IFRS Foundation Trustees tweak Constitution

The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation, responsible for the oversight and governance of the International Accounting Standards Board (the Board), have amended the organisation’s Constitution. The changes include reducing the size of the Board and amending the geographical distribution of Trustees.

The Trustees are, according to the Constitution, required to undertake a review of the IFRS Foundation’s structure every five years. The latest review commenced in July 2015 and went through two rounds of consultation. The amendments reflect the conclusions reached unanimously by the Trustees following the latest public consultation, which included ten proposed changes to the Constitution.

The main changes are:

• a reduction in the number of Board members from 16 to 14, which is the number of members the Board has been operating with for a while;
• amendments to the geographical distribution of Board members and Trustees; and
• amendments to Board members’ and Trustees’ professional background requirements.

Michel Prada, Chair of the IFRS Foundation Trustees, said:

The amendments to the Constitution follow a very thorough review and consultation process, striking a balance between all the helpful input we received from constituents.

These changes safeguard the flexibility required to meet the evolving demands on the organisation and ensure the composition of both Trustees and Board members is as inclusive and balanced as it needs to be for the organisation to operate effectively.

A document outlining the feedback received to the consultation on the constitutional changes, together with the changes made, can be found here.

A stand-alone updated version of the Constitution, which is effective 1 December 2016, can be found here.