To align with international standards and continuously improve the quality and comparability of sustainability information reporting, aim to strengthen the trust in the capital market, the Financial Supervisory Commission (hereinafter referred to as the FSC) released the “Roadmap for Taiwan listed companies to align with IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards” in 2023, so as to align IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards with the adoption method. From 2026 onwards, TWSE- and TPEx-listed companies will be required to apply the mentioned Standards in three phases based on their capital size.

 

To assist in the adoption of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, the TWSE held seminars on August 16 and 30, 2024 specifically for phase-one companies (with a paid-in capital of over NT$10 billion) for their integration. The content covered the   “Implementation Plan for XXX Co., Ltd. IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards” announced by the TWSE and the TPEx on July 3, in order to help companies gain a deeper understanding of the matters to be noted for the work items in each phase of the adoption, and provide detailed explanations of internal control practices related to the mentioned Standards. The goal is for phase-one companies to successfully adopt IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards from January 1, 2026, and complete the disclosure of the sustainability information chapter in the annual report before March 16, 2027.

 

For this seminar, the TWSE invited Mei-Ling Wang, CPA of KPMG Taiwan to give a lecture on “Implementation Plan for XXX Co., Ltd. IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards.” In addition to explaining the basic concepts of the mentioned Standards, she provided sample templates for the “steel industry” and “semiconductor industry,” and explained the key work points and items for filing of the adoption work plan item by item, in the hope that they would be helpful for enterprises in implementing the adoption plan for IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. Cheng-Kuang Chu, Executive Vice President of KPMG Taiwan, also gave a theme lecture on “Internal Control Practices Related to IFRS Sustainable Disclosure Standards,” and elaborated on the matters to be noted for internal control and internal audit practices related to “the management of sustainability information,” in order to ensure the effectiveness of internal control design and implementation, improve the quality of sustainability information disclosure, and establish the trust and confidence of stakeholders in using sustainability reporting from enterprises.

 

The TWSE stated that the adoption of IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards requires cross-departmental teamwork, with various functional areas within the organization playing important roles, including the senior management and the sustainability development, financial accounting, risk control, legal compliance, and internal auditing departments. The TWSE and securities-related units have accordingly established an “IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards Alignment Area” to integrate and introduce relevant training resources and practical guidelines for the plan, in order to assist enterprises in complying with the mentioned Standards with a one-stop quick query method.

 

As an important platform for the capital market, the TWSE will continuously promote Taiwan’s sustainable development and alignment of international standards, integrate the resources and strengths of the ESG ecosystem of the capital market, provide more proactive net-zero governance strategies for enterprises, assist various industries in their early response to “net-zero carbon reduction” and sustainability transformation, and strengthen the quality of sustainability information disclosure to enhance Taiwan’s international competitiveness.

 

 The briefing content and video of this seminar are placed on the “Corporate Governance Center – Advocacy Activities” section (https://cgc.twse.com.tw/promoteEvent/promoteEventArticleCh/743) for the review by more enterprises.

 

Group photo of distinguished guests (from left to right) at the “Phase One Seminar for Corporate of the Import Plan for IFRS Sustainable Disclosure Standards”: Mei-Ling Wang, CPA of KPMG Taiwan, Tsung-Pu Yu, Manager of TWSE, and Cheng-Kuang Chu, Executive Vice President of KPMG Taiwan.