Europe – October 27, 2026 -- The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has named geopolitical risks and uncertainties, and restructuring provisions and debt restructuring, as enforcement focus areas for listed issuers' 2026 annual financial reports under its European Common Enforcement Priorities (ECEP).
ESMA sets three reporting areas for 2026 annual reports
The ECEP cover IFRS financial statements, sustainability statements under the European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS) and European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) digital reporting.
For IFRS financial statements, the two priorities are geopolitical risks and uncertainties, and restructuring provisions and debt restructuring.
ESRS priorities target materiality and connected information
For sustainability statements, ESMA calls for continuing progress in applying materiality assessment. It also expects issuers to provide connected information on impacts, risks and opportunities (IROs), policies, actions and targets (PATs), and metrics.
ESEF filing errors in equity statements come under review
On digital reporting, ESMA singles out common ESEF filing errors found in the statement of changes in equity.
ESMA reaffirmed its commitment to simplification and burden reduction while keeping a strong focus on investor protection and market stability. As in previous years, it underlines the importance of materiality assessments when issuers prepare and disclose information to the market.
ESMA publishes 31st enforcement database extract with seven decisions
ESMA has also released the 31st extract from the FRWG (EECS) database of enforcement. It contains seven decisions on the application of IFRS Accounting Standards and ESMA's Guidelines on Alternative Performance Measures (APM Guidelines).
Issuers, auditors and supervisory bodies should apply the recommendations where relevant, taking into account their materiality and relevance for the issuer's operations and reporting.