The roundtable will take place at the SEC's headquarters in Washington D.C. from 9:00am to 1:00pm, and will be webcast. It will begin with opening remarks from SEC Chairman Christopher Cox followed by two roundtable panels. The panel discussions will focus on:

• Usefulness of mark-to-market accounting to investors and regulators.
• Potential market behavior effects from mark-to-market accounting.
• Whether aspects of current accounting standards can be improved, and how?

IASB Vice Chairman Thomas Jones will participate in both panel discussions as an observer, as will representatives of the FASB and several other organisations. The roundtables will provide input to the SEC as part of a Congressionally mandated study pursuant to the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008. Click for:

• SEC Press Release Announcing the Panels and Agenda (PDF 30k).
• SEC Press Release Announcing the Roundtables (PDF 48k).

 

Essentially, the group supports the guidance recently provided by the IASB and FASB in this regard. The four French authorities are the national accounting board (Conseil national de la comptabilité), securities regulator (Autorité des marchés financiers), banking supervisor (Commission bancaire) and insurance oversight authority (Autorité de contrôle des assurances et des mutuelles). Click to download the Statement of French Authorities (English) (PDF 44k) and French Language Version (PDF 51k).

 

The statement was prompted by views expressed recently about the IASB's standards requiring fair value measurements of certain debt securities and loans. An excerpt:

The FRC believes that the most appropriate standards are developed when standard setters are able to exercise independent judgment, relying on their skills and experience and supported by effective consultation with market participants and other stakeholders. That has been the position in the UK since 1990, with the establishment of the Accounting Standards Board (ASB), and the FRC believes it is equally appropriate for the development of standards for use globally.

The FRC therefore believes that it is important that the responsibility for the setting of accounting standards remains with the relevant standard-setters. We support the IASB in its role as the standard setter for listed companies in the EU and elsewhere, including financial institutions, many of which raise capital from international investors.

Click to view Statement on Development of Accounting Standards (PDF 15k).

The changes to IAS 39 permit an entity to reclassify non-derivative financial assets out of the 'fair value through profit or loss' (FVTPL) and 'available-for-sale' (AFS) categories in limited circumstances. Such reclassifications will trigger additional disclosure requirements. Deloitte (Canada) has published the French translation of our IAS Plus Newsletter explaining the changes. Click to download:

• Modifications à l'IAS 39 et à l'IFRS 7 – Le Reclassement de Certains Actifs Financiers (PDF 223k, Français)
• Amendments to IAS 39 & IFRS 7 – Reclassification of Financial Assets (PDF 97k, English)

 

All listed companies will be required to prepare their annual financial statements under K-IFRSs beginning in 2011. Listed companies other than financial institutions will be permitted to do so beginning in 2009. Unlisted companies will be allowed to use K-IFRSs. Click for:

• 2007 IFRS Compliance Questionnaire - Korean (PDF 2,129k, 307 pages)
• 2007 IFRS Presentation and Disclosure Checklist - Korean (PDF 1,174k, 154 pages)
• Our Korea country page

 

The meeting is open to the public and will be webcast. The tentative agenda is shown below.

Agenda for the IFRIC Meeting Thursday 6 November 2008, London Introduction, including minutes of previous meeting D24 Customer Contributions – Redeliberations Compliance Costs for REACH (European Commission Regulation Concerning the Registration, Evaluation, Authorisation and Restriction of Chemicals) Customer-related Intangible Assets Review of Tentative Agenda Decisions published in September 2008 IFRIC Update IAS 39: – Restricted securities IFRIC 14 IAS 19 The Limit on a Defined Benefit Asset, Minimum Funding Requirements and their Interaction – Application to prepaid employer's contribution reserve Staff Recommendations for Tentative Agenda Decision Regulatory assets and liabilities IAS 32 – Classification of puttable and perpetual instruments IAS 28 Associates – Potential effect of IFRS 3 and IAS 27 (as revised in 2008) on equity method accounting IAS 39 – Derecognition Fair Value Measurement of Financial Instruments in Inactive Markets – Determining the Discount Rate Administrative Session IFRIC work in progress

 

Some of these funds have experienced declines in fair value as a result of deterioration in the creditworthiness of their assets, general illiquidity conditions, or both, and redemptions by investors have increased. Accordingly, some funds have been forced to liquidate their assets, impose limits on redemptions, or obtain support from related entities. This Financial Reporting Alert 08-17 (PDF 47k) from Deloitte (United States) addresses the investor's accounting for money market funds that were appropriately classified as cash equivalents and that have subsequently imposed restrictions on redemptions or have been frozen. Accounting considerations discussed include balance sheet classification, measurement, and classification in the statement of cash flows.

 

The FSF is a global organisation of regulators and central bankers. The report analysed the causes and weaknesses that have produced the recent turmoil in financial markets worldwide and made recommendations for correcting those weaknesses, including several for the IASB. Those recommendations addressed, among other things, accounting and disclosure standards and guidance for off-balance sheet vehicles and for valuations. The new implementation report, titled Report of the Financial Stability Forum on Enhancing Market and Institutional Resilience: Follow-up on Implementation (PDF 161k) reviews the progress of the IASB and the FASB on off-balance sheet vehicles on pages 16-17 and on valuations on pages 17-19.

Regarding valuations, the FSF implementation report states: The FSF acknowledges the significant efforts of accounting standards setters, and urges them to accelerate their work to enhance and converge their guidance on the valuation of instruments in inactive markets.

 

The objective of these Financial Reporting Alerts is to summarise the most significant developments in Canada, the US, and at the IASB and to provide an overview of the major considerations for Canadian Corporations and the implications for senior management, audit committees, and boards.

Comprendre les faits récents dans le cadre des PCGR du Canada, des PCGR des États-Unis, et des IFRS dans le contexte de la crise du crédit et de ses retombées éventuelles sur les sociétés canadiennes.

Click to download:

• Financial Reporting Alert (PDF 338k)
• Alerte sur l'information financière (PDF 320k)

 

The study also provides our historical perspective on what has transpired when, as with the US housing market, asset price bubbles exploded in other countries. The successes and failures of different policy responses provide a useful comparison with which to judge current events. Aside from the financial crisis, the report also focuses on a critical issue that has been shadowed by the financial crisis: the price of oil. We offer some scenarios as to what might happen next and consider the economic and business consequences of persistently high petroleum prices. We also examine the outlook for inflation in both developed and emerging countries. In addition, we look at the impact of exchange rate policy in emerging markets. Finally, our global economists provide outlooks for the economies of the United States, United Kingdom, Eurozone, Russia, India, China, Japan, and Brazil. Click to Download the Report (PDF 2,765k).