Emerging Issues and Outreach Committee
Objective
The objectives of the Emerging Issues and Outreach Committee (EIOC) are to:
(a) To identify developments in the external environment around the world, outside of the Board’s strategic planning process, that may have implications for the Board’s strategy and work plan, require Board action or otherwise merit Board attention; and
b) To advise the Board on ways to enhance the effectiveness of the Board’s outreach efforts, including with respect to the scope and focus of, and general approach to, its outreach activities.
PROJECT CONTACT
WORKING GROUP
- Vania Borgerth, Chair and IESBA Member
- Mark Babington, IESBA Member
- Laurie Endsley, IESBA Member
- Hironori Fukukawa, IESBA Member
- Marta Kramerius, IESBA Technical Advisor
- Gaylen Hansen, IESBA Consultative Advisory Group (CAG) Chair*
*The Chair of the CAG participates in the EIOC as an observer.
Project Stages
Board Papers
June 2018 December 2018 June 2019 December 2019 March 2021 September 2021 March 2022 June 2022
Board Minutes
June 2018 December 2018 June 2019 September 2019 December 2019 March 2021 September 2021 March 2022 June 2022 (Available September 2022
Other
Summary
At its December 2013 meeting, the Board finalized working processes for its EIOC initiative.
IESBA March 2022 Meeting Highlights
In advance of beginning work on developing its Strategy and Work Plan 2024-2027, the IESBA considered recommendations from the EIOC on the way forward to progress the IESBA’s activities in relation to sustainability reporting and assurance. The IESBA agreed to establish a new Sustainability Working Group that will, among other matters:
- Undertake fact finding to better understand the sustainability/Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) landscape and to inform potential future standard-setting work.
- Advise IESBA Staff on the development of guidance to highlight existing provisions in the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) (the Code) that are relevant to addressing ethical concerns relating to sustainability reporting and assurance, especially the issue of “greenwashing.”
- Review the Code to identify potential areas for enhancement to maintain its robustness and relevance to sustainability reporting and assurance.
In addition, the IESBA received a briefing from Ms. Kris Nathanail-Brighton, Senior Policy Advisor of the International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO), on the progress of IOSCO’s work on Sustainable Finance. Among other matters, Ms. Nathanail-Brighton provided insights and observations from IOSCO’s fact-finding efforts. She also summarized IOSCO’s ESG-related recommendations that were issued in 2021 and the key takeaways from IOSCO’s February 2022 roundtable on the topic of audit and assurance of sustainability-related disclosures.
Finally, the IESBA considered potential areas of focus for the EIOC for 2022 beyond sustainability reporting and assurance.
The IESBA will receive updates from the Sustainability Working Group and the EIOC at its June 2022 meeting.
