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ESMA announces enforcement priorities for 2020 financial statements

ESMA announces enforcement priorities for 2020 financial statements

28 October 2020
The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has announced the priority issues that the assessment of listed companies' 2020 financial statements will focus on. A special focus is on COVID-related matters.
The common enforcement priorities related to 2020 IFRS financial statements include:
  • the application of IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements with a focus on going concern, significant judgements and estimation uncertainty and the presentation of COVID-related items in the financial statements;
  • the application of IAS 36 Impairment of Assets, where the recoverable amount of goodwill, intangible assets and tangible assets may be impacted by the deterioration of the economic outlook of various sectors;
  • the application of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures, including general considerations relating to risks arising from financial instruments, focusing on liquidity risk, and specific considerations related to the application of IFRS 9 for credit institutions when measuring expected credit losses; and
  • specific issues related to the application of IFRS 16 Leases, including explicit disclosures by lessees which have applied the IASB’s amendment providing relief to lessees when accounting for rent concessions.
ESMA also highlights key non-financial information issues and alternative performance measures with regard to the impact of COVID-19, social and employee matters, business model and value creation, and risks relating to climate change.
ESMA also highlights the importance of disclosures analysing the possible impacts of the decision of the United Kingdom to leave the European Union.
ESMA and European national enforcers will monitor and supervise the application of the IFRS requirements outlined in the priorities, with national authorities incorporating them into their reviews and taking corrective actions where appropriate. ESMA will collect data on how European listed entities have applied the priorities and will publish its findings in a separate report.