Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity

Timeline 

The IASB plans to issue an Exposure Draft (ED) Financial Instruments with Characteristics of Equity (FICE) in November 2023.

Background 

In 2018, the IASB issued a discussion paper on FICE. Following feedback from stakeholders, the IASB decided to make clarifying amendments to IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation and to develop additional application guidance to support consistency of application of that standard. The IASB also plans to develop presentation and disclosure requirements.

The ED is expected to propose amendments on the following topics:

• Contingent settlement provisions;
• The fixed-for-fixed condition;
• Reclassifications;
• Obligations to redeem own equity instruments;
• The effects of laws and regulations;
• Shareholders’ discretion;
• Presentation of equity instruments and financial liabilities;
• Obligations on liquidation; and
• Disclosures.

The UKEB is monitoring the development of the IASB project. Updates for the UKEB have been included in IASB General Update papers, detailed below.

UKEB Meetings

• June 2022 IASB General Update: Contingent settlement provisions and effects of laws and regulations
• July 2022 IASB General Update: Reclassifications
• September and October 2022 IASB General Updates: Obligations to redeem own equity instruments
• January 2023 IASB General Updates: Presentation of equity instruments and financial liabilities
• March 2023 IASB General Update: Sweep issues, classification of financial instruments with a contractual obligation to deliver cash at the discretion of the entity’s shareholders and additional disclosures to ensure that amounts attributable to ordinary shareholders are more visible in the accounts
• May 2023 IASB General Update: Disclosures in IFRS 7 and IAS 1
• June 2023 IASB General Update: Consequential Amendments to the project Subsidiaries without Public Accountability and Due Process Steps and Permission to Ballot.

Planned Outreach 

More detailed information on planned outreach activities will be published in due course. If you would like to contribute to outreach work on this project, please email ukendorsementboard@endorsement-board.uk.

For further updates on UKEB projects, you can subscribe to our newsletters and alerts by emailing contact@endorsement-board.uk and putting SUBSCRIBE in the subject.