March

Welcome to the new IAS Plus

30 Mar 2012

Deloitte is pleased to announce the launch of its completely redesigned IAS Plus Web site. The brainchild of Paul Pacter, formerly at Deloitte and currently a member of the International Accounting Standards Board, IAS Plus is the most comprehensive source of up-to-date IFRS-related news and content on the Internet. Since its launch in 2000, IAS Plus has become one of the most frequently visited sites for global accounting and auditing information on the Web, with over 3.5 million visits in the past year.

The site’s new design provides easier access to its information. With the new “My IAS Plus” menu, users can now personalise the site by selecting particular topics of interest and viewing news and publications about them. New features, such as quick-access menus and a more intuitive navigation, have been added, and the site’s search feature has been enhanced.

Users can also subscribe to various IFRS-related communications and publications that interest them. In addition, for mobile users, IAS Plus now sends news directly to smartphones.

Access to the new IAS Plus site will continue to be free of charge for all users. The IAS Plus site is currently available in two languages, being English and German, which can be switched easily between using the pull-down menu in the upper right corner of the site.  More languages and an increase in jurisdiction-specific content are planned for the site.

IFRS XBRL taxonomy for 2012 is available

30 Mar 2012

The IFRS Foundation has published the IFRS Taxonomy 2012. The IFRS Taxonomy is a translation of IFRSs (International Financial Reporting Standards) into XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language).

The 2012 taxonomy is consistent with IFRSs as issued by the IASB at 1 January 2012, and it contains XBRL tags for all IFRS disclosure requirements.

Click here to access the IFRS Taxonomy files and accompanying materials on the IFRS Foundation's website.

Stay Tuned Online – IFRS and UK GAAP update

29 Mar 2012

The Deloitte London IFRS Centre of Excellence is running a series of hour-long Internet-based financial reporting updates, aimed at helping finance teams keep up to speed with IFRSs and other financial reporting issues.

Each update lasts no more than an hour, and sessions are normally held three times a year, approximately at the end of March, July, and November. We intend to make a recording of each session available on IAS Plus for a period of at least four months from the date of the presentation.

The following topics were covered in the March 2012 webcast:

  • The future of UK GAAP
  • New publications
  • Disclosure of auditors' remuneration
  • Other UK reporting developments
  • Latest IFRS developments

To access the recording click here.

Global banks react to developing accounting reform

29 Mar 2012

Deloitte has issued its 'Second Global IFRS Banking Survey – Q1 2012 A changing landscape'. The survey highlights the views of 56 major banking groups on accounting change.

The survey focuses on the implementation challenges of IFRS 9, including both the impairment proposals and classification and measurement, as well as the challenges of implementation of the new standards, IFRS 10, 12 and 13. The survey also summarises the views of banks on the wider implications of accounting change to regulatory capital, loan pricing, and canvasses views on convergence and the timetable for adoption of IFRS 9.

Deloitte will continue its series of surveys to capture the views of the banking industry over the coming months and years as the proposals become finalised and the implementation challenges develop.

Click for:

Monitoring Group and PIOB consult on governance of IFAC activities

29 Mar 2012

The Monitoring Group (MG) and the Public Interest Oversight Board (PIOB) have released consultation papers on the governance of various organisations operating under the auspices of the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC).

The aim of the Monitoring Group paper (MG paper) is to request views from stakeholders and the public at large on the governance of those institutions involved in the activity of issuing international standards for accountants in the fields of auditing and assurance, ethics and education, with the final goal of improving audit quality.

The Monitoring Group paper follows the completion in 2010 of an effectiveness review of the 2003 IFAC Reforms and aims to build on and completing the effectiveness review through a comprehensive governance review of the full architecture currently in place.

The MG paper presents a number of questions and recommendations across numerous IFAC organisations currently under PIOB oversight including the International Auditing and Assurance Board (IAASB), the International Ethics Standards Board for Accountants (IESBA), the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) and the Compliance Advisory Panel (CAP), as well as PIOB's oversight of the Nomination Committee of IFAC.

The MG paper also acknowledges a need for independent oversight of the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB), which could add to its credibility and facilitate wider international adoption of International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS). The report notes the increased importance of this oversight in light of the global financial crisis and sovereign debt issues, and recommends the IPSASB be subject to PIOB oversight, rather than creating an public sector exclusive oversight body.

The PIOB consultation paper seeks views on the review of its mission and medium and long-term strategy and explains the new oversight methodology developed and applied after the recommendations of the MG effectiveness review.

Comments on the consultation papers close on 28 June 2012. Click for press release (link to the IOSCO website).

FEE publishes survey on the accountancy profession in Europe

29 Mar 2012

The Federation of European Accountants (Fédération des Experts-comptables Européens, FEE) has released a survey which provides a collection of key features on structure and organisation of the accountancy profession across 30 European countries.

The report from the survey, Key Features on Structure and Organisation of the Accountancy Profession across 30 European countries, provides general information by country on existing professions and titles, main activities, education and market access requirements.

The survey finds the rules regarding the pursuit of activities and services provided by professional accountants generally vary across Europe, with only statutory audit services achieving a certain level playing field due to harmonisation at EU level.

The survey is published as a summary, accompanied by a separate report for each of the thirty European countries it covers.

Click for access to the report (link to the FEE website).

US SEC adopts US GAAP taxonomies

28 Mar 2012

On 26 March 2012 the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) updated its EDGAR system to support registrants’ use of the US GAAP 2012 taxonomies and the US Mutual Fund Risk/Return Summary 2012 taxonomy for interactive data (XBRL) submissions.

The taxonomies are available on the SEC’s website.

The SEC also issued a final rule that revises the EDGAR Filer Manual to support upgrades to the 2012 taxonomies. As noted on the SEC’s website, the 'SEC staff strongly encourages companies to use the most recent version of the [US GAAP taxonomies] for their Interactive Data submissions to take advantage of the most up to date tags related to new accounting standards and other improvements'. The US GAAP 2012 taxonomies reflect accounting standards issued during the past year and other corrections and improvements to the 2011 US GAAP taxonomies.

Release notes on the taxonomies, which include a summary of changes from the 2011 taxonomies release, are available on the SEC’s website. In addition, the FASB’s website contains links to guidance and supporting documents about the details of the changes.

New IFRS for SMEs training module

28 Mar 2012

The IFRS Foundation Education Initiative has developed a training module for Section 22 of the IFRS for SMEs 'Liabilities and Equity'.

Ultimately, the IFRS for SMEs training material will include 35 stand-alone modules – one for each section of the IFRS for SMEs. Currently, 28 modules are available. Most are also available in Arabic, Russian, Spanish, and Turkish.

Please click for more information on the Section 22 training module or access all training modules on the IASB website.

Deloitte comment letter on materiality in financial reporting

27 Mar 2012

Deloitte's IFRS Global Office has submitted a letter of comment to the ESMA in response to its Consultation Paper, 'Considerations of materiality in financial reporting'.

The letter notes that the majority of preparers and auditors have a good understanding of materiality and that existing standards provide an appropriate framework for understanding and applying materiality. The letter also outlines concerns about non-global standard setters providing 'elaboration or interpretation' of existing accounting standards.

Click for a full summary and our comment letter on materiality.

Insurance notes from the March IASB meeting

24 Mar 2012

The IASB held its regular monthly meeting on 20-21 March 2012 in London, part of it a joint meeting with the FASB. We have posted Deloitte observer notes from the insurance sessions held on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Click through for direct access to the notes:

Tuesday, 20 March 2012 (earlier sessions)

  • Insurance contracts (IASB)
    • Education session — Potential use of other comprehensive income (OCI) for presenting certain changes in an insurance liability
    • Loss recognition test

Wednesday, 21 March 2012 (earlier sessions)

  • Insurance contracts (IASB-FASB)
    • Separation of investment components from insurance contracts
    • Unit of account

You can also access the preliminary and unofficial notes taken by Deloitte observers for the entire meeting.

Correction list for hyphenation

These words serve as exceptions. Once entered, they are only hyphenated at the specified hyphenation points. Each word should be on a separate line.