Welcome to Beyond the numbers, our monthly newsletter which brings you a summary of the latest developments from domestic and global standard-setting bodies and regulatory authorities.
Top story
The Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) issued Regulatory Guide RG 280 Sustainability reporting on 31 March 2025.
The Guide addresses the preparation and content requirements of sustainability reports, and ASIC’s role in administering and enforcing these obligations. It explains how ASIC will exercise its specific powers under the Corporations Act 2001, how ASIC interprets the law and the principles underlying ASIC’s approach.
The Guide also addresses how sustainability reporting might affect small businesses that are within the value chain of a large business or institution.
Local reporting
The Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) approved amendments to AASB 1060 General Purpose Financial Statements – Simplified Disclosures for For-Profit and Not-for-Profit Tier 2 Entities to require the disclosure of information about financial instruments with contingent features that do not relate directly to basic lending risks. The disclosures enable users of financial statements to understand the effect that changes in contractual terms could have on the entity’s future cash flows.
The amendments to AASB 1060 are consistent with the changes made to AASB 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures contained in AASB 2024-2 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards – Classification and Measurement of Financial Instruments which was issued in 2024.
AASB 2025-2 applies to annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026. Earlier adoption is permitted.
The AASB issued ED 337 which proposes to extend some of the disclosure requirements added to AASB 7 by AASB 2025-1 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards – Contracts Referencing Nature-dependent Electricity to Tier 2 entities.
Nature-dependent electricity contracts enable businesses to procure electricity directly from renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, where output varies due to natural conditions.
Where a contract meets the entity’s ‘own use’ criteria in AASB 9 and are recognised as procurement contracts, ED 337 proposes that Tier 2 entities would be required to disclose:
- information about contractual features that expose the entity to:
- variability in the amount of electricity; and
- the risk of having to buy electricity during a period when nature-dependent electricity can’t be used;
- qualitative information on how the entity determines if a contract could become onerous, including the assumptions used; and
- qualitative information on how these contracts impact the entity’s financial performance for the reporting period.
The amendments are proposed to apply to annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2026, with earlier application permitted.
The Exposure Draft is open for public comment until 20 May 2025.
At its March 2025 meeting, the Board made decisions in relation to the post-implementation review of certain not-for-profit (NFP) topics addressed in ITC 51 Post-implementation Review of Not-for-Profit Topics – Control, Structured Entities, Related Party Disclosures and Basis of Preparation of Special Purpose Financial Statements. The Board decided not to propose any amendments to AASB 124 Related Party Disclosures in respect of NFP public sector entities or to AASB 1054 Australian Additional Disclosures in respect of the disclosures required of certain NFP private sector entities in their special purpose financial statements. However, the Board may revisit these topics subject to developments in other related NFP projects.
The Board considered stakeholder feedback on ED 336 to inform its response to the IASB’s Exposure Draft ED/2024/8 Provisions – Targeted Improvements. The Board supported the IASB’s proposed amendments to IAS 37 but identified some areas of further improvement.
The Board also received preliminary feedback on ED 334 Limiting the Ability of Not-for-Profit Entities to Prepare
Special Purpose Financial Statements and ED 335 General Purpose Financial Statements – Not-for-Profit Private Sector Tier 3 Entities. No decisions regarding the proposals in ED 334 and ED 335 were made.
Regulations
ASIC has issued a warning about scammers impersonating the agency and requesting payments to release funds or assets. These fraudsters send fake emails or texts, asking for money.
ASIC clarified that it does not collect payments for releasing funds or assets and that it will never ask for payments in any form, including digital or crypto assets. If you receive unsolicited contact from someone claiming to be ASIC, always verify their legitimacy by contacting ASIC directly.
To protect yourself:
- Verify suspicious communications by contacting ASIC directly on 1300 935 075.
- Report scams to Scamwatch.
The NSW Treasury updated two of its Treasury Policy Guidelines (TPG) to incorporate recent amendments to Australian accounting standards as well as climate-related disclosure considerations:
- TPG25-02 Mandates of options and major policy decisions under Australian Accounting Standards – mandatory policy
- TPG25-03 Financial reporting code for NSW General Government Sector agencies – recommended policy reflecting best practice standards
NSW Treasury also issued guidance on the application of AASB 2022-10 Amendments to Australian Accounting Standards – Fair Value Measurement of Non-Financial Assets of Not-for-Profit Public Sector Entities. The document summarises the key elements of AASB 2022-10 and contains application guidance for NSW public sector NFP entities. The guidance will be included in an updated version of TPP21-09 Valuation of Physical Non-Current Assets at Fair Value. AASB 2022-10 applies to annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024.
Sustainability
In January 2025, the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) decided to issue an Exposure Draft of narrow scope amendments to IFRS S2 Climate-related Disclosures.
The ISSB’s proposed changes address identified application issues to:
- exempt from Scope 3 emissions reporting for derivatives, facilitated emissions from investment banking, and insurance-related emissions from underwriting activities;
- permit the ability to use alternative global warming potential (GWP) values;
- provide jurisdictional relief allowing the use of methods other than the GHG Protocol Corporate Standard to measure GHG emissions; and
- permit alternatives to the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS) when disaggregating financed emissions by industry in certain circumstances.
The ISSB is expected to issue its Exposure Draft in the second quarter of 2025, with a 60-day comment period.
The AASB has decided to issue an Exposure Draft that will incorporate the ISSB’s amendments to IFRS S2 with a 30-day period to obtain Australian stakeholders’ feedback to inform the AASB’s submission to the ISSB.
The AASB continues with its AASB S2 project plans, which include:
This project aims to support the implementation of AASB S2 as entities commence reporting from 1 January 2025.
This project aims to understand the implementation process of AASB S2 by Group 3 entities and explore potential responses to any implementation challenges.
This project aims to determine the appropriate basis and content of climate-related industry-based disclosures in AASB S2.
The ISSB met in March 2025 to discuss its work plan. This includes considering the applicability of IFRS S1 to other sustainability topics such as biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem services (BEES), and human capital.
In the same month, the IASB and ISSB also met to consider feedback on their Exposure Draft (ED) Climate-related and Other Uncertainties in the Financial Statements. The ED proposes 8 illustrative examples on how to report the effects of climate-related and other uncertainties in an entity’s financial statements.
A podcast episode summarising the highlights of this meeting is available on the IFRS website.
The ISSB has released a webcast explaining:
- The definition of material information and its application in the ISSB Standards;
- The meaning of ‘sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could reasonably be expected to affect an entity’s prospects’, and how to identify such risks and opportunities; and
- How to identify and disclose material information about these risks and opportunities.
IFRS Developments
During its March 2025 meeting, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) discussed its standard-setting projects covering:
- Post-implementation Review of IFRS 16 Leases
- Rate-regulated Activities
- Intangible Assets
- Business Combinations – Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment
- Statement of Cash Flows and Related Matters
The IASB will continue its discussions on these projects at future meetings.
The IASB also considered balloting its proposed amendments to IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures. The IASB plans to issue these amendments in the second half of 2025 and will be effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
A podcast episode summarising the highlights of this meeting is available on the IFRS website.
The IFRS Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) finalised the following agenda items:
- Guarantees Issued on Obligations of Other Entities
The agenda item relates to whether guarantees issued by an entity to make payments to a bank, a customer, or another third party in the event the joint venture fails to meet its contractual obligations and make payments when due represents a financial guarantee contract to be accounted for in accordance with IFRS 9 Financial Instruments.
- Recognition of Revenue from Tuition Fees (IFRS 15 Revenue from Contracts with Customers)
The agenda item relates to the period over which an educational institution recognises revenue from tuition fees.
- Recognition of Intangible Assets from Climate-related Expenditure (IAS 38 Intangible Assets)
The agenda item relates to whether an entity’s expenditures for carbon credits and research activities and development activities meet the requirements in IAS 38 to be recognised as intangible assets.
The final agenda decisions will be published in April 2025.
Additionally, the Committee discussed feedback on its Exposure Draft Translation to a Hyperinflationary Presentation Currency. This matter will be further addressed in upcoming IFRIC meetings.
In case you missed it
The Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AUASB) issued two new standards governing the assurance of climate disclosures:
- ASSA 5010 Timeline for Audits and Reviews of Information in Sustainability Reports under the Corporations Act 2001 – outlines the minimum assurance levels required for various components of an entity’s climate-related financial disclosures; and
- ASSA 5000 General Requirements for Sustainability Assurance Engagements – a stand-alone standard effective for financial years commencing on or after 1 January 2025.
The assurance phasing prescribed by the AUASB is detailed in the following table:
* Only subparagraphs 9(a), 10(a) and 10(b) of AASB S2.
For statements where there are no significant climate-related financial risks or opportunities, the assurance timeline mirrors that of ‘Strategy – Risks and Opportunities’.
