Financial reporting pillar
Gives European input to the IASB and advises the Commission on endorsing IFRS Accounting Standards for EU use.
Advice, not endorsement.EU reporting · the standard-setter’s adviser
EFRAG: the adviser behind the ESRS, and what it does not decide
EFRAG is a private association in Brussels that writes the draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards and advises the European Commission on endorsing IFRS Accounting Standards.
It advises; the Commission decides, and the revised ESRS became law as Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563, not as an EFRAG document.
For a UK company EFRAG matters only through the CSRD, which from financial year 2027 reaches undertakings above both 1,000 employees and €450 million net turnover.
What EFRAG is
A private association with a public job
EFRAG describes itself as “a private association established in 2001 with the encouragement of the European Commission to serve the public interest”.
It extended its mission in 2022, when the CSRD gave it the role of providing technical advice in the form of draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards.
Read EFRAG’s own description
Its member organisations are European stakeholder organisations, national organisations and civil society organisations, according to its About us page.
Every page footer gives its legal form as “EFRAG (IVZW/AISBL)”, at 35 Square de Meeûs, Brussels.
Funding, in its own words, “originates from both the public sector (the European Union) and the private sector (EFRAG Member Organisations)”, including cash and in-kind contributions.
A percentage split circulates in commentary, but we have not found it in a source we can cite, so this page does not print one.
EFRAG is not an EU institution: it is co-funded by the EU, and its advice becomes law only when the Commission adopts it.
EFRAG in four linesExplore
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Founded
Set up in 2001 with the encouragement of the European Commission, to serve the public interest.
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Legal form
An international non-profit association under Belgian law (IVZW/AISBL), Brussels.
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Extended 2022
The CSRD gave it the job of drafting sustainability reporting standards.
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Funded
Public money from the EU and contributions from member organisations; no split is quoted here.
The two pillars
Financial reporting and sustainability reporting, two different jobs
EFRAG’s two pillars do different things and lead to different decisions by others.
On financial reporting it influences the IASB from a European perspective and advises the Commission on endorsement.
Read what each pillar produces
EFRAG says it “ultimately provides advice to the European Commission on whether newly issued or amended IFRS Accounting Standards meet the criteria of the IAS Regulation for endorsement for use in the EU, including whether endorsement would be conducive to the European public good”.
Its Endorsement Status Report tracks where each standard stands.
On sustainability reporting it provides “technical advice to the European Commission in the form of draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) elaborated under a robust due process and supports the effective implementation of ESRS”.
Its sustainability work is collected on EFRAG’s sustainability reporting pages and the ESRS Knowledge Hub, which links each revised paragraph to its 2023 predecessor.
EFRAG
Sustainability reporting pillar
Develops draft ESRS and amendments for the Commission and supports their implementation.
The Commission adopts the standards.Governance
Who sits where in EFRAG’s structure
EFRAG calls its structure tiered: the reporting boards and technical expert groups do the technical work, overseen by the Administrative Board, which answers to the General Assembly.
The chairs of the Financial Reporting Board and the Sustainability Reporting Board “are nominated by the European Commission after having heard the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament”.
Read the governance detail
The General Assembly is composed of all member organisations and appoints the President, Vice-President and members of the Administrative Board, and the chairs, vice-chairs and members of both reporting boards.
A General Assembly Nominating Committee helps it appoint the Administrative Board.
Each technical expert group sets up working groups, advisory panels and panels to obtain expert advice on particular areas.
Source: EFRAG’s governance page.
EFRAG’s bodiesExplore
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General Assembly
All member organisations; appoints the boards and their chairs, and meets Belgian association law.
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Administrative Board
Governs and oversees the technical bodies and answers to the General Assembly.
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FRB and SRB
The Financial Reporting Board and Sustainability Reporting Board approve the technical advice.
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FR TEG and SR TEG
The technical expert groups develop the work with working groups and panels.
Office-holders, as at 11 October 2026
Who leads EFRAG as at 11 October 2026
Kerstin Lopatta is SRB Chair from 1 May 2026, under EFRAG’s announcement of 14 April 2026, as at 11 October 2026.
EFRAG’s own SRB governance page, read on the same day, still listed an acting chair, so the dated announcement is the one this page relies on.
Read the appointments and the discrepancy
The announcement of 14 April 2026 says the General Assembly appointed her on 13 April 2026, after the Commission nominated her “early December through a Commission Decision, after consultation with the European Parliament and the Council”.
She had been SRB Vice-Chair for four years, and she signed EFRAG’s letter to the Commission of 6 July 2026 on ESRS-40a as SRB Chair.
The SRB governance page listed Kristian Koktvedgaard as “Acting EFRAG SRB Chair” when we read it on 11 October 2026; the page is undated, and we have not assumed why it differs.
EFRAG’s news of 12 June 2026 records Simon Braaksma as SRB Vice-Chair from 28 May 2026, the extension of Benoît Jaspar’s term as Administrative Board President to 31 December 2026, and Georg Lanfermann confirmed as Vice-President.
The Financial Reporting Board page names Wolf Klinz as FRB Chair; that page is undated.
Office-holders change, so check EFRAG’s pages before relying on any name here.
Named office-holdersExplore
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SRB Chair
Kerstin Lopatta, from 1 May 2026 for three years (EFRAG announcement of 14 April 2026).
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Administrative Board
President Benoît Jaspar, term extended to 31 December 2026; Vice-President Georg Lanfermann.
How the ESRS were made
From draft standards in 2022 to the revised ESRS in 2026
EFRAG has drafted two sets of ESRS, and the Commission adopted each with its own changes.
Every date below is from EFRAG’s or the Commission’s own documents.
- November 202201
First draft ESRS delivered
EFRAG provides the first set of draft ESRS to the Commission. - 31 July 202302
First ESRS adopted
Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772; published in the Official Journal on 22 December 2023. - 31 May 202403
IG 1–3 finalised
Non-authoritative implementation guidance on materiality, value chain and datapoints. - End of March 202504
Simplification mandate
EFRAG receives the Commission’s request to simplify the ESRS. - 29 July 202505
- 28 November 202506
- 3 December 202507
Advice submitted
EFRAG submits its technical advice; the “shall” datapoints are cut by 61% against IG 3. - 3 July 202608
- 21 September 202609
Official Journal
In force 10 November 2026; applies to financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2027.
Read the detail behind the dates
EFRAG’s cover letter records more than 700 responses to the 2025 consultation and says EFRAG had an extra month compared with the deadline first set.
The Commission’s staff working document describes the advice as approved in November 2025 and delivered at the end of that month; EFRAG’s own release dates the submission to 3 December 2025, and this page uses EFRAG’s date.
The Commission did not adopt EFRAG’s advice unchanged: the adopted act records thirteen categories of modification, which is why the law, not the advice, is the text to cite.
For financial years starting in 2026, companies may still use the 2023 ESRS, those standards with eight reliefs, or the revised ESRS, and must say which; the ESRS page sets out the choice.
Open work, as at 11 October 2026
What EFRAG is consulting on now
Three EFRAG consultations close within weeks of each other in the autumn of 2026.
None of them changes the law; each prepares material the Commission, ESMA or preparers will use.
- 28 August 202601
Draft List of Datapoints
Non-authoritative support material listing every ESRS datapoint; “must not be used as a checklist”. - 17 September 202602
Draft XBRL taxonomy
Machine-readable tagging for the revised ESRS; replaces the August 2024 taxonomy. - 23 October 202603
Datapoint feedback closes
Fatal-flaw survey closes at 23:59 CET; final list expected by the end of 2026. - 31 October 202604
ESRS-40a consultation closes
The 100-day consultation on the third-country exposure draft. - 11 November 202605
Taxonomy consultation closes
EFRAG then intends to submit the final taxonomy to ESMA and the Commission by the end of 2026. - January 202706
ESRS-40a advice
EFRAG expects to deliver technical advice; the Commission then runs its own consultation.
Read what each consultation covers
The draft list of ESRS datapoints counts 292 “shall” datapoints in the revised ESRS, excluding the policy, action, target and metric datapoints and six technical ones, and every one is subject to materiality.
The draft ESRS XBRL taxonomy carries the same datapoints with the technical attributes needed for digital tagging, which is not yet mandatory.
The ESRS-40a exposure draft covers impacts only, for non-EU groups reached by Article 40a, with reporting for the 2028 financial year and first reports in 2029.
The SRB approved the ESRS-40a draft for consultation on 1 July 2026 with four abstentions; EFRAG’s two documents give 13 and 14 votes in favour, and both are recorded in the canon behind this page.
Implementation support
Guidance EFRAG has issued, and what it has not
EFRAG’s implementation guidance is non-authoritative and, so far, written for the 2023 ESRS.
EFRAG said it would not issue new or updated guidance for the simplified ESRS before the Commission adopted them, and as at 11 October 2026 it lists none for the revised set.
Read how to use EFRAG guidance today
The method in IG 1 still helps, but its paragraph references are to the 2023 standards, so the revised ESRS 1 is the text to cite.
The full account, with a map from IG 1 to the revised paragraphs, is on EFRAG implementation guidance.
The assessment the guidance supports is set out on the double materiality assessment.
EFRAG support materialExplore
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IG 1–3
Materiality, value chain and datapoints, May 2024: non-authoritative, for the 2023 ESRS.
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Revised ESRS
No implementation guidance listed as at 11 October 2026.
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Datapoint list
Draft support material, expressly not implementation guidance.
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Knowledge Hub
The revised ESRS interactively, with links to the 2023 paragraphs.
Working with other standard-setters
ISSB and GRI: what EFRAG has agreed with each
The joint ESRS–ISSB interoperability guidance of 2 May 2024 says the ESRS definition of financial materiality is aligned with the definition of materiality in IFRS S1.
The EFRAG–GRI joint statement says the ESRS “have adopted the same definition for impact materiality as GRI”.
Read the limits of both documents
The ISSB guidance is “not a formal statement of equivalence”, and it maps the 2023 ESRS paragraph numbers.
Under the EFRAG–GRI statement an ESRS reporter is considered to report “with reference to” the GRI Standards, not “in accordance” with them.
The full comparison is on ESRS and ISSB interoperability, and GRI’s own test on the GRI Standards page.
The two lenses these documents describe are explained on financial materiality and impact materiality.
Two alignmentsExplore
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With the ISSB
The ESRS definition of financial materiality is aligned with IFRS S1; the regimes differ because the ESRS add impacts.
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Climate
Almost all ISSB climate disclosures are included in the ESRS.
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With GRI
The ESRS adopted the same definition of impact materiality as GRI.
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Both dated
Both documents describe the 2023 ESRS, not the revised set.
Three kinds of endorsement
EFRAG advises, the Commission endorses, the UKEB decides for the UK
EFRAG’s endorsement advice is advice: the Commission endorses IFRS Accounting Standards for EU use by regulation.
None of it applies in the UK, where the UK Endorsement Board decides which international accounting standards are adopted.
Read the UK position
The UK Endorsement Board says it “is responsible for deciding which international accounting standards are adopted for use in the UK”; it was established on 26 March 2021, and its delegated powers came into force on 22 May 2021.
UK sustainability standards follow a different route again: UK SRS were endorsed by government, not by the UKEB or by EFRAG.
So “EFRAG endorsed it” is never a statement about UK law.
- 1
EFRAG advises
Whether an IFRS Accounting Standard meets the IAS Regulation’s criteria, including the European public good.
- 2
The Commission endorses
By regulation, for use in the EU.
- 3
The UKEB decides separately
Which international accounting standards are adopted for use in the UK.
Why a UK company should care
EFRAG reaches a UK company only through the CSRD
EFRAG has no authority in the UK, and its documents bind nobody here.
They matter to a UK group because the CSRD may reach it through an EU subsidiary, an EU listing, or from 2028 Article 40a.
Read how the routes work
The CSRD explained sets out scope after Omnibus I, and CSRD in the UK shows how a UK group meets it.
A UK supplier asked for ESRS data by an EU customer is protected by the value-chain cap, and the voluntary standard for suppliers sets out what the capped questions are.
A UK listed company reports against UK SRS, whose single (financial) materiality is compared on UK SRS against the ESRS.
If you remember one thing
EFRAG drafts and advises; the Commission adopts; the delegated regulation is the law to cite.
Where EFRAG’s work landsExplore
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EU subsidiary
In scope above 1,000 employees and €450m net turnover from FY2027.
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Non-EU group
Article 40a on EU turnover; ESRS-40a for financial year 2028.
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Supplier
Protected by the value-chain cap; the voluntary standard applies from FY2027.
Reference
EFRAG’s outputs and their status
A one-table summary of what EFRAG produces and what each output is, as at 11 October 2026.
Read the table of outputs
| Output | Status | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Draft ESRS and amendments | Technical advice; the Commission adopts or modifies | EFRAG, 3 Dec 2025 |
| Revised ESRS | Law as Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563 | EUR-Lex |
| IG 1–3 | Non-authoritative; written for the 2023 ESRS | EFRAG |
| 2026 Draft List of Datapoints | Draft support material; not a checklist | Explanatory Note |
| Draft XBRL taxonomy | Consultation to 11 November 2026; tagging not yet mandatory | EFRAG |
| ESRS-40a exposure draft | Consultation to 31 October 2026; advice January 2027 | EFRAG |
| IFRS endorsement advice | Advice to the Commission; no UK effect | EFRAG |
What carries weightExplore
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Law
Only the Commission’s delegated regulations: DR (EU) 2023/2772 and 2026/1563.
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Advice
EFRAG’s draft standards and endorsement advice, which the Commission may modify.
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Drafts
Datapoint list, taxonomy and ESRS-40a, all open for comment as at 11 October 2026.
Frequently asked
Questions people ask
What is EFRAG?
EFRAG is a private association under Belgian law, based in Brussels, set up in 2001 with the encouragement of the European Commission.
It has two pillars: financial reporting, where it gives the EU’s input to the IASB and advises the Commission on endorsing IFRS Accounting Standards, and sustainability reporting, where it writes draft European Sustainability Reporting Standards and supports their implementation.
Does EFRAG make the ESRS law?
No. EFRAG gives technical advice in the form of draft standards; the European Commission adopts the ESRS as delegated regulations.
The revised ESRS are Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563, adopted on 3 July 2026 and published in the Official Journal on 21 September 2026.
Who is the chair of the EFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board?
EFRAG announced on 14 April 2026 that Kerstin Lopatta would be SRB Chair from 1 May 2026 for a three-year term.
That is the position as at 11 October 2026, although EFRAG’s own SRB governance page, read the same day, still listed an acting chair.
What are the SRB and the SR TEG?
The Sustainability Reporting Board is the EFRAG body that approves its sustainability technical advice, such as the draft simplified ESRS it approved on 28 November 2025.
The Sustainability Reporting Technical Expert Group develops that work with it; its Chair is Chiara Del Prete as at 11 October 2026.
Does EFRAG have any authority in the UK?
No. EFRAG advises the European Commission.
UK adoption of international accounting standards is decided by the UK Endorsement Board, and UK sustainability standards are endorsed by the government.
EFRAG’s work reaches a UK company only where the EU’s CSRD reaches its group.
Is EFRAG endorsement advice the same as endorsement?
No. EFRAG advises the Commission on whether IFRS Accounting Standards meet the IAS Regulation’s criteria for use in the EU.
The endorsement itself is a Commission regulation, and it has no effect in the UK.
When did EFRAG deliver the simplified ESRS?
EFRAG’s Sustainability Reporting Board approved the draft simplified ESRS on 28 November 2025, and EFRAG submitted its technical advice to the Commission on 3 December 2025.
The Commission adopted the revised ESRS on 3 July 2026.
What is EFRAG consulting on now?
As at 11 October 2026: fatal-flaw feedback on the 2026 Draft List of Datapoints closes on 23 October 2026; the draft ESRS XBRL taxonomy consultation closes on 11 November 2026; and the ESRS-40a exposure draft for third-country groups is open until 31 October 2026.
How many datapoints are in the revised ESRS?
EFRAG’s draft list, published on 28 August 2026, counts 292 “shall” datapoints, excluding the general disclosure requirements on policies, actions, targets and metrics and six technical datapoints.
Every one is subject to materiality, so the number is not what any single company reports.
Has EFRAG issued implementation guidance for the revised ESRS?
Not as at 11 October 2026.
Its IG 1–3 documents of May 2024 relate to the 2023 ESRS and are non-authoritative, and EFRAG said it would not issue updated guidance for the simplified ESRS before the Commission adopted them.
How is EFRAG funded?
EFRAG says its funding comes from the public sector, the European Union, and the private sector, its member organisations, including contributions in cash and in kind.
We have not found a published split we can source, so we do not quote one.
What is ESRS-40a?
ESRS-40a is EFRAG’s exposure draft of standards for non-EU groups reached by Article 40a of the Accounting Directive.
It covers impacts only, its consultation runs to 31 October 2026, EFRAG expects to deliver technical advice in January 2027, and reporting would start with the 2028 financial year.
Is EFRAG an EU institution?
No. It is a private association, co-funded by the EU, whose technical advice the Commission uses.
Its General Assembly fulfils the legal requirements of Belgian law for international associations.
Sources
Primary sources
Every figure, date and status on this page traces to the instrument’s owner.
Secondary commentary is never the source for a number.
Checked against 16 sources fromEFRAGEUR-LexUK Endorsement BoardIFRS Foundation / EFRAGGRI / EFRAG
- EFRAGAbout us — mission, the two pillars and funding
A private association set up in 2001 with the Commission’s encouragement; mission extended in 2022.
- EFRAGGovernance — General Assembly, Administrative Board, the two Boards and two TEGs
The Board chairs are nominated by the Commission after hearing the Council and Parliament.
- EFRAGNews, 14 April 2026 — Kerstin Lopatta appointed EFRAG SRB Chair from 1 May 2026
Three-year term; appointed by the General Assembly on 13 April 2026.
- EFRAGNews, 12 June 2026 — new appointments to EFRAG bodies
SRB Vice-Chair; Administrative Board President’s term extended to 31 December 2026.
- EFRAGEFRAG Sustainability Reporting Board — governance page
Still listed an acting chair when read on 11 October 2026.
- EFRAGNews, 3 December 2025 — technical advice on draft simplified ESRS submitted
“EFRAG has submitted today its technical advice to the European Commission.”
- EFRAGCover letter to the Commission, 3 December 2025
Mandate at the end of March 2025; exposure drafts 29 July 2025; SRB approval 28 November 2025.
- EUR-LexCommission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2026/1563 — the revised ESRS
Adopted 3 July 2026, published 21 September 2026, in force 10 November 2026; applies from FY2027.
- EUR-LexCommission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2772 — the first ESRS
Adopted 31 July 2023; Official Journal 22 December 2023.
- EFRAGExplanatory Note — 2026 Draft List of Datapoints and Draft XBRL Taxonomy
Non-authoritative; feedback by 23 October 2026.
- EFRAGNews, 17 September 2026 — draft ESRS XBRL taxonomy and public consultation
Open until 11 November 2026; tagging not yet mandatory.
- EFRAGESRS-40a Exposure Draft — Basis for Conclusions
Third-country standards; technical advice due January 2027.
- EFRAGESRS implementation guidance documents
IG 1–3 relate to the 2023 ESRS; nothing listed for the revised ESRS as at 11 October 2026.
- UK Endorsement BoardAbout us
The UK body that decides which international accounting standards are adopted for UK use.
- IFRS Foundation / EFRAGESRS–ISSB Standards Interoperability Guidance, 2 May 2024
The ESRS definition of financial materiality is aligned with IFRS S1.
- GRI / EFRAGEFRAG–GRI Joint Statement of Interoperability (2023)
The ESRS adopted the same definition of impact materiality as GRI.
Continue reading
Read next
Guidance
EFRAG implementation guidance
IG 1–3, what they still help with, and how to use them with the revised ESRS.
Datapoints
ESRS datapoints
The 2026 draft list and what the 292 count does and does not mean.
The standards
The ESRS, read from the UK
The twelve standards and the FY2026 version choice.
Materiality
Materiality
What material means in each framework EFRAG works with.