International Accounting Standards to Change in 3 Years... Financial Services Commission Seeks Corporate Opinions

Holding a Meeting Between Companies and Investors

As the new International Financial Reporting Standard (IFRS 18) is set to be introduced in 2027, the Financial Services Commission held a meeting with companies and investors on the 14th.

The purpose of the meeting was to inform the market about the key contents of IFRS 18 and to gather opinions on concerns related to its implementation.

Yoon Soo Lee, a standing commissioner of the Securities and Futures Commission, explained, "Since IFRS 18 is a standard that could change the basic structure of financial statements for the first time in over 20 years, we held this meeting to broadly collect opinions from companies and investors, identify market concerns, and understand the guidance needed upon implementation."

The IFRS 18 standard, finalized and announced last month by the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), is characterized by its detailed regulation of the components and measurement methods of operating profit and loss. Under IFRS 18, operating profit and loss is defined as "residual profit and loss excluding investment and financial categories."

Associations and private experts attending the meeting pointed out that "since operating profit under IFRS 18 is calculated based on the residual category approach, a significant number of temporary and non-recurring items may be included."

The Financial Services Commission plans to prepare a reasonable implementation plan before the enforcement of IFRS 18 in 2027. In the second half of this year, they will draft the Korean Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (K-IFRS) based on IFRS 18 and continue to collect feedback from related organizations, companies, and experts.