Finanstilsynet finds listed firms vague on IFRS 18 impact

Finanstilsynet's thematic review finds that many listed companies give limited information about how IFRS 18 will affect their accounts. The supervisor expects companies to be well under way with preparations and to give the market relevant, entity-specific information about expected effects.

The review covered annual and interim reporting by a random sample of 50 listed companies from different industries and of different sizes, looking at the information they give about the expected impact of IFRS 18. IFRS 18 enters into force on 1 January 2027Finanstilsynet and sets new requirements for how information is presented and disclosed in the financial statements. Good preparation is needed both for companies to be ready to report under the new requirements and for investors and other users to receive timely information for understanding how the changes will affect the accounts.

Over half of the companies in the 2025 annual reports either gave no information about expected effects of IFRS 18 or gave only standardised disclosures. Only 42 per cent gave entity-specific information.Finanstilsynet Scope and level of detail varied considerably, and few companies quantified expected effects. In the 2026 half-yearly reports, only 8 per cent of the companies had updated the information about how IFRS 18 is expected to affect the accounts.

The results may indicate that reporting does not sufficiently reflect information the companies already know or reasonably can estimate, or that some companies have not progressed far enough in the work of implementing IFRS 18. ESMA has separately reminded preparers about which information is expected in connection with implementation and clarified the distinction between management-defined performance measures under IFRS 18 and alternative performance measures under its APM guidelines.

Little time remains before IFRS 18 enters into force. Finanstilsynet therefore expects companies to be conscious of the implementation work and to assess what consequences the new standard has for their financial reporting. Under IAS 8.30-31 companies are to disclose the effect of new accounting standards that have been published but have not yet entered into forceFinanstilsynet. The information should be relevant and entity-specific. Companies must give new information in the interim accounts when it becomes available, so that investors have the best possible basis for understanding and preparing for the changes. With little time to entry into force, missing information can weaken investors' ability to prepare for the changes.

When the 2026 annual accounts are presented, IFRS 18 will already have entered into force. Finanstilsynet therefore assumes that companies at that point know the effects and can disclose them in accordance with IAS 8.30-31. Finanstilsynet presents the results, examples of good reporting practice and its expectations for companies' reporting in a separate recording.

The disclosure duty Finanstilsynet enforces is IAS 8.30-31Finanstilsynet, applied to the expected effects of IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements with effect from 1 January 2027.