September

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ARC will consider IAS 32 and IFRIC 1

22 Sep 2004

In our news story of 20 September we noted that after the EC Accounting Regulatory Committee (ARC) meets on 1 October 2004, both IAS 32 and IFRIC 1 will remain to be considered for endorsement in Europe.

The ARC is scheduled to meet again on 30 November 2004, at which time those two pronouncements will be considered.
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Notes from the second day of the IASB meeting

22 Sep 2004

The IASB met in London on 21-24 September 2004. You will find our Combined Notes from the Four-Day Meeting Here.

The Board also met with its partner national standard-setters 27 and 29 September 2004 and with representatives of standard setting bodies from over 30 countries on 27 and 28 September.
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Notes from the day one of the IASB meeting

22 Sep 2004

The IASB met in London on 21-24 September 2004. You will find our Combined Notes from the Four-Day Meeting Here.

The Board also met with its partner national standard-setters 27 and 29 September 2004 and with representatives of standard setting bodies from over 30 countries on 27 and 28 September.
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Deloitte comment letter on IFRIC D9

22 Sep 2004

We have submitted our letter of comment on IFRIC Draft Interpretation D9 Employee Benefit Plans with a Promised Return on Contributions or Notional Contributions: (PDF 59k). Summary of D9. Deloitte's overall view: We note that the IFRIC's conclusions in paragraphs 4(a) and 5 of the draft interpretation are consistent with the tentative decisions of the US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB).

Given the similarities between International Financial Reporting Standards and US GAAP in the accounting for employee benefits, we encourage the IFRIC to coordinate with the FASB (and other national standard-setters) in the development of guidance on the accounting for employee benefit plans that have a promised return (sometimes referred to as 'cash balance plans').

We generally agree that an employee benefit plan with a promised return on contributions or notional contributions is a defined benefit plan under IAS 19 Employee Benefits (IAS 19) and that in applying IAS 19 to such benefits the specified changes in the plan liability should be treated as actuarial gains and losses

You will find all past Deloitte comment letters to IASB/IASC Here.
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New IASB financial instruments working group

21 Sep 2004

The IASB has announced the membership of its new working group on financial instruments.

The financial instruments working group will help the IASB take a fresh look at the accounting standard IAS 39 Financial Instruments: Recognition and Measurement by examining and questioning the fundamentals of the standard within the context of the IASB's Framework. "The review will therefore focus on improving, simplifying, and ultimately replacing IAS 39 and will examine broader questions of the application and extent of fair value accounting – a topic on which the IASB has not reached any conclusion. Although any major revision of IAS 39 may take several years to complete, the IASB is willing to revise the standard in the short term if any immediate solutions emerge from the working group's discussions", the Board's announcement said.

Members of the IASB Financial Instruments Working Group

Name

Title

Organisation

Country

Melissa Allen

European Head of New Business and Technical Accounting Support

Credit Suisse First Boston

United Kingdom

Jeannot Blanchet

Managing Director - Equity Research

Morgan Stanley

France

Joseph Boateng

Manager, Pension Funds

Johnson & Johnson

United States

Philippe Bordenave

Group Chief Financial Officer

BNP

France

Gunther Gebhardt

Professor

Johann Wolfgang Goethe University

Germany

Mark Kirkland

Vice President, Corporate Treasury

Philips

The Netherlands

Francois Masquelier

Head of Corporate Finance and Treasury

RTL

France

Esther Mills

First Vice President, Head of Accounting Policy

Merrill Lynch

United States

Ralph Odermatt

Managing Director, Head of Group Accounting Policies and Support

UBS

Switzerland

Russell Picot

Group Chief Accounting Officer

HSBC

United Kingdom

Francis Ruijgt

ING Group Corporate Insurance Risk Management, Deputy Chief Insurance Risk Officer

International Actuarial Association/ING Group

The Netherlands

Yoshio Sato

Partner in Financial Industries Group

Deloitte

Japan

Elisabeth Schmalfuss

Head of Accounting and Controlling Policies

Siemens

Germany

Sadaki Takagi

Senior Director for Bank Accounting

Japanese Bankers Association

Japan

Bob Uhl

Partner

Deloitte

United States

Pauline Wallace

Partner in IFRS Services

PwC

United Kingdom

Peter Zegger

Corporate Centre Controller

Unilever

The Netherlands

Observers

  • Basel Committee on Banking Supervision
  • European Central Bank
  • European Financial Reporting Advisory Group
  • International Organization of Securities Commissions

 

Also participating:

  • Staff of the US Financial Accounting Standards Board

 
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New IASB insurance working group

21 Sep 2004

The IASB has announced the membership of its new working group on financial reporting by insurers.

Although the IASB's predecessor produced an Issues Paper and a Draft Statement of Principles, and the IASB itself has discussed the project at many Board meetings, other priorities forced the IASB to suspend work following the January 2003 meeting. Therefore, the IASB will regard the past work as a useful resource, but will not feel bound by it. "The only restrictions on a fresh look are the IASB's Framework and the general principles established in the IASB's existing standards", the Board's announcement said.

 

Members of the IASB Insurance Working Group

Name

Title

Organisation

Country

Raffaele Agrusti

Chief Financial Officer

Generali

Italy

Phil Arthur

Partner

Ernst & Young

Canada

Norbert Barth

Associate Director, Senior Analyst, Equity Research

DZ Bank AG

Germany

Philip Broadley

Chief Financial Officer

Prudential

United Kingdom

Tony Coleman

Chief Risk Officer and Chief Actuary

Insurance Australia Group

Australia

Denis Duverne

Chief Financial Officer

Axa

France

Sam Gutterman

Chair of Insurance Accounting Committee

International Actuarial Association

International/United States

Rob Jones

Managing Director

Standard & Poors

United Kingdom

Marc Meiches

Chief Financial Officer

Employers Reinsurance Company

United States

Hitesh Patel

Partner

KPMG

United Kingdom

Helmut Perlet

Chief Financial Officer

Allianz

Germany

Jorg Schneider

Chief Financial Officer

Munich Re

Germany

Howard Smith

Chief Financial Officer

American International Group

United States

Jerry de St Paer

Chief Financial Officer

XL Capital

Bermuda

Joseph Streppel

Chief Financial Officer

Aegon

The Netherlands

Mark Swallow

Chief Accounting Officer

Swiss Re

Switzerland

Yoshikazu Takeda

Director and General Manager

Nippon Life

Japan

Hiroyuki Yamaguchi

General Manager

Sompo Japan Insurance

Japan

Alan Zimmerman

Independent security analyst

GA Zimmerman Associates

United States

Observers

  • International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO)
  • International Association of Insurance Supervisors (IAIS)
  • European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG)

 

Also participating:

  • Staff of the US Financial Accounting Standards Board

 
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Update on Malaysian adoption of IFRSs

21 Sep 2004

We have updated our Malaysia Page to include an update on Malaysian adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). .

We have updated our Malaysia Page to include an update on Malaysian adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs).

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IFAC report on implementing international standards

21 Sep 2004

A new study, commissioned by the Board of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), identifies the challenges to adopting and implementing International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) and recommends actions to be taken by all those in the financial reporting supply chain to achieve convergence to international standards.

Entitled Challenges and Successes in Implementing International Standards: Achieving Convergence to IFRSs and ISAs, the study also provides examples of successful adoption and implementation to serve as models for other countries. Click to download:
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Deloitte letter to EFRAG re IAS 39 'carve out'

21 Sep 2004

Deloitte has written to EFRAG urging that any 'Carve Out' of sections of IAS 39 be applicable only to banks, and then only as an option that also permits banks to use the full unmodified version of IAS 39. Our letter states that "our comments are offered in the context of seeking to help the Commission to find a way forward.

Nothing in this letter should be taken as indicative of a change in our often stated and still held position as a global organisation of support for full and immediate endorsement of the IAS 39 in the form in which it has been issued by the IASB." Click to (PDF 55k). Here is an excerpt:

We believe the best outcome would be a situation where the carve-out proposals are an option that is available only to banks, thereby achieving the Commission's objectives without exposing the standards and users in other sectors to the weaknesses and inconsistencies described in the appendix [to this letter]. Most importantly, in seeking to resolve difficulties for some banks, the Commission needs to avoid creating new difficulties for others. The Commission will be aware that whilst there are very few who would regard IAS 39 as anywhere near perfect, there are still many banks which would prefer full adoption rather than a carve-out solution. Not only does the Commission need to find a way to restrict the carve-out option to banks that need to apply hedge accounting to demand deposits, but it must also ensure that the carve-out is not made the only option available to banks. If it was to become the only option, we believe it could create as many problems for the EU banking industry as a whole as the Commission is endeavouring to solve with its carve-out proposals.

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Additional information about ARC 1 October meeting

20 Sep 2004

Our news story of 19 September noted that the Accounting Regulatory Committee will meet on 1 October 2004 to decide on whether to recommend endorsement of IAS 39. Also on the agenda for that meeting will be the questions of whether to endorse: The improvements to 14 IASs that were adopted as revised standards in December 2003 (to date, the EC has endorsed only the pre-2003 versions). IFRS 2 Share-based Payment IFRS 3 Business Combinations and related amendments to IAS 36 and IAS 38 IFRS 4 Insurance Contracts IFRS 5 Non-current Assets Held for Sale and Discontinued Operations The EC has not yet endorsed IAS 32 Financial Instruments: Presentation and Disclosure as revised in December 2003 (only the pre-2003 version has been endorsed) or IFRIC 1 Changes in Existing Decommissioning, Restoration and Similar Liabilities.

These are not on the 1 October 2004 ARC agenda. Endorsement will be considered at a future ARC meeting.

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