The IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards, IFRS S1 and IFRS S2, give a global baseline for sustainability-related financial disclosures: information about environmental, social and governance matters that investors, lenders, creditors and other stakeholders need. ICPAU announced the adoption of IFRS S1 and S2 for Uganda on 4 September 2024.
Adoption timeline
Adoption is phased, starting with entities that are well resourced and of most interest to investors. Dates apply to accounting periods beginning on or after:
| Phase | Date | Entities |
|---|---|---|
| Phase 1: voluntary adoption | 1 January 2026 | All entities |
| Phase 2: mandatory adoption | 1 January 2028 | Listed entities; financial institutions, including microfinance deposit-taking institutions; insurance and reinsurance entities; government business entities reporting under IFRS Accounting Standards |
| 1 January 2029 | Retirement benefit schemes; large companies; savings and credit cooperative organisations (SACCOs); all other public interest entities | |
| 1 January 2030 | Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) | |
| Phase 3: public sector | To be determined by ICPAU | Governments and other government entities |
Preparing to report
Reporting entities are expected to carry out a readiness test of their governance and leadership, stakeholder engagement and communication, and risk management, among other areas. The roadmap sets out the main considerations for adoption: establishing baselines, materiality, governance, strategy, risk management, and metrics and targets.
Transition reliefs help entities build the systems and expertise needed in their first year of reporting. For example, under the climate-first relief an entity may disclose only climate-related risks and opportunities in its first year applying IFRS S1, adding other sustainability-related risks and opportunities the following year.
Assurance
Sustainability information should be trustworthy, comparable and capable of assurance. The roadmap sets a phased assurance approach, from limited assurance, through reasonable assurance with limited Scope 3 emissions, to full reasonable assurance. Sustainability assurance providers are held to the same high standards of ethics and independence as auditors of financial statements.
ICPAU works with stakeholders such as the Bank of Uganda and the Capital Markets Authority to guide, monitor and support implementation, and ultimately to oversee and enforce application of the standards.