The content on this page has been converted from PDF to HTML format using an artificial intelligence (AI) tool as part of our ongoing efforts to improve accessibility and usability of our publications. Note:
- No human verification has been conducted of the converted content.
- While we strive for accuracy errors or omissions may exist.
- This content is provided for informational purposes only and should not be relied upon as a definitive or authoritative source.
- For the official and verified version of the publication, refer to the original PDF document.
If you identify any inaccuracies or have concerns about the content, please contact us at [email protected].
TAC Public Meeting 15 November 2024: Meeting Summary
PUBLIC MEETING SUMMARY
Date: 15 November 2024 Time: 15:00–17:00 Location: Virtual
The recording of the meeting and agenda papers are available online.
Attendance
| Name | Designation |
|---|---|
| Sally Duckworth | Chair |
| Craig Mackenzie | Member |
| David Harris | Member |
| Dia Desai | Member |
| Harriet Cullum | Member |
| Hilary Eastman | Member |
| Jeremy Osborn | Member |
| Madeleine Evans | Member |
| Nick Rowbottom | Member |
| Peter Hogarth | Member |
| Scott Barlow | Member |
| Supriya Sobti | Member |
| Jenny Carter | Member appointed by the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) |
| Paul Lee | Member appointed by the UK Endorsement Board (UKEB) |
| Mike Ashby | Observer from the Department for Business and Trade (DBT) |
| Mita Gandhi | Observer from the Bank of England (BoE) |
| Carlos Martin Tornero | Observer from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) |
| Sarah-Jayne Dominic | Secretariat |
Apologies
| Name | Designation |
|---|---|
| Joseph Noss | Member |
1 Welcome and apologies
The Chair welcomed members and observers to the interim November meeting of the TAC.
The Chair noted that the TAC was quorate and read out the attendees. There were apologies from Joseph Noss.
The Chair clarified that the meeting was a continuation of discussions on Agenda Paper 7 from the meeting held on 5 November 2024 and asked members to declare any interests other than those declared in the previous meeting. No interests were declared in the agenda items.
2 Continuation of Review of TAC’s tentative decisions to date
The TAC discussed any general follow-up points from the previous meeting held on 5 November 2024 and it was agreed that:
- Appendix 2 in the TAC’s tentative recommendations (Agenda Paper 7) presented at the previous meeting, relating to International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) matters be removed from the final recommendations document. Instead, these matters will be included in a separate letter to the ISSB after the TAC’s recommendations are finalised.
- In its technical assessment (Appendix 1 of Agenda Paper 7) the TAC specifically refers to some recommendations it is not putting forward to the Secretary of State (SoS) on areas like UK-specific guidance on materiality and the definition of sustainability-related matters. These were deemed to be of significant interest to stakeholders.
- The TAC recommends to the SoS the need for engagement with ISSB and specific monitoring activities. However, it would leave the government to designate the responsible parties for undertaking such activities.
The TAC revisited the discussion on financed emissions from previous meetings to make clear the specific issue that was raised and agreeing on the wording for the amendment in IFRS S2.
It was noted that the timing challenges related to reporting financed emissions stem not from the third parties’ (counterparties’) reporting dates, but from practical timing challenges in obtaining the reporting entity’s finalised balance sheets for investments and loans at the reporting date, which would not leave enough time to use that balance sheet data for their sustainability related reporting. In light of this challenge, the amendment to IFRS S2 paragraphs B61, B62 and B63 was confirmed to reflect that the reporting entity shall disclose the reporting date of investments/gross exposure used in calculating financed emissions when it is impracticable to use data for its current reporting date.
While ‘impracticable’ was considered to be a high hurdle, it was acknowledged that current reporting practices present significant challenges for some UK financial institutions due to compressed reporting timelines.
The TAC had a follow up discussion from previous meetings on transition reliefs and the use of the compliance statement on voluntary adoption of the IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. The TAC agreed that while UK entities are not prohibited from voluntarily applying IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards (as issued by the ISSB), it would be inappropriate for entities making an unequivocal statement of compliance with these standards, to reapply the transition reliefs again when adopting UK Sustainability Reporting Standards. Therefore, the TAC recommended that the PIC evaluate the implications of voluntary reporting as an implementation matter.
On matters regarding the assurability of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, the TAC observed the following potential technical and practical challenges:
- limited assurance is likely to be more appropriate than reasonable assurance;
- the location of disclosures might impact the scope of assurance required for UK entities;
- assurance efforts will be costly and challenging due to the forward-looking nature of the sustainability-related information, estimation complexities and the nascent state of methodologies for reporting and auditing this information; and
- clarity over the form of the assurance report.
The TAC also discussed other matters raised by the government and agreed to highlight the following to the PIC for implementation considerations:
- the challenges that certain UK entities are likely to encounter when complying with both the UK Sustainability Reporting Standards and the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) requirements;
- the need to simplify complex reporting rules in the UK, for instance by streamlining the Companies Act requirements and the Listing rules; and
- the need for fair and proportionate exemptions for UK intermediate parent companies with ultimate parents based overseas.
3 AOB
There was no AOB.
The next public TAC meeting is scheduled for 5 December 2024.
The meeting ended at 16:35.