NRS 16 requires a continuous directors’ report from 2027

For financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027, the årsberetning must form a continuous document with a clear beginning and endRegnskapsstiftelsen. The revised NRS 16 makes this an express requirementRegnskapsstiftelsen, giving companies time to adjust reporting practices that spread required directors' report disclosures across separate parts of their annual reporting.

The standard distinguishes the årsberetning from both the annual financial statements and the wider annual reportRegnskapsstiftelsen. The directors' report and financial statements are separate documents, even when assembled with the auditor's report and other material in one annual reportRegnskapsstiftelsen. Information required in the directors' report cannot simply be moved to the financial statements or another document to satisfy the requirementRegnskapsstiftelsen.

There are express qualifications. Information may appear in separate documents where law or regulation permits itRegnskapsstiftelsen. Required sustainability reporting must be identifiable in its own section of the directors' reportRegnskapsstiftelsen, but references to information outside that report remain possible where legislation or the sustainability-reporting standards allow themRegnskapsstiftelsen. The continuous-document requirement therefore needs to be applied alongside those specific permissionsRegnskapsstiftelsen.

NRS 16 also clarifies the treatment of management remuneration disclosures. Where a public-interest entity uses the report option described in point 2.13 to provide the accounting-law disclosures, that report belongs within the continuous directors' report and must be clearly identifiableRegnskapsstiftelsen. The standard separately describes the remuneration-report rules for listed public limited companies, under which inclusion in the directors' report is not requiredRegnskapsstiftelsen.

A statement under åpenhetsloven becomes part of the continuous document only if the business chooses to include it in the directors' reportRegnskapsstiftelsen. If included, it must be clearly identified and delimitedRegnskapsstiftelsen. The standard also requires the directors' report to identify where the statement is availableRegnskapsstiftelsen.

The revised standard applies to entities required to issue an årsberetning, including Norwegian IFRS reporters, and small entities voluntarily reporting under the relevant accounting-law requirementsRegnskapsstiftelsen.

The governing provisions are NRS 16 Årsberetning, July 2026 edition, points 2.1, 2.2, 2.13 and 2.14, with commencement in section 3.