2012

Sir David Tweedie appointed as chairman of the IVSC

26 Sep 2012

The International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC) has announced the appointment of Sir David Tweedie as Chairman of the IVSC's Board of Trustees, effective 29 October 2012.

Sir David was Chairman of the IASB for 10 years and served another decade before that as Chairman of the UK Accounting Standards Board. He overhauled UK GAAP and spearheaded the adoption of IFRS in over 100 countries. He will bring his vast experience to the IVSC, helping to advance the organisation's priorities: (1) promoting the recognition and adoption of the International Valuation Standards in the world’s major economies and (2) leading the development of the valuation profession worldwide bringing it together with users of valuation, regulators, legislators and opinion-formers.

Click for press release (link to IVSC website).

Notes from the September IASB meeting

25 Sep 2012

The IASB's September meeting is being held in London on 24-28 September 2012, some of it a joint meeting with the FASB. We have posted Deloitte observer notes from yesterday's session on revenue recognition.

Click through for direct access to the notes:

Monday, 24 September 2012

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

SMEIG will begin discussing responses to the SME Request for Information in February 2013

25 Sep 2012

The IASB has announced that the first meeting of the SME Implementation Group (SMEIG) will take place on 4 and 5 February 2013.

The objective of the meeting is for the SMEIG to discuss public responses to the Request for Information: Comprehensive Review of the IFRS for SMEs published in June 2012 and to develop a list of specific recommendations to the IASB for amendments to the IFRS for SMEs.

The Request for Information adresses to areas of possible improvements:

  • Part A contains specific questions on particular sections of the IFRS for SMEs for respondents. These issues have been frequently raised by interested parties. Respondents are also invited to raise any other specific issues they may have relating to possible changes to particular sections of the IFRS for SMEs.
  • Part B contains general questions about the IFRS for SMEs. Respondents are invited to raise any other general issues they may have relating to possible changes to the IFRS for SMEs.

The deadline for public responses to the Request for Information is 30 November 2012.

Please click for IASB press release announcing the first meeting of the SMEIG (link to IASB website)

Canada's AcSB defers mandatory IFRS adoption for certain rate-regulated entities to 2014

24 Sep 2012

The Canadian Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) has announced a decision to defer for an additional year the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) for qualifying entities with rate-regulated activities.

The AcSB decided to end stakeholder uncertainty about a further extension now rather than waiting until closer to the end of 2012 and thus closer to the current mandatory application date (1 January 2013).

The reasons for the deferral are the same as for the last deferral announced in March 2012. Given recent statements the IASB has made publicly about the priority it intends to give rate-regulated activities when setting its future agenda, the AcSB said in accordance with earlier statements it would monitor future developments and consider the need for a further deferral should an interim solution not occur within a year, but remain a possibility.

The AcSB's decision is documented in the Accounting Standards Board Decision Summary for the 5-6 September meeting of the AcSB. The AcSB expects to issue the amendment to the Introduction to Part I of the CICA Handbook in October 2012.

Japan 'designates' additional IFRSs

23 Sep 2012

On 21 September 2012, the Financial Services Agency (FSA) of Japan announced that additional IFRSs were designated for use by companies voluntarily applying IFRSs in Japan.

The FSA added all IASB pronouncements issued up to 30 June 2012 to the list of 'designated IFRSs'.

Such IFRSs include:

Consequently, IFRSs 'designated' for use by companies voluntarily applying IFRSs in Japan have become exactly the same as IFRSs as issued by the IASB as at 30 June 2012.

Please click for FSA press release (in Japanese only, link to FSA website).

Notes from the September joint IASB and FASB meeting

21 Sep 2012

The International Accounting Standards Board held a meeting in London on 20 September 2012, part of which was a discussion with the FASB on leases.

Click through for direct access to the notes:

Thursday, 20 September 2012

EFRAG outreach on PIR IFRS 8 and on disclosures

21 Sep 2012

The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) offers an outreach event on the IASB post–implementation review (PIR) of IFRS 8 'Operating Segments' and the EFRAG/ANC/FRC discussion paper on disclosures on Thursday 11 October 2012 in Brussels.

EFRAG joins other national standard setters in offering a discussion forum in order to collect feedback from stakeholders on the International Accounting Standards Board’s (IASB) Post-implementation Review of IFRS 8 Operating Segments. The post-implementation review process for IFRS 8 Operating Segments was initiated in the first quarter of 2012 and Request for Information Post-implementation Review: IFRS 8 Operating Segments was issued in July 2012, with comments closing on 16 November 2012. With this outreach event, EFRAG intends to gather evidence  from European  constituents  on their experiences preparing and/or using information under IFRS 8 as a contribution to EFRAG’s response to the IASB Request for Information.

Part of the event will also be dedicated to debate and feedback on the discussion paper Towards a Disclosure Framework for the Notes, that was published jointly by EFRAG, the French Autorité des Normes Comptables (ANC) and the UK Financial Reporting Council (FRC) in July 2012. The aim of the discussion paper is to eventually influence and provide input to the IASB on their envisaged disclosure framework project.

Please click for more information on the EFRAG website (includes links to full agenda and for registration).

EFRAG has also announced that additional outreach events on PIR IFRS 8 and the discussion paper on disclosures will be offered throughout Europe in October and November though details are yet to be communicated. So far events in Copenhagen (29 October), Vilnius (30 October, discussion paper on disclosures only), Warsaw (8 November), Frankfurt (13 November), and Amsterdam (27 November, discussion paper on disclosures only) have been announced. Please see EFRAG website for further information.

Furthermore, EFRAG reminds stakeholders that responses to the request for experiences with IFRS 8 are still possible until 31 October 2012 (see our earlier story / EFRAG press release).

A Guide through IFRS 2012 ('Green Book') is now available

20 Sep 2012

The IFRS Foundation has announced that 'A Guide through IFRS 2012' is now available. This volume (nicknamed the 'Green Book') includes the full text of the Standards and Interpretations and accompanying documents (such as the Basis for Conclusions) issued by the IASB as of 1 July 2012 with extensive cross-references and other annotations. This edition does not contain documents that are being replaced or superseded but remain applicable if a reporting entity chooses not to adopt the newer versions early.

The new requirements since 1 July 2011 include:

The Green Book can be purchased for £90 plus shipping for the two book set (academic, developing country, and volume discounts apply). Click for more information and ordering details.

Notes from the September IFRS Interpretations Committee meeting

20 Sep 2012

Deloitte observer notes are now available from the IFRS Interpretations Committee meeting held in London on 18 and 19 September 2012. In its active project on contingent pricing of property, plant and equipment and intangible assets, the Committee discussed several models developed by the staff and the question of how closely a model should be tied to the leases project model that is not yet finalised. The discussions will be continued at a future meeting. The Committee also confirmed its tentative decisions published in the May IFRIC Update and discussed a number of other issues.

A full listing of all of the topics discussed at the meeting follows (click through to access detailed Deloitte observer notes for each topic):


Tuesday, 18 September 2012 (10:00-17:15)

Introduction

Active Committee Projects

Items for continuing consideration

Review of tentative agenda decisions published in May IFRIC Update

Wednesday, 19 September 2012 (09:00-12:15)

New items for initial consideration

Administrative session

Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial notes taken by Deloitte observers for the entire meeting.

New IFAC Policy Position Paper stresses that governments and politicians must continue to strive for global solutions

20 Sep 2012

The International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) issued Policy Position Paper 6, 'Global Regulatory Convergence and the Accountancy Profession', stressing that continued efforts to sustain global regulatory convergence are critical for the evolution of a sound, global financial system.

IFAC believes that the global public interest is best served by consistent global adoption and implementation of high-quality, internationally accepted financial reporting, auditing, assurance, public sector accounting, accounting education, and ethics standards (including independence requirements for auditors), and by use of these standards for reporting financial information for capital and debt markets.

The Policy Paper lists six benefits of global convergence:

  • improved comparability of financial information,
  • reduced effects of systematic risks,
  • reduced information costs,
  • less opportunities for regulatory arbitrage,
  • basis for a global regulatory system,
  • additional benefits for developing and emerging countries.

However, the paper also lists challenges and impediments. While acknowledging that countries are different, IFAC warns that adding additional requirements or implementing "carve outs" on a national level undermines global convergence. IFAC fears for a continued momentum to seek global outcomes if putting national interests before global solutions becomes a tendency. The paper states:

 

Progress toward global solutions risks being derailed: (i) by inconsistent and/or unilateral decision making, including reforms that have extra-territorial impacts; and (ii) by politicians taking a national - rather than global - view of critical economic issues.

The new Policy Position Paper is available through the corresponding press release on the IFAC website.

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