Minutes of UKEB Public Meeting 28 March 2025

Meeting Date/Time: 28 March 2025 at 10:00 hrs Meeting Location: Prospero House, 241 Borough High Street, London, SE1 1GA

The recording of the meeting and the agenda papers have been made available on the UKEB's website.

PRESENT:

1. Welcome and Apologies

1. The Chair noted that the meeting was being recorded, and the recording would be published on the UKEB website after the meeting.
2. The Chair paid tribute to Sandra Thompson, who died on 3 March 2025, noting Sandra's significant contribution to the UKEB as an inaugural Board member.
3. The Chair welcomed two newly appointed Board members, Peter Reilly (Investor/User) and Mike Metcalf (Accounting Firm Background), to their first public Board meeting.
4. The Board noted apologies from Katherine Coates.

2. Declarations of Interest

1. There were no declarations of interest.

3. Administrative Matters

1. The Board approved the minutes of the previous meeting held on 27 February 2025 for publication on the website. (Decision)

Influencing

4. IFRS Foundation Due Process Handbook

1. The Board considered its Final Comment Letter (FCL), Feedback Statement (FBS) and Draft Due Process Compliance Statement (DPCS) in response to the Proposed Amendments to the IFRS Foundation's Due Process Handbook.
2. Following the discussion held at the Accounting Standards Advisory Forum on 24 March 2025, the Board agreed to include in its FCL an additional paragraph recommending that Post-Implementation Reviews (PIRs) are reserved for considering whether the objective of a standard, or major amendment, has been met, and whether the costs and benefits analysis was accurate. Consideration of implementation and interpretation issues should be addressed by Transition Resource Groups and the Interpretations Committee, respectively.
3. Subject to the suggested amendments raised during the meeting and final approval by the Chair, the Board approved the FCL for issue to the IASB and publication on the UKEB website. (Decision)
4. The Board noted that proportionate and appropriate stakeholder outreach was undertaken and approved the FBS for publication on the UKEB website. (Decision)
5. The Board approved the Draft DPCS, and noted that the final version would be presented, for noting, at the 22 May 2025 Board meeting. (Decision)

Endorsement and Adoption

5. Amendments to the Classification and Measurement of Financial Instruments

1. The Board considered and approved the Final Endorsement Criteria Assessment, the FBS and the Draft DPCS for the Amendments to the Classification and Measurement of Financial Instruments – Amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7. (Decision)
2. Ten of the twelve Board members present at the meeting voted to tentatively approve the Amendments to IFRS 9 and to IFRS 7 for use in the UK. The two new Board Members abstained; they had only recently joined the Board and therefore were not party to the discussions leading up to this vote. (Decision)
3. The next step will be for the Board to be issued with ballots, to provide their formal written votes. The finalisation of that formal written vote would commence the process for publication of the Amendments in line with the Board's Terms of Reference.
4. The Board agreed that the final DPCS would be presented, for noting, at the 22 May 2025 Board meeting. (Decision)

6. IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements - Draft Endorsement Criteria Assessment

1. The Board considered sections of the Draft Endorsement Criteria Assessment (DECA) in respect of the endorsement assessment of IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements (the Standard).
2. The Board considered that the DECA should assess IFRS 18 as a whole against the endorsement criteria, including those elements that had been imported without significant change from IAS 1.
3. The Board questioned whether IFRS 18 is likely to lead to a significant change in accounting practice and therefore meets the criteria for a PIR. It was agreed that the rationale for this needed to be considered in more detail.
4. The Board discussed the long term public good assessment for IFRS 18. The discussion highlighted that the explanations in relation to the reliability of monetary estimates of the implementation costs needed to be enhanced and better aligned with the outcomes set out in the technical analysis. The Board also requested that the narrative of the long-term public good section should be amended to explain the benefits more clearly.
5. A revised DECA will be considered by the Board at its May 2025 meeting.

Thought Leadership

7. Update on Intangibles Research

1. The Board discussed an update on some of the key metrics published in the UKEB report Accounting for Intangibles: A Quantitative Analysis of UK Financial Reports in May 2024. The update will be published on the UKEB website and included in future presentations.

8. Statement of Cashflows and Related Matters

1. The Board considered the third in a series of research papers relating to the UKEB research project on the Statement of Cash Flows and Related Matters. The paper summarises the feedback received from interviews with UK users and preparers of financial statements, highlighting stakeholder feedback on both current concerns and potential future reporting requirements.
2. The Board agreed that a brief consolidated summary of the research to-date be prepared for publication, including the three finalised research papers as appendices. The consolidated summary will include the results of the recently published user poll and will be presented to the Board at its May 2025 meeting. (Decision)
3. The Secretariat proposed two potential areas of additional research to help inform the IASB's work in this area and advised that they were in contact with the IASB staff, who are informed of the current UKEB research.
4. The Board agreed that the additional research be undertaken and asked the Secretariat to continue to liaise with the IASB to ensure the proposed research is timely and to identify which of the proposed research work might add the most value, given the resources and time available. (Decision)

9. UKEB Regulatory Strategy 2025 – 2028

1. The Board considered the final draft of the UKEB's Regulatory Strategy 2025 - 2028 and Draft Feedback Statement, addressing the stakeholder feedback received.
2. The Board noted that the UKEB had received two comment letters following the consultation on the Regulatory Strategy. Overall, the feedback was supportive of the UKEB's proposed strategy and direction.
3. The draft Strategy document had been updated to note that the UKEB will respond to the IASB Agenda Consultation later in year. The draft document will also mention the UKEB's proposed research programme. The Board requested certain minor changes to the UKEB responses in the Feedback Statement.
4. The Board approved the Regulatory Strategy 2025-2028 and Feedback Statement for publication, subject to its comments. (Decision)

Monitoring

10. IASB General Update

Updating IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosure

1. The Board noted the IASB's tentative decisions made in February 2025 on the Catch-Up Exposure Draft Amendments to IFRS 19. The Board noted that in many respects the final IASB position is aligned with the views expressed in the UKEB comment letter. The IASB is expected to publish the final amendments to IFRS 19 in Q3 2025.

Amortised Cost Measurement

1. The Board received an update on the IASB's Amortised Cost Measurement research project.
2. The Board discussed the level of stakeholder outreach to be undertaken by the Secretariat during the research phase and noted that the IASB will be attending the UKEB's Financial Instruments Working Group meeting on 01 April 2025. It was suggested that engagement with the UKEB's Accounting Firms and Institutes Advisory Group (AFIAG) and the Rate-regulated Activities Technical Advisory Group would be beneficial.

Intangible Assets

1. The Board discussed an update on the key findings from the IASB's most recent outreach on the Intangible Assets project.

Other projects

1. The Board noted updates on various projects being considered by the IASB, including: Climate-related Risks and Other Uncertainties in the Financial Statements; IASB Fourth Agenda Consultation; Interpretations Committee Update; and the list of IASB projects.

11. Advisory Groups Update

1. The Board received an update from the Chairs of the Preparer Advisory Group and the AFIAG, who provided an overview of discussions at recent meetings for which the minutes were expected to be published after the Board meeting.

12. Items for Noting

1. The Board noted the following papers:
   1. Sustainability Update.
   2. Due Process Compliance Statement: Provisions – Targeted Improvements.

13. Any other business

1. The Chair reminded Board Members that there would be no Board meeting in April. The next meeting would therefore be on 22 May 2025.

The meeting ended at 15:34 hrs.