The Council of the European Union has received a Commission annex (D(2026) 116263) containing IFRS 19, which specifies reduced disclosure requirements that eligible subsidiaries without public accountability may elect to apply instead of the full disclosure requirements in other IFRS Accounting Standards. The document, published on 17 July 2026, aims to ease reporting burdens for qualifying entities while maintaining essential transparency.
Under IFRS 19, an entity may apply the standard in its consolidated, separate or individual financial statements only if it is a subsidiary, does not have public accountability (e.g., its debt or equity instruments are not traded in a public market, and it does not hold assets in a fiduciary capacity for a broad group of outsiders as a primary business), and has an ultimate or intermediate parent that produces publicly available consolidated IFRS financial statements. Entities applying IFRS 19 must still comply with all disclosure requirements in IFRS 8 (Operating Segments), IFRS 17 (Insurance Contracts), and IAS 33 (Earnings per Share) if they apply those Standards.
An entity may elect to apply IFRS 19 in one period and later revoke that election; it may also elect to apply it more than once. Comparative information requirements apply when switching into or out of IFRS 19. For first-time adopters, IFRS 19 provides specific disclosure requirements in paragraphs 21–30 instead of paragraphs 23–33 of IFRS 1.
Key disclosure requirements under IFRS 19 include, for share-based payments (IFRS 2), a description of each arrangement, option exercise prices, and total expense. For business combinations (IFRS 3), the acquirer must disclose the acquiree’s name, acquisition date, percentage acquired, goodwill components, consideration transferred, and contingent consideration. For non-current assets held for sale (IFRS 5), entities must describe the asset, facts and circumstances of the sale, and the reportable segment. For financial instruments (IFRS 7), entities must disclose carrying amounts by category (e.g., fair value through profit or loss, amortised cost) and, for liabilities designated at fair value, the cumulative change attributable to credit risk and the difference between carrying amount and contractual amount at maturity.
The Commission annex now awaits Council consideration. The adoption of IFRS 19 into EU law would reduce compliance costs for eligible subsidiaries, particularly those in large corporate groups, while maintaining investor-relevant disclosures. The standard balances regulatory simplification with the need for transparency, potentially affecting thousands of subsidiaries across the EU. No prior coverage of this file exists in the last 180 days.