A quiet revolution at the AASB?

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29 Aug 2006

Deloitte (Australia) has published Accounting Alert 2006/09 A Quiet Revolution at the AASB? (available on-line, not PDF).

This Alert discusses the future role of the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB). "The AASB's role may be very different in the future and the potential impacts for financial reporting in Australia are numerous." Among the issues discussed:
  • Towards true IFRS convergence. The AASB is developing an exposure draft that would seek to bring A-IFRSs much closer to IFRSs – reinstating options, deleting many additional disclosures and eliminating Australian guidance. But there will still be areas where differences exist, at least in the short term.
  • The 'missing link' in A-IFRSs. The AASB has negotiated with the IASB to make the 'IASB support materials' – the bases for conclusions, implementation guidance, illustrative examples and so on – freely available to Australian residents.
  • How many GAAPs does Australia need? Does one size really fit all? Recent developments are calling into question whether one set of standards based on IFRSs is the longer-term answer. Will not-for-profit and smaller entities have their own standards?

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