Minutes of UKEB Public Meeting 26 March 2026

Meeting Date/Time: 26 March 2026 at 10:15 hrs Meeting Location: 1 Harbour Exchange, Harbour Exchange Square, London, E14 9GE

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

PRESENT:

1. Welcome and Apologies

a) The Chair noted that the meeting was being recorded, and the recording would be published on the UKEB website after the meeting.

b) The Chair welcomed four newly appointed Board members, Sue Harding (Investor/User), Gail Tucker (Accounting Firm Background), Rob McPheely (Preparer of Accounts) and Javed Siddiqui (Academic) to their first public Board meeting.

c) The Board had received an education session on Provisions – Targeted Improvements earlier that morning.

d) There were no apologies.

2. Declarations of Interest

a) There were no declarations of interest to note.

3. Administrative Matters

a) The Board approved the minutes of the previous meeting, held on 26 February 2026, for publication on the website. (Decision)

Influencing

4. Provisions – Targeted Improvements

a) The Board discussed the most recent IASB tentative decisions made on the Provisions – Targeted Improvements project, including a discussion on the possible application of the requirements for levies. The Board's advice was sought on the points to be raised on the topic at the IASB's March 2026 Accounting Standards Advisory Forum (ASAF) meeting.

b) The Board raised concerns that the proposed 'principle and presumption' approach and potential conditions for rebuttal (whether permitted or required)

c) could add a layer of complexity, and that, potentially, the resulting accounting outcome did not provide a solution to the concerns about accounting under IFRIC 21 Levies. The proposals would result in additional cost for preparers, and, potentially, lead to increased diversity in practice and confusion for users of financial statements. As a result, it is not clear the proposals would meet a future assessment of costs and benefits.

d) The Board noted that its concerns about the application of the proposals to existing levies remained. Other levies identified also required additional work to better understand the potential implications of the latest IASB proposals.

Endorsement and Adoption

5. IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures – Summary of feedback received on [Draft] Endorsement Criteria Assessment

a) The Board considered the summary of stakeholder feedback received following the UKEB's public consultation on the [Draft] Endorsement Criteria Assessment ([Draft] ECA) for IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures. Most of the feedback was supportive of the Board's assessment.

b) The Board considered the comments received on the Technical Accounting Criteria assessment and agreed: (Decision)

1. That no further work should be undertaken in respect of the suggestion to include, as part of the assessment against the technical accounting criteria, the differences in the disclosure requirements between IFRS 19 and Financial Reporting Standard 101 Reduced Disclosure Framework (FRS 101).
2. Not to amend the wording in paragraph 2.8 of the [Draft] ECA in response to a comment suggesting the removal of the reference that the technical criteria adopts an absolute approach.
3. To amend Table 5 (paragraph 2.10 of the [Draft] ECA) for IFRS 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations and IAS 41 Agriculture to indicate that, whilst the disclosure reductions are significant, they are unlikely to have a significant impact on the usefulness of the financial statements for users.

c) The Board agreed to the proposed changes to the Long-term Public Good assessment, subject to the incorporation of the comments raised during the meeting. (Decision)

d) The Board agreed that no changes are warranted in Section 4 (True and fair view), or Section 5 (Whether IFRS 19 is likely to lead to a significant change in practice) of the [Draft] ECA. (Decision)

e) The Board agreed with the recommended actions, that no changes be made to the ECA, in relation to the points raised in other feedback received. (Decision)

f) The Board asked the Secretariat to consider how the final ECA and/or the UK-endorsed version of IFRS 19 could clarify the following two points raised by respondents:

1. the reduced disclosure requirements set out under the subheading 'IFRS 14 Regulatory Deferral Accounts' in the Standard; and
2. the reference to IFRS Accounting Standards in paragraph 7(c) of IFRS 19, to assist subsidiaries on assessing their eligibility to use the Standard i.e. whether group accounts prepared in accordance with UK-adopted IAS would meet this criterion.

g) Subject to the comments made at the meeting, the Board agreed that the adoption package can be presented to the April 2026 meeting for tentative approval. A revised ECA, incorporating the above decisions, will be presented to the Board as part of this package. (Decision)

6. Risk Mitigation Accounting

a) The Board considered the Draft Comment Letter (DCL) and the questions proposed for inclusion in the ITC, in response to the IASB's Exposure Draft (ED) Risk Mitigation Accounting (Proposed amendments to IFRS 9 and IFRS 7).

b) The Board noted that it was not in a position to provide a firm view on the IASB's ED. It has not yet gathered enough evidence to assess whether the proposals, as currently drafted, would lead to an improvement compared to the current accounting requirements. Stakeholder feedback, including the results of fieldwork, will be key to assessing the proposals.

c) The Board agreed, following stakeholder feedback, to ask the IASB to align the comment deadline for the ED with the final fieldwork deadline, to enable the UKEB and others to provide comprehensive responses. (Decision)

d) Subject to the comments made at the meeting, and to further refinement by a dedicated committee of Board Members, the Board approved the DCL and ITC for publication on the UKEB website with a comment period of approximately 60 days. (Decision)

Thought Leadership

7. Intangible Assets

a) The Board had a detailed discussion of its initial views on the first three stages of the top-down methodology designed to support developing a principle-based approach to accounting for intangibles. The stages are:

1. Identification of key weaknesses and gaps in IAS 38.
2. Evaluating targeted amendments versus a full revision of IAS 38.
3. Create a unifying objective and an overarching principle for an intangibles standard.

b) The Board agreed that a fundamental rethink of the accounting for intangibles was merited, noting that this work could be grounded in the IASB's 2018 Conceptual Framework. Board members considered that the development of IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers could be used as a model for development of a modern, principle-based Standard.

c) Some Members observed that IAS 38 has effectively become a residual category for intangibles that are not addressed elsewhere in IFRS Accounting Standards.

d) Several Members highlighted that inconsistencies between the recognition and measurement of internally generated intangibles and acquired intangibles, undermine comparability. Members noted that this distorts performance, and users typically strip out the amortisation of acquired intangibles. Others highlighted an additional weakness that IAS 38 requires reliability in measuring cost but does not require reliability in measuring future economic benefits.

e) Board Members had differing views on whether a comprehensive replacement of IAS 38 or targeted amendments would lead to a better outcome. Several cautioned that targeted changes can add complexity, with others stressing that if the IASB believes the Standard needs a comprehensive revision, the work should be done properly rather than through incremental fixes. Others noted resource constraints and proposed practical targeted improvements may help deliver early benefits. One Member observed that any new standard would inevitably carry forward many of the requirements in IAS 38 and cautioned that the project needs to progress more quickly than past major standards.

f) Overall, the Board agreed that a well-framed objective should focus on investor needs for better information. The Board also supported developing an overarching principle grounded in the Conceptual Framework. However, one Member cautioned that the principle, as currently drafted, would imply recognising too many items on the balance sheet, indicating that further refinement is needed.

g) The Board noted that a preliminary summary of feedback received from stakeholders on the UKEB's case studies will be presented at a future meeting.

Monitoring

8. IASB General Update

a) The Board provided advice to the Chair and Technical Director regarding the following three issues to be considered at the March 2026 ASAF meeting:

IFRS Foundation Due Process Handbook

b) The Board expressed its disappointment on the limited nature of the enhanced proposals to the IFRS Foundation's Due Process Handbook, including the decision not to respond to issues raised beyond the changes initially proposed.

Exposure Draft Equity Method of Accounting IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures (revised 202x)

c) The Board discussed one of the proposals in the IASB's ED for an investor to recognise, in full, gains and losses resulting from all ‘upstream’ and ‘downstream’ transactions with its associates and joint ventures, including transactions involving the loss of control of a subsidiary. It was noted that the UKEB was supportive of the ED proposals in its comment letter to the IASB. However, during the discussion Members acknowledged some of the concerns raised subsequently by Japanese and Chinese stakeholders about this specific proposal and proposed that the IASB consider a potential solution to address the concerns raised, given the potential for earnings management.

Post-implementation Review of IFRS 16 Leases

d) The Board provided feedback on the key messages to be relayed at the ASAF meeting on the IASB's Post-implementation Review of IFRS 16 Leases.

Other projects

e) The Board noted updates on various projects being considered by the IASB, including: Post-implementation Review of IFRS 9 Hedge Accounting, Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity; and the list of IASB Projects.

9. Advisory Groups Update

a) The Board received an update from the chairs of the Preparer Advisory Group and the Accounting Firms and Institutes Advisory Group, including an overview of the discussion at the most recent meetings, for which the minutes were expected to be published after the Board meeting.

10. Items for Noting

a) The Board noted the following paper:

1. Sustainability Update.

11. Any other business

a) There was no other business.

The meeting ended at 14:32 hrs.