Global publications

• IFRS in Focus newsletters:
  • IASB and FASB issue joint proposals on impairment of financial assets (PDF 75k) – describes the IASB and FASB jointly developed supplementary document, which proposes amendments to the expected loss model included in the IASB's exposure draft on amortised cost and impairment issued in November 2009.
  • IASB issues exposure draft on offsetting financial assets and financial liabilities (PDF 57k) – describes the proposed framework for offsetting financial assets and financial liabilities in the scope of IAS 39, and proposed new, additional disclosures about financial assets and financial liabilities that are subject to offsetting.

Deloitte (Colombia)

• IASB emite borrador para discusión pública sobre la adopción por primera vez de los IFRS después de un período de híper-inflación severa (PDF 56k) – a Spanish translation of IFRS in Focus: IASB issues Exposure Draft on First-time Adoption of IFRSs after a period of Severe Hyperinflation

Deloitte (United States)

• Heads Up Boards Propose Changes to Impairment; FASB Tentatively Changes Measurement Approach for Financial Assets (PDF 188k) – discusses (1) the FASB's and IASB's recently issued supplementary document on credit impairment for public comment and (2) the FASB's tentative decisions regarding its approach to classifying and measuring financial assets.

 

Click here for Assurance Implications of the Changeover to IFRSs (6th edition) (link to CICA website).

You can access the agenda on our February 2011 IASB meeting page. We will also post Deloitte observer notes on this page as they are available.

• IFRS for SMEs adoption news
  • Ghana. All 'small and medium scale enterprises' (SMEs) , state-owned organisations, and private organisations are required to use the IFRS for SMEs starting with their financial statements for 2010. Listed companies and financial institutions are required to use full IFRSs.
  • Honduras. Honduras has adopted the IFRS for SMEs for statutory reporting in both consolidated and separate company financial statements starting in 2012, as an alternative to full IFRSs.
  • Jamaica. The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Jamaica has adopted the IFRS for SMEs for all companies without public accountability starting 1 January 2011, except for companies that (a) elect to use full IFRSs or (b) are government owned. 'Government-owned entities' are those subject to The Public Bodies Management and Accountability Act.
• PowerPoint presentations about the IFRS For SMEs The staff has also posted three new PowerPoint presentations about the IFRS For SMEs (all of the available via the IASB's IFRS for SMEs Presentations Page):
  • "Why the World Needs a Separate Standard for Private Companies, and Why the US Does, Too"
  • "Introduction and Overview of IFRS for SMEs"
  • "The IFRS for SMEs"

 

This batch includes editorial corrections and changes to Bound Volume (Red Book) 2010, Bound Volume (Blue Book) 2011, Improvements to IFRSs (issued May 2010), The Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting (issued September 2010), Disclosures—Transfers of Financial Assets (issued October 2010), IFRS 9 Financial Instruments (issued October 2010), Deferred Tax: Recovery of Underlying Assets (issued December 2010) and Severe Hyperinflation and Removal of Fixed Dates for First-time Adopters (issued December 2010).

Click for Editorial Corrections to IFRSs (link to IASB website)

 

The working paper, The Impact of Mandatory IFRS Adoption on Foreign Mutual Fund Ownership: The Role of Comparability, examines the change in foreign mutual fund investment in firms that began using IFRS after its mandatory adoption in the European Union (EU) in 2005, which the authors term a potential "real effect" of accounting.

The findings in the paper suggest that the effects of improved comparability associated with mandatory IFRS adoption on cross-border investment depend both on the institutional environment that shapes firms' reporting incentives (strong implementation credibility through the regulatory environment and management incentives) and on the extent of increased number of industry peers using the same accounting standards (uniformity).

With the current global debates on the implementation of IFRS in a number of the world's major jurisdictions (e.g. the United States and India), the paper is a timely reminder of how the objectives of IFRS might be best achieved.

Click to download the paper (PDF 372k). We have posted the paper with the kind permission of the authors, Mark DeFond (University of Southern California), Xuesong Hu (University of Oregon), Mingyi Hung (University of Southern California) and Siqi Li (Santa Clara University).

FRSB expressed some disappointment that the IASB's recent amendment to IAS 12 Income Taxes, as although it provides relief for entities that measure investment property using the revaluation model in accordance with IAS 40 Investment Property, the amendment does not incorporate all the amendments as initially proposed and supported by the FRSB.

New Zealand does not have a capital gains tax and has recently changed its tax treatment of buildings, resulting in many entities recognising substantial deferred tax liabilities. Many in New Zealand hold the view the application of IAS 12 in these circumstances produces outcomes that do not best reflect an entity's tax position.

In its 3 December 2010 meeting, the IASB noted the concerns of New Zealand and expressed a willingness to work towards a solution if it can be quickly and easily implemented. If such a solution can be formulated, the IASB may consider and expose a limited amendment to IAS 12. If such a solution cannot be found, then the matter would be considered when the Board conducts a comprehensive review of IAS 12 in future. The FRSB has agreed to establish a subcommittee to consider the matter further with a view to liaising with the IASB in the near future.

Similar deferred tax issues also arise in Hong Kong and other jurisdictions. Hong Kong for instance has amended its local implementation of the IFRS for SMEs to change the way deferred taxes are calculated to address some of these issues.

Click for our New Zealand country page.

You can access the agenda on our 1-2 March 2011 joint meeting page.  We will also post Deloitte observer notes on this page as they are available.

Deloitte (Colombia)

• IASB emite revisiones al IFRS 9 para la contabilidad del pasivo financiero (PDF 240k) – a Spanish translation of IFRS in Focus: IASB issues revisions to IFRS 9 for financial liability accounting
• Boletín Heads Up Volumen 17, No. 39, Noviembre 2010: Tarjeta de reporte: ¿A, F o Incompleto? - Los constituyentes comparten puntos de vista sobre el proyecto AFI de FASB (PDF 300k) – a Spanish translation of Heads Up: Report Card: A, F, or Incomplete? - Constituents Share Views on the FASB's AFI Project
• Boletín Heads Up Volumen 17, No. 37, Noviembre 2010: ¿Un paso más cerca de los IFRS? - La SEC emite el primer reporte sobre el progreso en la consideración de la incorporación de los IFRS en el sistema de los Estados Unidos (PDF 361k) – a Spanish translation of Heads Up: One Step Closer to IFRSs? - SEC Issues First Progress Report on Consideration of Incorporating IFRSs Into U.S. System

Deloitte (United States)

• Financial Reporting Alert 11-1, SEC's Focus on Compliance With Loss Contingency Disclosures (link to Deloitte (United States) website)
• Accounting Roundup: January 2011 (PDF 321k)
• Accounting Roundup — Special Edition: First Wave of Accounting Changes Coming (PDF 231k) – update on joint FASB/IASB convergence projects and FASB-only projects that will affect future financial reporting.