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7 February 2012: IFRS Foundation translation update
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The IFRS Foundation has announced the publication of the following translation:
- Arabic translation of IFRS for SMEs training Module 7 Statement of Cash Flows. The Arabic translation is available on the IASB's Arabic-language training modules webpage.
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6 February 2012: IFRS Foundation appoints David Loweth as inaugural 'Director for Trustee Activities'
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The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have announced the appointment of David Loweth as Director for Trustee Activities. Mr Loweth currently serves as Technical Director of the United Kingdom (UK) Accounting Standards Board (ASB). Before joining the UK ASB in 2004, Mr Loweth held various senior roles in the UK Treasury.
The Trustees have created the role of Director for Trustee Activities in response to the preliminary conclusions of their IFRS Foundation Strategy Review. The review called for higher levels of engagement and transparency between the IASB and the Trustees, particularly in the area of due process oversight. The review also recommends clearer separation of the roles and responsibilities of the Foundation and of the IASB. Mr Loweth will support the work of the Trustees as they fulfil these enhanced responsibilities.
Click for Trustees press release (link to IASB website).
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6 February 2012: IASB to publish next edition of the 'Red Book' in March
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The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has announced that the 2012 edition of the Bound Volume of International Financial Reporting Standards(the 'Red Book') is expected to be available in March.
The 'Red Book' contains all official pronouncements issued at 1 January 2012, including all pronouncements with an effective date after 1 January 2012, but not the pronouncements they will replace. Accordingly, the 2012 edition contains pronouncements such as IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements, IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements, IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities and IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurements, but does not contain the superseded version of IAS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements.
More information is available on the IASB's 'register my interest' webpage (link to IASB website).
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6 February 2012: AOSSG to meet in March
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The Asian-Oceanian Standard-Setters Group (AOSSG) has announced it will hold an informal meeting co-hosted by the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) on Sunday 25 March 2012, 2:30-5:30pm.
The meeting will be held at the Shangri-La Hotel in Kuala Lumpur and involve discussions on recent developments in active AOSSG and IASB projects with members of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB). Attendees at the meeting include IASB Vice-Chairman, a number of other IASB members and senior staff, and National Standard-Setters from throughout the region.
The meeting joins numerous other standard setter meetings being held in Malaysia in March (see our earlier story).
Click for the AOSSG announcement (link to AOSSG website).
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3 February 2012: Deloitte's iGAAP 2012 — A Guide to IFRS Reporting
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The latest edition of Deloitte's iGAAP 2012 — A Guide to IFRS reporting provides guidance on a range of issues with analysis of key considerations for reporting entities coupled with clear and unambiguous explanation of IFRS requirements. The guide provides insight into how complex practical issues should be resolved and illustrative examples to demostrate how the standards work in practice.
New material includes:
- IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements
- IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements
- IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in other Entities
- IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement
- IFRIC 12 Service Concession Arrangements
- Practice Statement Management Commentary which sets out a non-binding framework for the presentation of management commentary to accompany IFRS financial statements.
- First two chapters of the IASB’s Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting issued in September 2010 — Chapter 1 The objective of general purpose financial reporting and Chapter 3 Qualitative characteristics of useful financial information.
- Amendments to IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards
- Amendments to IAS 12 Income Taxes
- Amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements
- A revised version of IAS 19 Employee Benefits
Orders for this guide may be placed via www.lexisnexis.co.uk/deloitte.
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3 February 2012: Deloitte comment letter on IFRS for SMEs Q&As
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Deloitte's IFRS Global Office has submitted a letter of comment to the SME Implementation Group regarding Draft Q&A Section 11, Issue 1: Fallback to IFRS 9 Financial Instruments and Draft Q&A Section 30, Issue 1: Recycling of cumulative exchange differences on disposal of a subsidiary.
In the comment letter, we are concerned about the appropriateness of these draft Q&As for the following reasons:
- both draft Q&As seek to restrict entities from adopting certain accounting policies which may be permitted, or indeed required, following the Board’s comprehensive review of the IFRS for SMEs. We do not believe that requiring a change in accounting policy which may be reversed within the next 2-3 years is useful to either preparers or users of the financial statements of SMEs; and
- we do not consider publication of a high volume of draft Q&As (11 since February 2011) to be in keeping with the Board’s plan for periodic updating of the IFRS for SMEs. As such, we welcome the commitment made in the November 2011 IFRS for SMEs Update to issue few, if any, further Q&As before the next comprehensive review of the IFRS for SMEs.
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In addition, we are concerned about the due process applied to the Q&As and whether it is consistent with other IASB or IFRS Foundation activities.
Click to Download our Comment Letter on IFRS for SMEs Q&As (PDF 22k). All of our past comment letters are here.
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1 February 2012: IPSASB publishes consultation paper on the fourth phase of its conceptual framework project for public sector entities
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The International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) has released for comment an Consultation Paper, Conceptual Framework for General Purpose Financial Reporting by Public Sector Entities: Presentation in General Purpose Financial Reports. The paper arises from the fourth and final phase of the IPSASB's conceptual framework project.
The paper explores concepts applicable to the presentation of information in the general purpose financial reports of public sector entities and considers presentation from the broader perspective of financial reporting rather than adopting a narrow focus just on the financial statements.
Although many of the concepts of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSASs) are based on International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs), the IPSASB's conceptual framework project is not an IFRS convergence project, and its purpose is not to interpret the application of the IASB Framework to the public sector.
Comments on the Consultation Paper close on 31 May 2012. Click for the IPSASB announcement (link to IFAC website).
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31 January 2012: New issue of the IASB's Investor Perspectives
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In April 2010, the Trustees of the IFRS Foundation and the IASB launched a programme to enhance investors' participation in the development of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). One of the enhancements is a newsletter for investors entitled Investor Perspectives. A new edition is now available.
IASB Board member Patrick Finnegan discusses the IASB's agenda consultation:
All Investor Perspectives are archived on the IASB's website.
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31 January 2012: Revised proposals published for a new reporting framework in United Kingdom
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The United Kingdom Accounting Standards Board (ASB) has published three Financial Reporting Exposure Drafts (FREDs) setting out revised proposals for the future of financial reporting in the UK and Republic of Ireland.
The three exposure drafts are:
- FRED 46 Application of Financial Reporting Requirements (draft FRS 100)
- FRED 47 Reduced Disclosure Framework (draft FRS 101)
- FRED 48 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland (draft FRS 102).
The reporting framework proposed by the FREDs would operate as follows:
- entities required by law to apply EU-adopted IFRS must do so – previous proposals to require entities with 'public accountability' to apply EU-adopted IFRS in full have been discontinued
- certain qualifying entities (mainly subsidiaries and ultimate parents) may apply the EU-adopted IFRS with reduced disclosures as set out in FRED 47 – these entities would apply the recognition and measurement requirements of EU-adopted IFRS in full but benefit from lower disclosure requirements
- all other entities apply the draft standard set out in FRED 48 – these requirements would be based on the IFRS for SMEs but include modifications so that it fits better with the financial reporting requirements in the UK and Republic of Ireland, e.g. where an accounting treatment is permitted currently
- retaining the financial reporting standard for smaller entities (FRSSE) – the ASB will consult further once the European Commission's proposals to change the financial reporting requirements for small and micro-sized entities are clarified.
Comment on the FREDs close on 30 April 2012. Click for:
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30 January 2012: Summary of the January 2012 Trustees' meeting
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The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have announced the conclusions of their meeting in Singapore on 12 January 2012.
The Trustees discussed progress towards global adoption of IFRSs. They also received a report on the Due Process Oversight Committee (DPOC), reviewing due process and post-implementation review methodology. The Trustees' Nominating Committee and the Monitoring Board approved several nominations and reappointments to the Trustees. Hans Hoogervorst, Chairman of the IASB, gave the Trustees a detailed report on the work of the IASB since the last meeting in October 2011. The Trustees’ Executive Committee discussed the finalisation of the strategy review.
Click for:
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29 January 2012: Final notes from the January IASB meeting
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The IASB held its regular monthly meeting on 25-27 January 2012 in London, part of it a joint meeting with the FASB. We have now also posted Deloitte
observer notes from the remaining impairment session held on Friday (click through for direct access to the notes):
Friday, 27 January 2012 (earlier sessions)
Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.
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27 January 2012: Additional notes from the January IASB meeting
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The IASB's regular monthly meeting is being held on 25-27 January 2012 in London, part of it a joint meeting with the FASB. We have posted Deloitte observer notes from three of the sessions held on Friday (click through for direct access to the notes):
Friday, 27 January 2012 (earlier sessions)
Notes from Friday's Financial instruments: Impairment session will be posted soon.
Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.
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27 January 2012: IASB and FASB seek to reduce differences in classification and measurement models for financial instruments
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At today's joint IASB meeting with the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), the Boards agreed to work together to find ways to reduce differences in their respective classification and measurement models for financial instruments.
The discussions will shape the FASB’s ongoing redeliberation of a proposed Accounting Standards Update on financial instruments, while the IASB will consider these discussions as part of its project to undertake limited-scope changes to IFRS 9, Financial Instruments.
Click for the press release on the IASB's website. Also, see our Classification and Measurement session notes taken by Deloitte observers at today's meeting for more information.
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27 January 2012: Conclusions of the Trustees' Due Process Oversight Committee meeting
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The IFRS Foundation Trustees' Due Process Oversight Committee (DPOC) has posted to their website a summary of the conclusions of their meeting in Singapore on 12 January 2012. The DPOC discussed recommendations regarding the IASB's planned post-implementation review procedure, which begins with IFRS 8 Operating Segments. Post-implementation reviews are a mandatory due process step for all new IFRSs and major amendments to IFRSs.
Please click here to read the notes on the IFRS Foundation's website.
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27 January 2012: Further notes from the January IASB meeting
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The IASB's regular monthly meeting is being held on 25-27 January 2012 in London, part of it a joint meeting with the FASB. We have posted Deloitte observer notes from the sessions held on Thursday (click through for direct access to the notes):
Thursday, 26 January 2012 (earlier sessions)
Notes from Friday's sessions will be posted soon.
Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.
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27 January 2012: Updated EFRAG 'endorsement status report'
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The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has updated its report showing the status of endorsement, under the EU Accounting Regulation, of each IFRS, including standards, interpretations, and amendments. Click to download the Endorsement Status Report as of
26 January 2012 (PDF 199k).
Since the last report, draft endorsement advices have been issued for the amendments to IAS 32 and IFRS 7.
You can always find the endorsement status report Here.
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26 January 2012: Notes from the January IASB meeting
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The IASB's regular monthly meeting is being held on 25-27 January 2012 in London, part of it a joint meeting with the FASB. We have posted Deloitte observer notes from the session held on the first day of the meeting (click through for direct access to the notes):
Wednesday, 25 January 2012
Notes from Thursday's sessions will be posted soon.
Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.
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26 January 2012: Update on the IFRS for SMEs
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On Friday 20 January 2012, the EFRAG's SME Working Group met with IASB Board member Paul Pacter in Brussels to discuss various matters relating to the IFRS for SMEs. The report Mr Pacter presented is now available on the IASB website and contains information on Q&A status, and discusses the comprehensive review process of the IFRS for SMEs every three years. The first review will take place in the second half of 2012, and modification would occur to (1) reflect any new or revised IFRSs in the IFRS for SMEs or (2) address implementation questions that have arisen.
Click for the report on the IASB's website (29 KB).
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26 January 2012: FASB's impairment testing proposal deviates from IFRS
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The United States Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has published a proposal in which an entity testing indefinite-lived intangible assets for impairment would have the option of performing a qualitative assessment to determine whether it is more likely than not that the asset is impaired.
Under current US GAAP, assets with indefinite useful lives are similar to those under IAS 36 Impairment of Assets; they are reviewed at least annually for impairment. Under the proposal, certain assets such as trademarks, licenses and distribution rights could be exempt from this requirement, if the asset is determined to be more likely than not less than its fair value. In their proposal, the FASB acknowledges that this new guidance does not converge US GAAP and IFRS.
Click for:
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24 January 2012: Scott Evans reappointed as a trustee of the IFRS Foundation
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The Monitoring Board of the IFRS Foundation has approved the re-appointment of Scott Evans to serve as a Trustee for a second three-year term. His office term now ends on 31 December 2014.
Click for the IASB press release (link to IASB website).
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24 January 2012: Trustees reappoint three IASB members
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The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation has announced the reappointment of three current IASB members.
Stephen Cooper (Great Britain) and Wei-Guo Zhang (China) have been appointed for a second five-year term. Their office terms now end on 1 August and 30 June 2017 respectively. Paul Pacter (United States) had initially indicated to the board that he wanted to be available for only one two-years term. He has agreed to a re-appointment of six additional months to allow sufficient time for the appointment of a successor. His term now ends on 31 December 2012.
The Trustees are continuing their search for three additional members to fill the existing or soon-arising vacancies. Elke König stepped down in December 2011 and John Smith will be stepping down in June 2012 after serving the maximum two, five-year terms. Also, a new Board position will be available in July 2012 as the IASB expands its membership to 16.
Click for the IASB press release (link to IASB website).
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24 January 2012: Yael Almog appointed as Executive Director of the IFRS Foundation
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The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have announced the appointment of Yael Almog as Executive Director of the IFRS Foundation. Ms Almog will manage day-to-day operations of the organisation and provide executive leadership, supporting the work of the Trustees. She currently serves as Director of the Department of International Affairs of the Israel Securities Authority (ISA), the Israeli market regulator.
Ms Almog's appointment follows the departure of Tom Seidenstein, Chief Operating Officer, who after more than 10 years of service left the Foundation to return to the United States.
Click for the IASB press release (link to IASB website).
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24 January 2012: ICAEW issues summary of its auditor-investor forum
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The Institute of Chartered Accountants in England and Wales (ICAEW) has published a report summarising the some of the key highlights of its Auditor-Investor Forum held on 24 November 2011. During the forum, investors, auditors and financial statement preparers had discussions on the main issues related to 2011 year-end bank reporting, more specifically, exposure to sovereign debt, risks taken to secure returns and liquidity management. The report also states that differences between IFRS and US GAAP, such as IFRS having more restrictions on netting of financial instrument positions versus US GAAP's less restrictive stance, continue to cause issues when comparing US and non-US firms.
Click for the
ICAEW Auditor-Investor Forum report (link to ICAEW website). |
23 January 2012: EFRAG Update with summaries for the
January 2012 EFRAG TEG meeting
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The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has released
the January 2012 issue of its EFRAG Update newsletter. On 16–18 January 2012, the EFRAG held its TEG meeting. A highlight of the meeting was the
finalisation of endorsement advices to the European Commission on IFRS 13, Amendments to IAS 12, IFRIC 20, and Amendments to IFRS 1. Also, EFRAG has prepared a draft endorsement on Disclosure — Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (Amendments to IFRS 7) and Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities (Amendments to IAS 32), which it will publish next week.
Click for the
EFRAG Update (PDF
372k, link to EFRAG website).
Links to earlier issues are available
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23 January 2012: IFRS Foundation's translations update
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The IFRS Foundation has announced the publication of the following translations:
- Finnish translation of the 2011 Blue Book and standards. The translations are available on IASB's Web Shop.
- French translation of exposure draft Transition Guidance (Proposed amendments to IFRS 10). The French translation is available on the comment on a proposal web page.
- Polish translation of the 2011 Red Book. The translation is available on the IASB's Web Shop.
- Spanish translation of the Briefing for Chief Executives, Audit Committees and Boards of Directors. The Spanish translation is available on the Spanish New and Revised Standards page (eIFRS subscribers only).
- Hebrew and Kazakh 2011 requirements. These documents can be accessed on the eIFRS site (eIFRS subscribers only).
- Hebrew, Japanese and Kazakh translations of IAS 28, IAS 27, IFRS 10, IFRS 11, IFRS 12, and IFRS 13. These documents can be accessed on the eIFRS site (eIFRS subscribers only).
- Japanese translation of IAS 19 and Presentation of Items of Other Comprehensive Income (Amendments to IAS 1). The Japanese translations are available on the Japanese New and Revised Standards page (eIFRS subscribers only).
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23 January 2012: New board level guide to sustainability
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Deloitte's Global Center for Corporate Governance has released The Sustainable Board, a white paper providing a board-level overview of sustainability and its impact on organisations.
According to the paper, sustainability is increasingly becoming a top-of-mind issue for boards that are seeking to enhance performance and reputation, mitigate risks, and foster innovation and growth. The paper is presented as a series of topics, with examples of questions that boards may wish to ask themselves and management in order to further their understanding. There are specific sections dealing with the measurement of sustainability information, and sustainability transparency and disclosure.
The paper notes the following in its conclusions:
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Demand for reporting and disclosure of sustainability performance continues to increase – both as a response to regulation, and stakeholder and investor pressure, but also from internal management looking for better ways to manage risk and measure and improve performance.
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Click for The Sustainable Board (PDF 407k).
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23 January 2012: Agenda for IFRS Advisory Council meeting
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The IFRS Advisory Council is meeting in London on 20-21 February 2012. The agenda for the meeting is set out below.
IFRS Advisory Council meeting agenda
20-21 February 2012, London |
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Monday, 20 February 2012
- Welcome and Chairman’s preview
- Overview of last four months
- IASB activities (Chairman's review, work plan update, project updates, implementation and other activities)
- Update on the situation regarding IFRS adoption in the United States
- Financial instruments
- Convergence with US GAAP
- Impairment
- Hedging
- Classification and measurement
- Update on Trustee activities
- The IASB’s agenda consultation
Tuesday, 21 February 2012
- The IASB’s agenda consultation (continued)
- Disclosure framework
- EFRAG/FASB project on disclosure framework
- ICAS/NZICA Joint Working Group recommendations
- UK Financial Reporting Council 'cutting the clutter' report
- IASB staff update on disclosures
- How does the IASB consult?
- IASB agenda consultation - Council communications to IASB/Trustees
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Click for access to the full agenda and agenda papers (link to IASB website, agenda papers not currently posted).
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23 January 2012: EFRAG draft comment letter on revised revenue recognition exposure draft
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The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has issued its draft comment letter on IASB Exposure Draft ED/2011/6 Revenue from Contracts with Customers. ED/2011/6 is a re-exposure of the IASB and FASB's proposals in ED/2010/6 Revenue from Contracts with Customers (2010 ED).
In general, EFRAG welcomes the changes made to the 2010 ED, and notes that many of its concerns expressed in relation to the 2010 ED have now been solved. However, EFRAG disagrees with the proposals to:
- limit the onerous test to performance obligations satisfied over a period of time greater than one year
- perform the onerous test at a performance obligation level
- offset advances received against contract assets in all circumstances
- only being able to allocate contingent amount to one or all performance obligations within a contract
- require a list of specific disclosure requirements in IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting
- include only sales-based variable consideration in the special requirements for when to recognise revenue related to licence agreements of intellectual property
The draft comment letter also raises a number of other concerns.
Comments on the letter are invited by 9 March 2012. The draft comment letter can be downloaded via the press release on EFRAG's website.
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23 January 2012: Updated EFRAG 'endorsement status report'
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The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has updated its report showing the status of endorsement, under the EU Accounting Regulation, of each IFRS, including standards, interpretations, and amendments. Click to download the Endorsement Status Report as of
20 January 2012 (PDF 191k).
Currently, the following 14 IASB pronouncements await endorsement action:
- IFRS 9 Financial Instruments
- IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements
- IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements
- IFRS 12 Disclosures of Interests in Other Entities
- IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement*
- IAS 27 Separate Financial Statements (2011)
- IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures (2011)
- Amendments to IAS 12 Deferred tax: Recovery of Underlying Assets*
- Amendments to IFRS 1 Severe Hyperinflation and Removal of Fixed Dates for First-Time Adopters*
- Amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Items of Other Comprehensive Income
- Amendments to IAS 19 Employee Benefits
- Amendments to IFRS 7 Disclosures — Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities#
- Amendments to IAS 32 Offsetting Financial Assets and Financial Liabilities#
- IFRIC 20 Stripping Costs in the Production Phase of a Surface Mine*
* Indicates EFRAG has issued its final endorsement advice for this pronouncement since the previous report, final steps to endorsement will now proceed.
# Added since previous report
You can always find the endorsement status report Here.
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20 January 2012: IFRS Foundation issues exposure draft of updated XBRL taxonomy
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The IFRS Foundation has published an exposure draft of the IFRS Taxonomy 2012. The proposed taxonomy is consistent with IFRSs, including IASs and the IFRS for SMEs. The IFRS Taxonomy 2012 is a translation of IFRSs as issued at 1 January 2012 into XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language).
The proposed taxonomy includes 'common practice' extensions, which were derived from an analysis of IFRS financial statements and are designed to diminish the need for preparers to customise the taxonomy to fit their individual business. The need for these extensions originally arose from United Statements Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) concerns about the suitability of the existing IFRS taxonomy for US filing purposes and the outcomes of a pilot XBRL study conducted in 2011.
The proposed taxonomy is open for comment until 17 March 2012. Click for more information (link to IASB website). The United States Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has also recently announced (link to FASB website) the 2012 US GAAP taxonomy.
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20 January 2012: Change of date for investment entities roundtable in Norwalk
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The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has announced a change of date for the upcoming roundtable on investment entities to be held in Norwalk, CT. The roundtable will now be held on Friday 16 March 2012 (9:00am-12:30pm EST), it was previously scheduled for 20 March 2012. The deadline for registration for the roundtable was also brought forward to 24 February 2012 (previously 28 February 2012).
Click for more information (link to IASB website). See also our original story about the roundtables with details of dates and registration deadlines for all roundtables.
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19 January 2012: EFRAG draft comment letter on IFRS 10 transition guidance
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The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has issued its draft comment letter on IASB Exposure Draft ED/2011/7 Transition Guidance (Proposed amendments to IFRS 10). The proposed amendments address the transition guidance in IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements by clarifying when retrospective application is required.
EFRAG is supportive of the proposed amendments because they provide clear and consistent guidance on the transition requirements of IFRS 10. EFRAG also agrees with the ED's trade-off between preparer costs and user benefits.
Comments on the letter are invited by 9 March 2012. The draft comment letter can be downloaded via the press release on EFRAG's website.
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18 January 2012: Notes from the January IFRS Interpretations Committee meeting
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The IFRS Interpretations Committee met in London on 17–18 January 2012. The topics discussed were as follows (click through to detailed Deloitte observer notes for that topic):
Tuesday 17 January 2012
Wednesday 18 January 2012
- Annual improvements
- IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards — Repeated application of IFRS 1
- IFRS 1 First-time Adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards — Borrowing costs relating to qualifying assets for which the commencement date for capitalisation is before the date of transition to IFRSs
- IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements — Clarification of the requirements for comparative information
- IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment — Classification of servicing equipment
- IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation — Tax effect of distribution to holders of equity instruments
- IAS 34 Interim Financial Reporting — Interim financial reporting and segment information for total assets
- New items for initial consideration
- IAS 2 Inventories — Long-term prepayments for inventory supply contracts
- IAS 41 Agriculture — Disclosure of the components of changes in fair value and associates valuation techniques
- IAS 28 Investments in Associates and SIC 13 Jointly Controlled Entities — Non-Monetary Contributions by Venturers — Definition of the term 'non-monetary asset' in SIC 13 and IAS 28 (2011)
- Administrative Session
Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.
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17 January 2012: FRC issues an update responding to country and currency risk in financial reporting
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The UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has issued An Update to Directors of Listed Companies: Responding to increased country and currency risk in financial reports. The Update was issued due the current economic uncertainties in numerous countries. The Update aims to provide issues to UK listed companies that may occur when responding to the increasing country and currency risk when filing their annual and semi-annual financial reports. The Update notes the following:
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The issues Directors could consider include, where relevant:
- The company's exposure to country risk, direct or to the extent practical indirect, through financial instruments but also in terms of exposure to trading counterparties (customers and suppliers);
- The impact of austerity measures being adopted in a number of countries on the company's forecasts, impairment testing, going concern considerations, etc.;
- Possible consequences of currency events that are not factored into forecasts but may impact reported exposures and sensitivity testing of impairment or going concern considerations; and
- A post balance sheet date event requiring enhanced disclosures to avoid misleading investors. [Footnote omitted]
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The Update also suggests that additional guidance should be considered, such as the ESMA's statement Sovereign Debt in IFRS Financial Statements (see our earlier story).
Click for:
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17 January 2012: Agenda for the regular January IASB meeting
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The IASB's regular monthly meeting is scheduled for 25-27 January 2012 in London, part of it a joint meeting with the FASB. Set out below is the agenda for the meeting (links are to our project summary for each topic). Times are shown in London time (GMT).
IASB Board Meeting Agenda
25-27 January 2012, London |
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Wednesday, 25 January 2012
IASB Meeting (12:30-15:00)
Thursday, 26 January 2012
IASB Meeting (11:30-17:15)
Friday, 27 January 2012
IASB Meeting (10:30-12:00)
- IFRS 1 Comment letter analysis
- Matters to report to the Board from the Interpretation Committee
IASB-FASB Joint Meeting (14:00-16:00)
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17 January 2012: IFRS Foundation Trustees meet with representatives from Singapore
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The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation held a meeting with representatives of the Singapore Accounting Standards Council (ASC) and the local business community. During the meeting, views were exchanged on the work of the trustees and the IASB on establishing IFRSs as the globally accepted set of accounting standards. Also during the discussion, the Singapore representatives expressed the challenges that companies in Singapore face with the implementation of IFRS.
Currently, the Singapore Financial Reporting Standards (SFRSs) are extensively align to IFRSs and the ASC is committed to achieving full convergence.
Click for:
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16 January 2012: Deloitte publication update
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As a reminder, you can access all the latest IFRS related Deloitte newsletters on the Recent Publications page on IAS Plus. The most recent publications include:
The page also highlights that Deloitte's 2011 Model Financial statements that reflect the early application of new and revised Standards are now available. The model financial statements illustrate the impact of a number of new and revised Standards and Interpretations that are mandatorily effective on 1 January 2011 and the impact of the early application of new and revised Standards that are not yet mandatorily effective on 1 January 2011 (e.g. IFRS 9 Financial Instruments, IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements, IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements and IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities and amendments to IAS 1, IAS 12, and IAS 19). They also contain additional disclosures that are considered to be best practice, particularly where such disclosures are included in illustrative examples provided with a specific Standard.
Click for IFRS Model Financial Statements for 2011 including early adoption (PDF 853k).
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12 January 2012: Deloitte US alert on accounting for eurozone sovereign debt holdings
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Deloitte (United States) issued an alert regarding the impairment of Greek government bonds (GGBs) and debt issued by other eurozone states. The alert notes that under US GAAP and IFRSs, GGBs and other loans that are issued by the Greek state are impaired (other-than-temporarily impaired in the case of GGBs) as of 31 December 2011. The alert provides guidance on the measurement of the impairment loss for the different types of investment.
The alert also notes that, in general, loans to other eurozone member states are not considered impaired as of 31 December 2011, under both US GAAP and IFRSs. The alert stresses the importance of transparent disclosures, and notes the following:
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Transparent disclosures are critical in helping investors understand the financial position and performance of entities that have material exposures to eurozone sovereign debt. An entity should consider providing relevant disclosures regarding both direct and indirect exposures (e.g., guarantees and other financial instruments).
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Click to view Financial Reporting Alert 12-1, Accounting for Eurozone Sovereign Debt Holdings (link to Deloitte (United States) website).
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12 January 2012: Notes from the IFRS Foundation Trustees meeting
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The IFRS Foundation Trustees held a meeting in Singapore on 12 January 2012.
We have posted Deloitte observer notes from the meeting (click through for direct access to the notes):
Thursday, 12 January 2012
Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.
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11 January 2012: Dbriefs webcast: Important IFRS Developments
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A Global Financial Reporting Dbriefs Webcast is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, 18 January 2012, discussing the latest standard-setting developments at the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
The topics to be covered include:
- The updated timeline for the issuance of exposure drafts and new accounting standards
- An status update on the major convergence projects
- A detailed update on the financial instruments project, with key insights on what to expect
Full details of the webcast are provided below:
| Topic: |
IFRS: Important Developments
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| Date and time: |
Wednesday, 18 January 2012
8:00-9:00am London time (GMT +0), which is 4:00-5:00pm Hong Kong Time (GMT +8)
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| Host: |
Joel Osnoss, Global Managing Director – IFRS Clients and Markets |
| Presenters: |
Randall Sogoloff, Leader – Global IFRS Communications
Andrew Spooner, Leader of Deloitte’s Global Financial Instruments Team |
| More information: |
Click Here |
| Registration: |
Click Here |
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Access to recordings and other materials from past webcasts is available on our IFRS Webcasts page.
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11 January 2012: IAASB feedback statement on disclosure consultation
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The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has released a 'Feedback Statement' on the responses to its January 2011 Discussion Paper The Evolving Nature of Financial Reporting: Disclosure and Its Audit Implications. The Discussion Paper solicited views and perspectives of different stakeholder groups on the challenges arising as financial reporting continues to evolve to meet the changing needs of users.
The Feedback Statement presents a summary of the range of views on some of the more significant challenges faced by participants across the entire financial reporting supply chain, including the impact of trends in financial reporting, applying materiality to disclosures, evaluating misstatements generated by disclosures, the availability of audit evidence to support disclosures, and work effort.
To address some of the issues identified respondents have called for more auditing guidance in certain identified areas. However, the majority of the respondents were of the view that some of the more important issues could not be addressed by the IAASB on its own, but would require international collaboration and cooperation, particularly with both the accounting standard setters—including the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB), and regulators.
The need for a 'Disclosure Framework' is a recurring theme in recent times. For instance, our comment letter (PDF 126k) on the IASB's Agenda Consultation noted the "development of a clear framework for disclosures in financial statements is critical and urgent".
Click for IAASB press release (link to IFAC website).
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11 January 2012: New ICAEW website on auditing
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The Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales (ICAEW) has launched a new website dedicated to auditing and its possible reform. The website contains high-level information about the nature and value of auditing, possible options for change, details of current reviews, and a question and answer section.
The website can be accessed at www.trueandfair.org.uk.
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10 January 2012: IASB and FASB to host a joint leases working group meeting
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The IASB and FASB have announced a joint leases working group meeting on Tuesday 24 January 2012 between 14:00 – 18:30 (London time). The joint working group is seeking feedback from users and preparers of financial statements as the project progresses.
Click for:
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10 January 2012: IFRS Advisory Council membership update
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The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have announced the appointments and reappointments to the IFRS Advisory Council for memberships that ended 31 December 2011. The new terms begun on 1 January 2012 and are between one and three years to enchance continuity.
In addition, Paul Cherry has been reappointed for another two years as Chairman of the Advisory Council. Patrice Marteau has been reappointed for one year and Charles Macek has been reappointed for three years, both as Vice-Chairmen of the Advisory Council.
Click for:
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10 January 2012: AOSSG survey on Islamic accounting
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The Islamic Finance Working Group of the Asian-Oceanian Standard Setters Group (AOSSG) has issued a survey on Islamic accounting. The purpose of the survey is to highlight the importance of current Islamic accounting and the need to have the IASB consider Islamic financial transactions when discussing ongoing and future projects.
The survey was run between 1 July and 15 October 2011. The survey was sent to national standard-setters in Asia-Oceania and the National Standards Setters (NSS) members. Responses from 24 participating standard-setters were used in developing this report.
Several main conclusions from the survey are:
- entities using Islamic accounting are not subject to a common set of accounting standards.
- ’Islamic accounting standards‘does not imply there is a consistent set of standards used globally. Instead, the term implies that there are different sets of religiously-influenced standards, the different regulations can treat similar transactions with significantly different results.
- an overwhelming majority of respondents believed there should not be a separate Islamic accounting standards because it was likely it would be incompatible with IFRS convergence.
Based off the survey results, AOSSG Islamic Finance Working Group may need to expand its work to jurisdictions without their own identifiable accounting standard-setters and continue their efforts to promote consistent reporting in jurisdictions with a significant Islamic finance presence.
Click for:
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9 January 2012: IFRS Foundation translations update
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The IFRS Foundation has announced the publication of the following translations:
- Japanese translation of exposure draft Revenue from Contracts with Customers. The Japanese translation is available on the IASB's Comment on a proposal webpage.
- Spanish translations of the Basis for Conclusions of IAS 19 Employee Benefits and IFRIC 20 Stripping Costs in the Production Phase of a Surface Mine. The Spanish translations are available on the Spanish New and Revised Standards page (eIFRS subscribers only).
- Arabic translation of IFRS for SMEs training Module 30 Foreign Currency Translation. The Arabic translation is available on the IASB's Arabic-language training modules webpage.
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9 January 2012: Outcomes from recent Capital Markets Advisory Committee meeting
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The IASB has released a summary of the Capital Markets Advisory Committee (CMAC) meeting which was held in London on 12 October 2011. The CMAC was previously known as the Analyst Representative Group (ARG) and is a group of professional financial analysts who regularly meet with members of the IASB to provide the views of professional investors on financial reporting issues.
The topics discussed at the meeting included:
- XBRL. The CMAC considered the IFRS taxonomy, custom tags and the Thomson Reuters taxonomy model
- Risk free rate of return. There was a general view among the participants that the determination of the risk free rate was not the responsibility of the IASB, discussion also included when 'synthesised' risk free rates may be appropriate (e.g. entities operating in the Eurozone or multi-nationals)
- Impairment of financial instruments. The CMAC considered the IASB's current impairment model ('three bucket approach') and considered matters such as 'day one losses', information needs, and the use of expected values
- Transition disclosures. The CMAC discussed disclosures made when an IFRS is issued but is not yet mandatory, a preference for IFRS 1 type disclosures when a new standard is applied for the first time, and related matters
- Other. The CMAC discussed the usefulness of project-specific case studies for accounting proposals, and the IASB's agenda consultation.
Click for more information (link to IASB website).
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8 January 2012: Upcoming global and regional standard setter events in Malaysia
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The IASB has recently formally announced a IFRS conference in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, adding to a number of standard-setter events to be held in Malaysia during March 2012.
The events include:
- 6th IFRS Regional Policy Forum, 26–27 March 2012. Attendance at the forum is by invitation only and representatives from the international accounting standard-setters community, securities exchanges, central banks, financial market regulators, tax authorities, governments, audit practitioners and academia are usually invited (more information)
- Asia-Oceania IFRS conference, 28 March 2012. A joint event between the Malaysian Accounting Standards Board (MASB) and IFRS Foundation (more information)
- 2012 International Forum of Accounting Standard Setters (IFASS), 29–30 March 2012. The IFASS, formerly known as National Standard Setters (NSS), is a grouping of national accounting standard-setters from around the world (more information).
The IASB is also holding a roundtable on its investment entities proposals in Kuala Lumpur on 27 March 2012 (see our earlier story).
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7 January 2012: Agenda for January 2012 IFRS Interpretations Committee meeting
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The IFRS Interpretations Committee will meet at the IASB's offices in London on Tuesday and Wednesday 17 and 18 January 2012. The meeting is open to the public and will be webcast. The tentative agenda is shown below.
Agenda for the Interpretations Committee Meeting
Tuesday and Wednesday, 17 and 18 January 2012 |
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Tuesday 17 January (10:00h-18:15h)
- Introduction
- Active Committee Projects
- IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation — Put options written over non-controlling interests
- IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets and IFRIC 6 Liabilities arising from Participating in a Specific Market—Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment — Levies charged for participation in a specific market – date of recognition of liability
- Review of Tentative Agenda Decisions published in November 2011 IFRIC Update
- IAS 19 Employee Benefits — Definition of termination benefits
- Items for Continuing Consideration
- IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements — Acquisition of interest in joint operation
- IAS 28 Investments in Associates — Share of other changes in equity
- IFRIC 12 Service Concession Arrangements — Payments made by an operator in a service concession arrangement
- IAS 33 Earnings per Share — Calculating EPS with non-cumulative preference dividends
- Annual improvements
- Comment letter analysis on June 2011 exposure draft
Wednesday 18 January (09:00h-14:55h)
- Annual improvements (continued)
- Comment letter analysis on June 2011 exposure draft (continued)
- New items for initial consideration
- IAS 2 Inventories — Long-term prepayments for inventory supply contracts
- IAS 41 Agriculture — Disclosure of the components of changes in fair value and associates valuation techniques
- IAS 28 Investments in Associates and SIC 13 Jointly Controlled Entities — Non-Monetary Contributions by Venturers — Definition of the term 'non-monetary asset' in SIC 13 and IAS 28 (2011)
- Administrative session
- Committee work in progress
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