The Financial Services Agency has replaced IFRS 14 (Regulatory Deferral Accounts) with IFRS 20 (Regulatory Assets and Regulatory Liabilities) in the list of international standards that Japanese companies may use for consolidated accounts. The amendment was promulgated and took effect on September 29, 2026.
What the notice changes
The amendment revises the FSA commissioner's notice that designates accounting standards under Article 312 of the consolidated financial statements rule. It moves the cutoff for designated IASB standards from those published by December 31, 2025 to those published by June 30, 2026. In the appendix table, the row for IFRS 14 is deleted and a row for IFRS 20 is added.
The old-and-new comparison table shows only those two table changes. One commenter also said the update touches amendments to IAS 28, on investments in associates and joint ventures. The comparison table's other rows are elided, so that point rests on the commenter's account.
Comments and the FSA's response
The FSA opened the draft for comment from July 10 to August 10, 2026 and received two comments.
The first asked for a correction, arguing the comparison table uses double underlines rather than the double side lines the amendment text refers to, and that the intended change would therefore fail. The FSA kept the draft, saying the wording follows past amendments.
The second backed the designation but asked the FSA to ease the preparation burden on companies, including through transition guidance, worked examples and briefings for heavily affected sectors. The FSA said it would take the comment as a valuable opinion and announced no new measures.
Who should check
That commenter described IFRS 20 as clarifying how recognition, measurement and disclosure of regulatory assets and liabilities work for businesses under rate regulation, such as utilities. The commenter said it applies to fiscal years starting on or after January 1, 2029, with early adoption allowed, and that IFRS 14 users would have to move to it. Those points are the commenter's description, not FSA text. Reporting teams at rate-regulated groups should confirm the transition terms in the IASB standard itself.