In today’s rapidly shifting global economy, financial reporting is undergoing a profound transformation driven by complex international markets, evolving digital landscapes, and unprecedented demands for transparency. Across African and international markets, navigating this fluid environment requires a keen understanding of both global accounting frameworks and local regulatory nuances. According to Roopeksha Protaub, Senior Executive – Corporate & Fund Accounting at ONS FinServ Ltd., the changing nature of business models and investor expectations lies at the heart of this shift. “Accounting standards are evolving because financial markets, business models and the information expected by investors are changing. Companies today operate across borders, use increasingly complex financial instruments, rely heavily on technology and face growing expectations around transparency, sustainability and risk reporting,” she observes.
For African enterprises, these global developments carry significant weight as businesses deepen their connections with cross-border capital markets, foreign investors, multinational groups, and development-finance institutions. Standardised, consistent financial reporting provides a universal language that allows global stakeholders to evaluate and compare companies seamlessly across borders. “For African businesses, this is particularly important because many companies are increasingly connected to international capital markets, multinational groups, development-finance institutions and foreign investors. Consistent financial reporting can therefore make it easier for stakeholders to compare businesses across jurisdictions,” Roopeksha explains. However, implementation is rarely a uniform process. While international standards provide a framework, individual jurisdictions retain the authority to determine how rules are adopted within their legal boundaries. “At the same time, adopting an international standard does not necessarily mean that implementation is identical everywhere. Each jurisdiction determines how standards are incorporated into its regulatory framework, including matters such as legal requirements, scope, effective dates and enforcement. The IFRS Foundation currently maintains jurisdictional profiles covering 170 jurisdictions for IFRS Accounting Standards,” she notes.
To stay ahead, finance leaders must closely monitor major upcoming regulatory shifts that will redefine how financial health and subsidiary performance are communicated. “One of the most significant upcoming developments is IFRS 18 Presentation and Disclosure in Financial Statements, which is effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2027, with earlier application permitted,” highlights Roopeksha. She points out that “IFRS 18 replaces IAS 1 and introduces, among other things, defined subtotals such as operating profit, requirements concerning management-defined performance measures, and enhanced principles for aggregation and disaggregation.” Alongside this, another critical change is on the horizon for corporate structures. “Another important development is IFRS 19 Subsidiaries without Public Accountability: Disclosures, also effective from 1 January 2027. It permits eligible subsidiaries to apply reduced disclosure requirements while continuing to apply the recognition and measurement requirements of IFRS Accounting Standards,” Roopeksha explains. Crucially, she urges organisations to take action well in advance: “Businesses should therefore not wait until 2027 to consider these changes. Implementation can involve systems, reporting processes, data, controls, management reporting and staff training.”
Simultaneously, the boundary between financial performance and environmental stewardship is blurring as sustainability disclosures move from optional public relations exercises to mandatory capital market requirements. Roopeksha observes that “sustainability reporting is increasingly moving from voluntary corporate communication towards regulated financial-market disclosure.” She underlines the role of new global benchmarks: “The International Sustainability Standards Board’s IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 are designed to provide a global baseline for sustainability-related financial disclosures. IFRS S1 covers sustainability-related risks and opportunities that could reasonably be expected to affect an entity’s cash flows, access to finance or cost of capital, while IFRS S2 focuses specifically on climate-related risks and opportunities. Both standards are effective for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2024, although individual jurisdictions determine whether and when companies must apply them.” This evolution holds immense relevance across the continent, as she points out: “This is particularly relevant to Africa because climate, natural resources, infrastructure, agriculture, energy and transition financing are economically significant areas for many African economies.”
Crucially, adopting IFRS is only one element of a far broader and more intricate compliance landscape, and Roopeksha cautions against assuming that accounting compliance alone is sufficient. “No. IFRS compliance is only one component of the broader compliance environment. A company may prepare IFRS financial statements while also having to comply with local company law, tax legislation, securities regulations, corporate-governance requirements, industry-specific regulation, anti-money-laundering requirements, data regulations and other statutory obligations,” she states. “There can also be differences between the accounting framework used for general-purpose financial statements and the rules used for taxation or regulatory reporting. This is particularly important for companies operating across multiple African countries because compliance needs to be assessed at both the group and jurisdictional levels.”
Looking to the future, finance executives must act proactively rather than reactively to maintain their competitive edge and regulatory standing. Roopeksha sets out clear priorities for leadership over the coming years: “First, companies should prepare early for IFRS 18, which becomes effective in 2027. Second, eligible subsidiaries should assess whether IFRS 19 could apply to them from 2027. Third, organisations should monitor the implementation of IFRS S1 and IFRS S2 in their relevant jurisdictions because sustainability reporting requirements are developing at different speeds across markets.” Ultimately, long-term resilience will depend on building robust foundational infrastructure across technology, governance, data systems, and personnel. “Finally, companies should invest in the underlying infrastructure—people, data, systems, controls and governance—that allows them to respond to regulatory change,” Roopeksha concludes. “The broader direction is clear: financial reporting is becoming increasingly connected with risk management, sustainability, technology, governance and capital markets. For African businesses, the challenge is to understand both the international direction of travel and the specific regulatory requirements of each jurisdiction in which they operate.”
