FASB–IASB Joint Education Meeting Agenda Published for June 2026

The IASB and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) have released the agenda and meeting papers for their joint education session scheduled for 5 June 2026. The meeting continues the two Boards' practice of periodic information-sharing and technical discussion, particularly on topics where IFRS and US GAAP continue to diverge or where convergence efforts from earlier decades are being revisited.

Why This Meeting Matters

Although education meetings are explicitly non-decision-making, they serve an important function: they allow both Boards to share research findings, test emerging ideas, and explore whether joint or coordinated approaches to specific accounting problems are feasible. Topics placed on the joint agenda typically signal areas under active consideration by one or both Boards, making the published papers valuable reading for preparers, auditors, and analysts.

For entities that report under both frameworks — or that are comparing IFRS and US GAAP treatments as part of a capital markets strategy — the differences between IFRS and US GAAP remain material in several areas. Revenue recognition under IFRS 15 and ASC 606 is largely converged, but differences persist in lease accounting, financial instruments, insurance contracts, and the conceptual frameworks underlying both sets of standards.

Convergence: The Current Landscape

Following the completion of the major Norwalk Agreement projects in the early 2010s, the IASB and FASB do not currently operate a formal convergence programme. However, dialogue continues, and the two Boards monitor each other's projects. Where one Board proposes changes to a standard that was originally converged, the potential for re-divergence is actively considered.

The June meeting is expected to cover selected topics from each Board's active agenda, providing an opportunity for staff to present research and hear technical feedback from their counterparts.

Areas of Persistent Divergence

Several accounting areas remain structurally different between IFRS and US GAAP despite past convergence work. Lease accounting under IFRS 16 and ASC 842 look similar at first glance — both require lessees to capitalise most leases — but differ on the treatment of short-term leases, variable lease payments, and the discount rate hierarchy. Financial instruments accounting under IFRS 9 and ASC 326 diverge on impairment: IFRS 9 uses an expected credit loss model triggered by stage classification, while ASC 326's CECL model requires a full lifetime expected loss from day one.

Insurance contracts represent another major divide. IFRS 17 introduced a fundamentally new measurement model for insurance liabilities in 2023, replacing the patchwork of IFRS 4 local GAAP elections. US GAAP insurance accounting under ASC 944 follows a materially different approach, meaning that insurers with dual-framework reporting obligations face significant reconciliation challenges that joint educational discussions may help to clarify.

Practical Implications for Preparers

Multinational companies preparing financial statements under IFRS while also filing with the SEC, or subsidiaries of US parents that must reconcile to US GAAP, should track the outputs of joint meetings carefully. Even educational discussions can signal that a previously stable area of convergence is being reconsidered.

Finance teams should designate responsibility for monitoring both Boards' project pages and meeting outputs. Where a joint meeting touches an area relevant to your reporting, consider preparing an internal briefing note to share with your audit committee — particularly where the discussion concerns standards that have been stable for several years and where a change in direction might require systems or process updates.

The meeting papers are publicly available on the IASB's website and are worth reviewing for any organisation with dual-framework reporting exposure or those advising on cross-border transactions and capital market access.