July

IAASB guidance for national modifications to ISAs

31 Jul 2006

The International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) has published 'A Guide for National Standard Setters that Adopt the IAASB's International Standards but Find It Necessary to Make Limited Modifications'.

The guide is non-authoritative. The IAASB has issued it in the interest of seeking a common understanding among national standard setters, regulators, and the public, regarding the circumstances that the IAASB believes should exist before a national standard setter may assert that its standards conform to the IAASB's International Standards.
Click to Download the Policy Guide from the IAASB's website (PDF 174k).

 

IAS Plus Newsletters for July 2006

31 Jul 2006

The July 2006 IAS Plus Quarterly Newsletter has been published.

The newsletter reports on the 2nd quarter 2006 activities of the IASB, the IFRIC, and the IASC Foundation, and also on worldwide issues and events relating to international financial reporting. The Asia-Pacific edition has the same 28-page news content as the Global Edition plus 10 more pages of accounting standards updates for the Asia-Pacific region. You will find all Past IAS Plus Issues Here. Sign up for Free Subscription by Email.

Webcast on latest developments in IFRSs and UK GAAP

30 Jul 2006

For the past two years, the Deloitte United Kingdom IFRS Centre of Excellence has been running a series of hour-long Internet-based IFRS technical updates, focusing on the most important IFRSs and how they will affect UK companies.

Starting with July 2006, these webcasts will be conducted two or three times each year and will focus on the latest developments in IFRSs and UK GAAP. The eighteenth session was run on Thursday 27 July 2006. The content for this webcast was:
  • recent IASB proposals (IFRS 2, IAS 14, IAS 32, IAS 1, IAS 23)
  • narrative reporting update (OFRs, EBRs)
  • recent IFRIC and UITF activity (IFRICs 8 to 10)
  • IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures (practical issues)
  • other UK matters (proposed pension disclosures, group accounts exemption, auditors' remuneration disclosure)
To access the recording Click Here. The recording is no longer available online.

PCAOB alert on stock option accounting and auditing

29 Jul 2006

The US Public Company Accounting Oversight Board has issued the first in a new series of Audit Practice Alerts issued by the Board's staff.

These alerts will highlight new, emerging, or otherwise noteworthy circumstances that may affect how auditors conduct audits under the existing requirements of PCAOB standards and relevant laws. The PCAOB has issued Staff Audit Practice Alert No. 1 addresses "Matters Relating to Timing and Accounting for Options Grants". It was prompted by recent reports and disclosures about issuer practices related to the granting of stock options, including the backdating of such grants. The alert advises auditors that these practices may have implications for audits of financial statements or of internal control over financial reporting and discusses factors that may be relevant in assessing the risks related to these matters. Click for:

Heads Up newsletter on IASB-FASB concepts paper

29 Jul 2006

Deloitte & Touche LLP (United States) has published a special issue of the (PDF 90k) summarising an IASB Discussion Paper and a related FASB Preliminary Views document, Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting: Objective of Financial Reporting and Qualitative Characteristics of Decision-Useful Financial Reporting Information.

These documents, identical in all significant respects, are the first in a series of expected publications that are part of a joint project to replace the two boards' separate conceptual frameworks. The IASB Discussion Paper and the FASB Preliminary Views document can be downloaded from the boards' websites: www.iasb.org and www.fasb.org.

US SEC names new Chief Accountant

27 Jul 2006

Conrad Hewitt, a former chief financial regulator for the State of California, has been named Chief Accountant of the US Securities and Exchange Commission effective 18 August 2006. Mr.

Hewitt currently chairs the audit committees of Varian, Inc., North Bay Bancorp, S&P; Co., and Pabst Brewing Co. From 1995 to 1998, he was California Superintendent of Banking and Commissioner of the California Department of Financial Institutions. From 1972 to 1995, Mr. Hewitt was the Managing Partner of Ernst & Young, and its predecessor firm, Ernst & Ernst, in the firm's Northern California (1986-95), Seattle (1979-86), and Honolulu (1972-79) regions. Click for SEC Press Release.

Agenda project pages updated

27 Jul 2006

We have updated the following agenda project pages to reflect the deliberations and decisions of the IASB at the Board's July 2006 meeting. Accounting Standards for Small and Medium-sized Entities Amendments to IAS 37 Business Combinations II Conceptual Framework Consolidations Financial Statement Presentation IFRS 2 – Vesting Conditions and Cancellations Insurance Contracts - Phase 2 Leases Post-Employment Benefits, including Pensions Related Party Disclosures Revenue Recognition Segment Reporting Short-term Convergence: Interests in Joint Ventures .

IFAC posts responses to part 2 of compliance survey

26 Jul 2006

The International Federation of Accountants has posted the responses of more than 95 IFAC members and associates to Part 2 of IFAC's Member Body Compliance Program.

Under the Compliance Program, IFAC members and associates were asked to provide information about the regulatory and standard-setting framework is in their country (Part 1) and their organisations' activities in addressing IFAC's membership requirements (Part 2) as described in IFAC's Statements of Membership Obligations. IFAC's website now has Links to the Part I and Part II Responses. The 95 Part II responses are finalised reports containing information about the professional standards, quality assurance, and investigation and discipline programs in place for professional accountants are in the process of being posted to the IFAC website and are accessible to the public. Over 150 responses to Part 1 are also available. Click here for more information about IFAC's Compliance Program.

Nominees sought for working group on lease accounting

25 Jul 2006

On 19 July 2006, the IASB and the US Financial Accounting Standards Board added a joint project on leasing to their respective agendas.

The project scope includes a reconsideration of existing standards of accounting for both lessees and lessors. The current project plan envisages, as a first step, the publication of a joint discussion paper. The boards plan to appoint a single international working group to advise both boards on the project. The working group will comprise individuals from a variety of backgrounds, including preparers, auditors, and users of financial statements, leasing experts, and others. The boards request nominations by 30 September 2006. Click for Joint IASB-FASB Announcement on the Leasing Working Group (PDF 37k).

No new major IFRSs will be effective until 2009

25 Jul 2006

The IASB has announced a number of steps to assist jurisdictions and entities in adopting IFRSs and to enhance its consultation processes.

The most significant announcement is that no new IFRSs will be effective until 2009. Following consultation with the Trustees of the IASC Foundation, the Standards Advisory Council, and a wide range of interested parties, the IASB has agreed to the following:

IASB 'Quiet Period' Until 2009

  • Increased lead time to prepare for new standards: The IASB recognises that many countries require time for translations and implementation of new standards into practice and, where IFRSs are legally binding, into law. To accommodate the time required, the IASB intends to allow a minimum of one year between the date of the publication of wholly new IFRSs or major amendments to existing IFRSs and the date when implementation is required.
  • Increased opportunity for input on conceptual issues: The IASB and the FASB have agreed to publish discussion papers, rather than moving directly to exposure drafts, on the individual sections of their Conceptual Framework project. The IASB announced at its meeting in June that it will also publish a discussion paper as the next step of its Fair Value Measurement project, which is aimed at providing consistency in the application of existing fair value requirements. The decision to use discussion papers as part of these projects means that there will be at least two opportunities for public comment.
  • Public round-tables on key topics: The IASB will hold public round-table discussions in the near future on two key topics on which constituents have expressed particular interest.
    • The first is the proposed amendments to the recognition and measurement principles in IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets. These round-tables will be held in November and December of this year.
    • The second is the measurement phase of the Conceptual Framework project. Discussions will focus on the range of possible measurement attributes, including cost and fair value, that could be used both at initial recognition and subsequently. The round-tables will be held in the first quarter of 2007.
  • No new major standards to be effective before 2009: Consistently with the steps described above, the IASB will not require the application of new IFRSs under development or major amendments to existing standards before 1 January 2009. The establishment of 2009 as the first date of required implementation of new standards will also provide countries yet to adopt IFRSs with a clear target date for adoption. By refraining from requiring new standards to be applied before 2009, the IASB will also be providing four years of stability in the IFRS platform of standards for those companies that adopted IFRSs in 2005. The establishment of this approach does not preclude the publication of new standards before that date, and companies would be permitted to adopt a new standard on a voluntary basis before its effective date. Interpretations and minor amendments to deal with potential issues identified during implementation would not be subject to this approach.
Click for IASB Announcement (PDF 62k).

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