International Organization of Securities Commissions

Background

The International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) is the worldwide association of national securities regulatory commissions, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission in the United States, the Financial Services Authority in the United Kingdom, and about 100 other similar bodies.

The member agencies of IOSCO have agreed to:

·         cooperate in developing, implementing and promoting adherence to internationally recognised and consistent standards of regulation, oversight and enforcement in order to protect investors, maintain fair, efficient and transparent markets, and seek to address systemic risks

·         enhance investor protection and promote investor confidence in the integrity of securities markets, through strengthened information exchange and cooperation in enforcement against misconduct and in supervision of markets and market intermediaries

·         exchange information at both global and regional levels on their respective experiences in order to assist the development of markets, strengthen market infrastructure and implement appropriate regulation.

·         Under the Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding Concerning Consultation and Cooperation and the Exchange of Information, member organisations cooperate with each other in matters of enforcement.

IOSCO's involvement in IFRS

IOSCO's enforcement role extends to matters of interpretation of IFRS, where IOSCO maintains a (confidential) database of enforcement actions taken by member agencies.

In September 2013, IOSCO and the IFRS Foundation announced agreement on a set of protocols to improve consistency in the implementation of IFRS. The Statement of Protocols for Cooperation on International Financial Reporting Standards reiterates the current relationship between the two organisations, and identifies four new areas for mutually supportive work:

·         Use of IFRSs within jurisdictions around the world — IOSCO and the IFRS Foundation will periodically share information to maintain current and accurate data on the progress of global IFRS adoption

·         How securities regulators will be affected by IASB standards — The IFRS Foundation will identify and explain implementation aspects of the IASB’s new or significantly amended standards that are of interest to securities regulators

·         Discussion of IFRS enforcement matters — IOSCO will organise an annual IFRS enforcers’ discussion session for its members to discuss issues, standards and other IFRS enforcement matters with IASB members or staff

·         Providing critical and timely input — The IFRS Foundation will solicit IOSCO member opinions on any time-sensitive IFRS implementation matters needing urgent input from securities regulators.