30 May 2003: Agenda set for IASB June 2003 meeting in Rome

The IASB will hold its next meeting at the Grand Hotel Parco Dei Principi in Rome, Italy, on 16-18 June 2003. The Standards Advisory Council will meet at the same location on 19-20 June. The preliminary agenda for the meeting is:

30 May 2003: IASB will meet with its advisory council 19-20 June 2003

The IASB's Advisory Council will meet in Rome on 19-20 June, immediately following the Board meeting. The preliminary agenda is:

29 May 2003: Changes to IASB's project timetable
The IASB has made some changes in its project Timetables, delaying several EDs or final standards and announcing timetables for several projects not previously scheduled:

29 May 2003: FASB will consider several convergence issues next week
At its meeting on 4 June 2003, the FASB will discuss several matters of convergence with IFRS:

• Balance sheet classification of (a) short-term obligations expected to be refinanced and (b) obligations due on demand because of breach of a borrowing agreement. While IFRS and US GAAP are now the same, in the Improvements Project IASB has proposed to classify these as current unless (a) refinancing is completed by balance sheet date or (b) the lender has granted the waiver before balance sheet date.
• Differing conclusions reached by the FASB and IASB for the subsequent recognition of deferred tax benefits acquired in a business combination (IASB would recognise income while FASB would reduce goodwill).
• The implications of full goodwill method in a business combination. One of the conclusions tentatively reached in the "purchase method procedures" joint IASB-FASB project is that if an entity acquires less than a 100% interest in another entity, both the acquirer's and the minority interest's share of goodwill should be recognised. Minority goodwill isn't recognised under current standards.

29 May 2003: IASB announces presentations in Europe on transition to IFRS
Members of the IASB will be undertaking a series of presentations throughout Europe to highlight issues related to the transition to IFRS for EU publicly-listed companies in 2005:

28 May 2003: SEC requires reports on internal control with auditor attestation
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted new Final Rules on management's report on internal control over financial reporting. The effective date for large US issuers is financial years ending on or after 15 June 2004. Foreign private issuers and small US issuers have until years ending on or after 15 April 2005. The rules require, among other things, that annual reports include a report by management on the effectiveness of the company's system of internal controls over financial reporting and a statement that its auditor has issued an attestation report on management's assessment. The rules also require that the CEO and CFO certifications of financial statements be identified as exhibits to periodic reports such as those on Form 10-K, 10-Q, and 20-F, effective in 60 days.

28 May 2003: New Accounting Roundup newsletter posted

We have posted the 27 May 2003 Edition of Accounting Roundup from Deloitte & Touche (USA). Topics covered include SFAS 150 on financial instruments; the 15 May 2003 EITF meeting; new SEC rules on improper influence on audits, electronic filing, and website posting; and SEC Staff Accounting Bulletin 103. You can also download all 35 past editions of Accounting Roundup at the above link.

27 May 2003: Final PCAOB auditor registration rules apply to non-US firms
The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has adopted Final Auditor Registration Rules (PDF 393k). All public accounting firms must be registered with the PCAOB if they wish to prepare or issue audit reports on US public companies, or to play a substantial role in preparing or issuing such reports. Registration deadlines:

• US public accounting firms – 22 October 2003
• Non-US public accounting firms – 19 April 2004

26 May 2003: Agenda project pages updated

We have updated the following agenda project pages to reflect the Board's deliberations at last week's Board meeting:

• Business Combinations - Phase II
• Convergence (issues relating to IAS 19, IAS 35, IAS 37)
• Financial Activities
• Financial Instruments: Amendments to IAS 32 and IAS 39
• IFRIC issues (decommissioning liabilities and reimbursements)
• The Income Statement [Reporting Performance]
• Leases
• Revenue Recognition
• Share-Based Payment

24 May 2003: Belgium proposes to adopt IAS/IFRS in 2007
The Belgian Commission for Accounting Standards (CBN/CNC) has recently proposed a comprehensive approach to adopting IAS/IFRS in Belgium by all Belgian entities starting in 2007: 

24 May 2003: Notes from the fourth day of the IASB's May 2003 meeting

We have combined our notes from all four days of the IASB meeting on 20-23 May 2003 into a Single Page.

23 May 2003: Principales diferencias: IAS vs US GAAP

We have posted Principales Diferencias: IAS vs US GAAP, the Spanish translation of our comparison of International Financial Reporting Standards and US GAAP. We are pleased to grant permission for accounting educators and students to make copies for educational use. Click to Download (PDF 305k). You will find a complete list of available DTT publications relating to IFRS Here. Also, please visit our Spanish Language IASPlus Website.

23 May 2003: New DTT Australian Accounting Alert on international convergence
We have posted two new Australian Accounting Alerts. One deals with accounting for Australia's new tax consolidation system and the other with AASB's First Instalment on International Convergence.

23 May 2003: Notes from the third day of the IASB's May 2003 meeting

We have combined our notes from all four days of the IASB meeting on 20-23 May 2003 into a Single Page.

22 May 2003: European Commission sets out priorities to improve audit quality
The European Commission has published a 10-point plan for improving and harmonising the quality of independent audits throughout the EU. Approximately two million European companies are required by statute to have an annual audit. To implement the plan, existing European legislation (particularly the 8th Directive) will be revised and extended. The plan is divided into short and medium-term priorities:

22 May 2003: Notes from the second day of the May 2003 IASB meeting
We have combined our notes from all four days of the meeting of the International Accounting Standards Board on 20-23 May 2003 into a Single Page.

21 May 2003: UK FSA chairman calls for global accounting standards
In the 2003 Monetary Authority of Singapore Annual Lecture (PDF 33k), Sir Howard Davies, chairman of the UK Financial Services Authority (FSA), identified a comprehensive set of international accounting standards, enforced through high quality independent audits, as the number one item on his agenda for change to strengthen the international financial structure:

21 May 2003: Notes from the first day of the IASB meeting
We have combined our notes from all four days of the meeting of the International Accounting Standards Board on 20-23 May 2003 into a Single Page.

20 May 2003: IFAC urges PCAOB to rely on international auditing standards
In a Letter (PDF 117k) to the US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (PCAOB), the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has urged the PCAOB to "seek public comment on the appropriateness of using International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) as a common base for issuers in the U.S." IFAC pointed out the benefits of adopting an internationally consistent approach to professional auditing standards. IFAC noted that using ISAs as a common base would require auditors to both:

• perform a financial statement audit in accordance with ISAs, and
• perform additional procedures and report on additional matters in response to specific legal, regulatory, or other needs established at a national level.

20 May 2003: IASCF appoints a Director of Education
The IASC Foundation has appointed Elizabeth Hickey as Director of Education. She will be responsible for assisting in the preparation of explanatory and educational materials related to IFRS, for assuring the quality of educational products carrying the IASC Foundation logo, for general educational activities, and for assisting the IASCF Trustees in a possible proficiency-testing programme. Click for Press Release (PDF 19k).

20 May 2003: All listed companies in South Africa must follow IFRSs
The JSE Securities Exchange South Africa (JSE) has approved substantial amendments to its listing rules that will require all companies listed on the exchange to comply with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for years commencing on or after 1 January 2005. Previously, a company whose primary listing is on the JSE could elect to comply with either South African Statements of Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (SA GAAP) or IFRS. Under the amended JSE rules, a JSE GAAP Monitoring Panel will have the authority to sanction listed companies for non-compliance with either SA GAAP or IFRS.

19 May 2003: Four-day IASB meeting begins tomorrow
The IASB begins its four-day May 2003 meeting tomorrow. The meeting will be held at the Board's offices, 30 Cannon Street, London. On the agenda are the following topics:

• IFRIC issues (including decommissioning liabilities and reimbursements)
• Leases (research project)
• Revenue Recognition (joint research project with FASB)
• Financial Instruments (amendments to IAS 32 and IAS 39)
• Share-Based Payment (redeliberations of proposals in ED 2)
• Convergence (issues relating to IAS 19, IAS 37, asset disposals, discontinuing operations)
• The Income Statement [Reporting Performance] (UK pilot field tests)
• Financial Activities (risk disclosures and other issues)
• Business Combinations - Phase II (noncontrolling interest, comment period, effective date, transition)

19 May 2003: G8 finance ministers endorse international accounting standards

Finance ministers from the Group of Eight large developed nations met in Deauville, France, on 17 May 2003 to discuss the challenges to their own economies and, more broadly, global economic growth. The meeting resulted in a Statement (PDF 10k) backing, among other things, the development of international accounting standards as a means to bolster investor confidence: "We favour the emergence, through open and public processes involving the private sector, of high-quality internationally recognized accounting standards that are applied, interpreted and enforced, with due regard to financial stability concerns." The finance ministers' meeting is a prelude to a summit of the G8 heads of state and government that will take place on 1 to 3 June at Evian. The G8 countries are Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, United Kingdom, and United States.

17 May 2003: New PCAOB website
The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has launched its new PCAOB Website. The PCAOB was created by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Its mission is to protect investors in US securities markets by ensuring that public company financial statements are audited according to the highest standards of quality, independence, and ethics (whether by domestic or foreign auditors). The PCAOB's primary regulatory tools are:

• Registration of auditing firms.
• Auditing and other professional standards.
• Inspections of registered public accounting firms.
• Enforcement through investigations and disciplinary proceedings.

17 May 2003: FASB converges some liability classifications with IAS 32 and IAS 39
The US Financial Accounting Standards Board has issued Statement 150, Accounting for Certain Financial Instruments with Characteristics of both Liabilities and Equity, which requires an issuer to classify certain financial instruments as liabilities. The FAS 150 classifications are essentially consistent with the classifications under IAS 32 and IAS 39 (as proposed to be amended). Also, because FAS 150 has a limited scope, it does not address a number of liability-equity questions that are addressed under IAS 32 and IAS 39, such as accounting for compound instruments and for contingently redeemable instruments, but the FASB intends to address those issues in a later phase of the project. Under FAS 150, three types of instruments would be classified as liabilities by the issuer:

• Mandatorily redeemable shares.
• Instruments that do or may require the issuer to buy back some of its shares in exchange for cash or other assets.
• Obligations that can be settled with shares, the monetary value of which is fixed, tied solely or predominantly to a variable such as a market index, or varies inversely with the value of the issuers' shares.

15 May 2003: IFRIC issues draft interpretation on emissions trading schemes
The International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) has published for comment a draft Interpretation on accounting for transferable emissions (pollution) allowances. Draft Interpretation D1, Emission Rights, is IFRIC's first draft Interpretation. Comment deadline is 14 July 2003. D1 would require companies to account for the emission allowances they receive from governments as intangible assets, recorded initially at fair value. Emissions of pollutant would then give rise to a liability for the obligation to deliver allowances to cover those emissions. Any excess of the fair value of the allowance over the amount paid to the government is initially recognised as deferred income in the balance sheet and subsequently recognised as income on a systematic basis over the compliance period (per IAS 20). Click for Press Release (PDF 29k). The draft Interpretation will be available publicly on IASB's Website on 16 May. More Information.

15 May 2003: FASB decides to stick with FAS 123 measurements for stock options
Like IASB, FASB is considering share-based compensation. While both boards have concluded that compensation cost should be recognised over the service period, the measurement technique proposed by the IASB in ED 2 (units-of-service attribution method) differs from the modified grant-date measurement approach in FASB Statement 123. The FASB has now considered both approaches and has decided to keep the FAS 123 method:

15 May 2003: Technical Library: The Deloitte Accounting Research Tool available
Deloitte & Touche (USA) is making available, on a subscription basis, access to its online library of accounting and financial disclosure literature. Called Technical Library: The Deloitte Accounting Research Tool, the library includes material from the FASB, the EITF, the AICPA, the SEC, and the IASB, in addition to Deloitte & Touche's own accounting manual and other interpretive accounting guidance. Updated every business day, Technical Library has an intuitive design and navigation system, which, together with its powerful search features, enable users to quickly locate information any time, from any computer. Additionally, Technical Library subscribers receive periodic emails highlighting recent additions to the DART library. For more information, including subscription details and an online Technical Library demonstration, visit Our Technical Library Site.

15 May 2003: New Accounting Roundup newsletter posted

We have posted the 14 May 2003 Edition of Accounting Roundup from Deloitte & Touche (USA). Topics covered include FASB's new derivatives standard, SFAS 133 implementation issues, one new and six proposed FASB Staff Positions (FSPs), recent SEC activities, and summaries of recent FASB, AcSEC, and IASB meetings.

14 May 2003: EC exempts more SMEs from financial reporting rules
The European Union has amended its accounting directives to allow member states to exempt more small and medium-sized enterprises from certain financial reporting and disclosure requirements usually imposed on limited liability companies. For instance, member states may allow them to publish only an abridged balance sheet and income statement and abridged notes. Click for EC Announcement (PDF 70k) or Full Text of Directive (PDF 49k).

14 May 2003: US SEC makes many changes to Staff Accounting Bulletins
The US SEC has released Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 103, Update of Codification of Staff Accounting Bulletins. SABs apply to both domestic and foreign registrants. SAB 103 revises or rescinds portions of the guidance previously included in the codification of SABs. Many of the changes involve the rescission of material no longer needed because of changes in authoritative accounting standards as well as Commission rulemaking. Click for Link to SAB 103. The SEC has also updated its EDGAR Filing Manual. EDGAR is the Commission's Electronic Data Gathering and Retrieval system. Foreign issuers were required to file electronically starting November 2002.

13 May 2003: All listed companies in Czech Republic may now use IFRS
In the Czech Republic starting from 2002, all listed companies are permitted to prepare consolidated financial statements in conformity with IFRS. For certain listed companies – about a dozen that trade on the main board of the Prague Stock Exchange – IFRS financial statements are now required.

12 May 2003: We had our 500,000th visitor today! We thank that person and everyone else for visiting during the past 30 months. Please come back often.

12 May 2003: Most Austrian listed companies have already switched to IFRS
For the past three years, the Vienna stock exchange has required all domestic and foreign companies listed on the A-Market and the Austrian Growth Market (AGM) to submit consolidated financial statements under either IFRS or US GAAP. Other listed companies have been permitted to use IFRS or US GAAP or the Austrian commercial code. In their 2002 financial statements, nearly all listed Austrian companies have used IFRS. Only a few are now using US GAAP or the Austrian code. Starting in 2005, virtually all listed European companies, including Austrian companies, will be required to use IFRS.

9 May 2003: EC will request modifications of IAS for use in Europe
The European Commission has published its Internal Market Strategy 2003-2006 (PDF 220k), a ten-point plan to make the Internal Market work better. Point 6 – improving conditions for business – states that the European Commission will request "appropriate modifications" to certain existing IAS before they will be endorsed for use in Europe. An EC Accounting Regulatory Committee has been established for that purpose:

9 May 2003: Convergence with IFRSs in Japan
The Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ) has taken issue with the GAAP Convergence 2002 Report published by the International Forum for Accountancy Development because it classifies Japan among "countries which do not currently intend to converge with IAS". The ASBJ is concerned that the report "might cause unnecessary confusion about our stance on convergence". In a statement distributed at the 24 April 2003 meeting of the IASB and its liaison standard-setters in London and posted on the ASBJ website, the ASBJ states that harmonisation with international standards is a primary concern and cites several of its recent standards as "similar" to IFRS. Click for the complete ASBJ Statement.

8 May 2003: Day added to IASB May meeting, agenda topics announced

The IASB will meet at its offices in London from 20-23 May 2003 (starting one day earlier than previously announced). The Board's preliminary agenda includes the following topics:

• Business Combinations (Phase II)
• Convergence
• Financial Activities: Disclosure and Presentation
• Financial Instruments (Amendments to IAS 32 and IAS 39)
• IFRIC
• Improvements to IFRS [removed from agenda]
• Insurance Contracts (Phase II) [removed from agenda]
• Insurance Contracts (Phase II)
• Leases
• The Income Statement (Reporting Performance)
• Revenue Recognition
• Share-Based Payment

8 May 2003: EU approves amended accounting directives
The European Union's Council of Ministers has approved the amended EU accounting directives (the 4th and 7th Company Law Directives), bringing them into law. The directives had been approved by the European Parliament in January 2003. The revised directives complement the IAS Regulation, adopted in June 2002, that requires all listed EU companies to use IFRS from 2005 onwards and allows member states to extend that requirement to all companies. The amended directives allow member states that choose not to apply IFRS to unlisted companies to move towards similar, high quality financial reporting, and could therefore affect up to five million companies. Among the changes:

• All inconsistencies of the old directives and IFRS have been removed.
• Companies' ability to keep liabilities off the balance sheet by using special purpose vehicles is restricted.
• Disclosures about risks and uncertainties are required in annual reports.
• Audit reports are made more consistent across the EU.

7 May 2003: There's more to convergence than just accounting standards
In remarks at the Baruch College Conference on Financial Reporting, Jackson M. Day, Acting Chief Accountant of the US SEC, spoke about international convergence (among other things). He noted that the processes for converging accounting standards are underway and "may be the easiest element of international convergence to make happen. It is the other elements of the global financial reporting infrastructure that need at least equal focus." Those elements include:

• High quality auditing and auditing standards;
• Consistent interpretation of accounting standards;
• Effective oversight of standard setters and auditors;
• Independence of auditors;
• Ethics and competence on the part of preparers, auditors, and others;
• Quality control within firms; and
• Reviews and enforcement on financial reporting.
  

7 May 2003: IFRS of growing importance for U.S. companies

Deloitte & Touche (US) has published a booklet on International Financial Reporting Standards: Of Growing Importance for U.S. Companies. The booklet discusses the factors that may influence the importance of IFRS in the United States, the need for global accounting standards, and the implications for organisations that adopt them. Click to Download (PDF 792k).

6 May 2003: IFRS Musterkonzernabschluss (model financial statements in German)

We have posted the German language version of the Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu model financial statements – Musterkonzernabschluss (PDF 392k) – prepared in conformity with International Financial Reporting Standards. These statements reflect the standards in effect as of 31 December 2001. We are working on a disclosure and presentation checklist and plan to update these model financial statements to reflect all IAS/IFRS in effect as of 31 December 2003.

5 May 2003: Agenda project summaries are updated
We have updated our summaries of the following agenda projects to reflect decisions made at the IASB's April 2003 meeting:

• Amendments to IAS 32 and IAS 39, Financial Instruments
• Associates and Joint Ventures (new project page added)
• Business Combinations Phase II
• Extractive Industries
  
• First-Time Adoption of IFRS
• IFRIC Agenda Projects (Emission Rights)
• Improvements to IFRS (IAS 16)
• Insurance Contracts Phase I
• Share-Based Payment
• Short-Term Convergence Topics (IAS 12)

5 May 2003: Second day of Deloitte & Touche IFRS conference in Copenhagen
Tomorrow (Tuesday, 6 May 2003) is the second day of a public conference hosted by Deloitte & Touche (Denmark) on the transition to reporting under IFRS. The entire day is devoted to the most complex issue in making the transition to IFRS – financial instruments. Featured speaker in the morning is John T. Smith, partner in Deloitte & Touche (US), part-time IASB Board Member, and financial instruments specialist. Three Danish partners will speak on various aspects of financial instruments in the afternoon. Click for the Programme (PDF 279k, in Danish). For information phone Marianne Lund at +45 35-25-25-66 or email her at malund@deloitte.dk. The third and final day of the conference will be 3 June 2003.

3 May 2003: Notes from the last day of the IASB's April 2003 meeting

We have combined our notes for all four days of the IASB's meeting of 29 April to 2 May 2003 on a single Combined Web Page.

3 May 2003: Comment letters on share-based payment are posted
The IASB has posted on its website the comment letters the Board has received on its exposure draft ED 2, Share-Based Payment.

3 May 2003: Notes from the third day of the IASB's April 2003 meeting

We have combined our notes for all four days of the IASB's meeting of 29 April to 2 May 2003 on a single Combined Web Page.

2 May 2003: IFAC Public Sector Committee update posted
We have posted the April 2003 Update (PDF 44k) from the IFAC Public Sector Committee (PSC). The PSC develops financial reporting standards for national, regional, and local governments and related governmental agencies based on IFRS. Currently, among other things, the PSC is working to develop a Conceptual Framework and an accounting standard on impairment of assets both based on their IASB counterparts.

2 May 2003: Notes from the second day of the IASB's April 2003 meeting

We have combined our notes for all four days of the IASB's meeting of 29 April to 2 May 2003 on a single Combined Web Page.

1 May 2003: Notes from the first day of the IASB's April 2003 meeting

We have combined our notes for all four days of the IASB's meeting of 29 April to 2 May 2003 on a single Combined Web Page.