistent and high-quality implementation of IFRS 15 and;
  • the need for transparency on the impact of IFRS 15 to users of financial statements.

Issuers of securities admitted to trading on regulated markets and their auditors should take the Public Statement into consideration in their respective work during the implementation of IFRS 15, especially when disclosing and auditing its effects in IFRS financial statements. ESMA expects that, where relevant, quality of the implementation of IFRS 15 will be closely monitored by audit committees. Furthermore, ESMA has highlighted that some matters might not be relevant for some issuers and that the level of detail provided should be adapted depending on the significance of the matter to the financial statements.

ESMA expects that this Public Statement will be reflected in the 2016 and 2017 annual and 2017 interim financial statements, in order to enhance the comparability of IFRS financial statements in the EU.

ESMA will work in collaboration with national competent authorities to monitor:

  • the level of transparency that issuers provide in their financial statements about the implementation of IFRS 15,
  • changes in accounting policies resulting from IFRS 15 implementation and,
  • information relevant to assessing the possible impact on the issuers’ financial statements  during initial application.

IFRS 15 was issued by the IASB on 28 May 2014 and applies to an entity`s first annual IFRS financial statements for a period beginning on or after 1 January 2018.

Once IFRS 15 is applied, disclosures aimed at providing an overview of the impact of the transition from IAS 11 and/or IAS 18 to IFRS 15 need to be provided.

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