Background

Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) is the standard-setting body of the Financial Reporting Foundation (FRF) which was established as an independent body under the Financial Reporting Act 1997 (Act). Under the Act, the MASB’s functions shall be the determination and issuance of accounting standards for the preparation of financial statements, which are required to be prepared or lodged under any law administered by the Securities Commission Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia or the Registrar of Companies.

Accounting Standards

Under the Act, financial statements that are prepared or lodged with the Securities Commission Malaysia, Bank Negara Malaysia, or Registrar of Companies are required to comply with the accounting standards issued by MASB. Financial statements that have been prepared in accordance with the Malaysian Financial Reporting Standards (MFRSs) are also required to include an explicit and unreserved statement of compliance with IFRS Accounting Standards. Foreign companies listed in Bursa Malaysia are permitted to choose between the MFRSs (which are identical to IFRS Accounting Standards) or any acceptable international accounting standards issued by accounting standards issuing bodies recognised by MASB (which includes the IASB).

Sustainability Disclosure Standards

On 24 September 2024, the Advisory Committee on Sustainability Reporting released the National Sustainability Reporting Framework (NSRF) addressing the use of ISSB Standards as the baseline for sustainability reporting by Malaysian companies. Following this, on 23 December 2024, Bursa Malaysia amended the Main Market Listing Requirements and ACE Market Listing Requirements to require a sustainability statement in accordance with IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 to be included in annual reports, following a phased-in approach.