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Instead, the EU markets watchdog said it planned to focus on disclosures about the impact of new standards on financial instruments (known as IFRS 9), revenue (IFRS 16) and leases (IFRS 17), as well as business combinations and cashflows.
Among ESMA’s other priorities for the 2017 year end were measurement and disclosure of non-performing loans by credit institutions, the fair presentation of financial performance and the effects of Brexit.
Last year, IAS 19 – the accounting standard for pension funds – was high on the list of ESMA’s priorities, with the regulator warning companies that they should not recycle defined benefit remeasurements through the “other comprehensive income” section of their accounts.
The 2017 year-end also marks the first year that some large businesses in the EU will have to disclose non-financial and diversity information under the amended accounting directive.
Meanwhile, ESMA has also released a study examining the quality of disclosure in 2016 and 2017 interim statements relating to the effects of new accounting standards.
The study found that “only a limited proportion of issuers provided both qualitative and quantitative disclosure on the expected impact of the new standards and that the quality of disclosure varied across the European Economic Area”.