(paragraphs C1 and C2 of IFRS 17)

BC402 The Board generally allows at least 12 to 18 months between the publication of a new Standard and its mandatory effective date. However, in the case of major Standards, such as IFRS 17, that have a pervasive effect on entities, the Board has allowed longer implementation periods to allow entities time to resolve the operational challenges in implementing those Standards. At the same time, the Board needs to balance the advantage of a longer implementation period for preparers against the disadvantages of allowing inferior accounting practices, arising from IFRS 4, to continue.

BC403 The Board noted that IFRS 17 will be complex for entities to apply. Accordingly, the Board decided that IFRS 17 should be applied by all entities for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2021, a period of approximately three and a half years from publication of the Standard. This allows entities a period of two and a half years to prepare, taking into account the need to restate comparative information. [In June 2020, the Board deferred the effective date of IFRS 17 by two years to require entities to apply IFRS 17 for annual reporting periods beginning on or after 1 January 2023 (see paragraphs BC404A‒BC404F).]