Definition of material

In the context of the Disclosure Initiative, the IASB published an Exposure Draft (ED), Definition of Material, in September 2017. The reason this was required was that the IFRS literature, specifically, the Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting, IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements and IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors currently contain definitions of “material” which are similar but not identical. The ED proposed to align the definition of “material” in IAS 1 and IAS 8 and to refine it at the same time. It also proposed guidance to help improve consistency in the application of that concept whenever it is used. If the changes are made, the Materiality Practice Statement and Conceptual Framework will be revised.