December

Notes from second day of December 2006 IASB meeting

14 Dec 2006

The International Accounting Standards Board held its December 2006 Board meeting at its offices, 30 Cannon Street, London, on Tuesday through Thursday 12-14 December 2006.

We have combined all of the preliminary and unofficial notes taken by Deloitte observers at the meeting on our December 2006 Meeting Notes Page.

SEC will allow proxy distribution via the Internet

14 Dec 2006

The US Securities and Exchange Commission has amended its proxy rules to allow companies to furnish proxy materials to shareholders through a 'notice and access' model using the Internet.

A company choosing to follow the model must post its proxy materials on an Internet website and send a Notice of Internet Availability of Proxy Materials to shareholders at least 40 days before the meeting date. A proxy card may not accompany the Notice. However, a company may send a paper proxy card accompanied by another copy of the Notice 10 days or more after sending the initial the Notice. Click for SEC Press Release (PDF 37k).

IFRS do kapsy – Czech language IFRS in your Pocket

14 Dec 2006

Deloitte Czech Republic has published IFRS do kapsy, the Czech Language Version of IFRSs in your Pocket 2006.

This edition includes a special introduction by Michal Petrman, Office Managing Partner of Deloitte Czech Republic, plus all of the information in the English language edition. Click for Czech Language Version (PDF 617k). Copies of this and all other Deloitte IFRS publications can always be found on our IFRS Publications Page.

Notes from first day of December 2006 IASB meeting

13 Dec 2006

The International Accounting Standards Board held its December 2006 Board meeting at its offices, 30 Cannon Street, London, on Tuesday through Thursday 12-14 December 2006.

We have combined all of the preliminary and unofficial notes taken by Deloitte observers at the meeting on our December 2006 Meeting Notes Page.

IFAC information paper on micro-entity standards

13 Dec 2006

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) has published an information paper exploring the needs of users and preparers of the financial reports of micro-entities.

The paper, Micro-Entity Financial Reporting: Perspectives of Preparers and Users, was authored by two accounting educators from the United Kingdom. It defines micro-entities as those with less than ten employees. The paper includes a review of the existing research on the topic, a survey of the legal status of micro-entities in different countries, and the various definitions that exist in different jurisdictions. "The research was prompted by a concern that the International Accounting Standards Board's IFRS for SMEs may not be suited to micro-entities." The IASB expects to issue an Exposure Draft of the IFRS for SMEs in January 2007. The Basis for Conclusions of that ED will explain the IASB's view that the IFRS for SMEs is suitable for all SMEs, including micros, that prepare general purpose financial statements for external users. Click for:

Speeches at AICPA's annual SEC and PCAOB conference

12 Dec 2006

The American Institute of CPAs is holding its 2006 National Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments in Washington on 11-13 December 2006, simulcast in four other cities.

Various US SEC and PCAOB representatives, including SEC Chairman Christopher Cox and PCAOB Chairman Mark W. Olson, are speaking at the conference. The conference is quite popular among SEC registrants and their auditors because the SEC and PCAOB representatives provide insights on important issues for calendar year-end reporting. Here are links to some of the presentations on the first day of the conference. We will add to this list as additional presentations are made publicly available.

Posted 12 December

IFRS model financial statements for 2006

11 Dec 2006

We have posted Deloitte's IFRS Model Financial Statements for 2006 (Preliminary Version).

Some changes (which we expect to be relatively minor) may be made before the final version is published in January 2007. We have released this preliminary version as an aid to those companies that are working on their 2006 financial statements before the final version is published. There is a link on our Models and Checklists Page here. There, you will also find links to our IFRS Presentation and Disclosure Checklist and IFRS Compliance Questionnaire for the year ended 31 December 2006, as well as to model financial statements, checklists, and compliance questionnaires for previous years.
Click for 2006 Version (PDF 463k).

XBRL can allow IFRS-US GAAP conversion

11 Dec 2006

US SEC Chairman Christopher Cox spoke about The Promise of Interactive Data at the 14th International XBRL Conference in Philadelphia on 5 December 2006. IASB Chairman Sir David Tweedie also spoke at the conference.

Chairman Cox noted that one of the benefits of XBRL could be to allow easy conversion between IFRSs and US GAAP:

Beyond the many uses that companies, investors and analysts will make of interactive data, it's easy to imagine more that the world can do with this powerful new capability. As Sir David and I follow the roadmap to 2009 that our agencies have laid out, by which we hope to eliminate the requirement that reports using International Financial Reporting Standards be reconciled to U.S. GAAP, it is already possible to imagine that XBRL taxonomies – written without bias toward any particular set of accounting rules – could be used to instantly translate any given set of financial data from one accounting system to another. So even if the world is never quite possessed of a global accounting Esperanto, we will still be able to speak the same language.

Click for Full Text PDF 463k).

SEC will re-propose foreign deregistration rules

11 Dec 2006

At its meeting on 13 December 2006, the US Securities and Exchange Commission will consider a staff recommendation to re-propose new rules governing when a foreign private issuer may deregister its securities under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 and cease making filings with the Commission.

The staff intends to recommend deregistration thresholds based solely on trading volume. The original proposal (December 2005) had used thresholds based primarily on the percentage of US holders, as well as trading volume. Based on comments received, the Commission believes that thresholds based on trading volume are easier to implement. Staff will recommend a 30-day comment period for the re-proposed rules and expects to recommend final rules in the first quarter of 2007. Click for SEC Press Release  (PDF 32k).

Special edition IAS Plus Newsletter on IFRIC 12

10 Dec 2006

Deloitte's IFRS Global Office has published a special edition of our IAS Plus Newsletter titled IFRIC 12 Service Concession Arrangements.

IFRIC 12 addresses the accounting by private-sector entities that, by contract with a government, participate in developing, financing, operating, and maintaining infrastructure assets relating to public services traditionally provided by governments. Examples of those assets include roads, bridges, tunnels, prisons, hospitals, airports, water distribution facilities, energy supply and telecommunication networks. IFRIC 12 does not address the accounting for the government (grantor) side of such arrangements. IFRIC 12 is effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 January 2008, with early adoption permitted. Click for Special Edition (PDF 128k). You will find all Past IAS Plus Newsletters Here

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