IFRS Foundation completes merger with VRF

The IFRS Foundation has completed its consolidation with the Value Reporting Foundation.

The VRF, itself a product of a recent merger between the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board and the International Integrated Reporting Council, committed to merge into the IFRS Foundation's International Sustainability Standards Board shortly after the new group's formal creation. Both organizations approved this consolidation in June after a series of talks.

The merger was originally meant to be concluded in June, but the ISSB believed it needed more time to finalize the remaining procedures necessary to complete the legal consolidation. Now that the move has been completed, the International Accounting Standards Board and the ISSB will assume joint responsibility for the Integrated Reporting Framework that underlies the ESG standards that the new board plans to issue.

The two are now working together to agree on how to build on and integrate the Integrated Reporting Framework into their standard-setting projects and requirements. Meanwhile, a number of VRF board directors will transition into advisor roles to observe IFRS Foundation trustee meetings and to participate in a newly formed IFRS Foundation Transitional Advisory Group.

"The Integrated Reporting Framework and SASB Standards were developed to meet market demand for effective reporting and management tools," said a statement released by Richard Sexton and Robert Steel, co-chairs of the Value Reporting Foundation Board. "Their adoption worldwide has enabled companies to voluntarily deliver comparable, consistent and reliable information for investors. Now, we look to a future under the IFRS Foundation where these tools can help deliver a global baseline for sustainability disclosure, connected to financial statements. We know the VRF team, as they take up new roles alongside colleagues in the IFRS Foundation, stand ready to meet this new challenge and deliver on this mission. We count on the ongoing support of our stakeholders globally to enable us to reach this goal."

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