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IFRS Interpretations Committee

Background

Role of the IFRS Interpretations Committee

Under the IFRS Foundation Constitution, the IFRS Interpretations Committee (the 'Committee'), formerly called the International Financial Reporting Interpretations Committee (IFRIC), has the following roles:

  • interpret the application of IFRSs and provide timely guidance on financial reporting issues not specifically addressed in IFRSs, in the context of the IASB’s Framework, and undertake other tasks at the request of the IASB
  • in carrying out its work above, have regard to the IASB‘s objective of working actively with national standard-setters to bring about convergence of national accounting standards and IFRSs to high quality solutions
  • publish after clearance by the IASB draft Interpretations for public comment and consider comments made within a reasonable period before finalising an Interpretation
  • report to the IASB and obtain the approval of nine of its members for final Interpretations if there are fewer than sixteen members, or by ten of its members if there are sixteen members.

Composition

The Committee comprises fourteen voting members, appointed by the IFRS Foundation Trustees for renewable terms of three years.

The Trustees select members of the Committee so that it comprises a group of people representing, within that group, the best available combination of technical expertise and diversity of international business and market experience in the practical application of IFRSs and analysis of financial statements prepared in accordance with IFRSs.

Development and approval of Interpretations

Interpretations are developed by the Committee, exposed for public comment (these are called Draft Interpretations and numbered D1, D2, etc.), approved by IFRIC, and then sent to the IASB Board for review and approval as Final Interpretations. At the IFRIC level, consensus is reached if not more than three of the 14 Interpretations Committee members object to a draft Interpretation or final Interpretation. At the Board level, the same vote is required as for a Standard, which is 9 of the 14 Board members.

Authority of Interpretations

Interpretations are part of IASB's authoritative literature (see IAS 1 Presentation of Financial Statements). Therefore, financial statements may not be described as complying with International Financial Reporting Standards unless they comply with all the requirements of each applicable Standard and each applicable Interpretation.

Annual Improvements

In 2009 the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) asked the (then) IFRIC to assume responsibility for the annual process for making relatively minor improvements to IFRSs. The IASB must approve both the Exposure Draft of proposed improvements and the final improvements (which are amendments to IFRSs).

Current membership of the IFRS Interpretations Committee

Voting members

NamePositionTerm
Luca Cencioni Senior Accounting Manager, Eni Adfin S.p.A., Italy Term expires 30 June 2014
Tony de Bell Member, Global Accounting Consulting Services Leadership Team, PricewaterhouseCoopers, United Kingdom Term expires 30 June 2016(1)
Reinhard Dotzlaw Member, KPMG Global IFRS Panel, Canada Term expires 30 June 2016(1)
Guido Fladt Partner, PricewaterhouseCoopers, Germany Term expires 30 June 2013
Bernd Hacker Professor for accounting, University of Applied Sciences, Rosenheim, Germany Term expires 30 June 2013
Feilong Li Executive Director, Executive Vice President & CFO, China Oil Services Limited, China Term expires 30 June 2016
John O'Grady Asia-Pacific IFRS Leader, Ernst & Young Term expires 30 June 2015
Jean Paré Vice President, Financial Reporting, Bombardier Inc., Canada Term expires 30 June 2014
Joanna Perry Company Director and Current Chair of the Financial Reporting Standards Board, New Zealand Term expires 30 June 2014
Sandra Peters Head of Financial Reporting Policy, CFA Institute, United States Term expires 30 June 2015
Charlotte Pissaridou Managing Director, Head of Accounting Policy for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Goldman Sachs International, United Kingdom Term expires 30 June 2014
Martin Schloemer Head of Accounting Principles and Policies, Bayer AG, Germany Term expires 30 June 2016(1)
Laurence Rivat Partner and Leader of Deloitte's IFRS Centre of Excellence in Paris and member of the Deloitte IFRS Leadership Team, France Term expires 30 June 2015
Margaret M. (Peggy) Smyth Vice President Finance & Chief Financial Officer, Hamilton Sundstrand, United Technologies Company, United States Term expires 30 June 2014
Scott Taub Managing Director, Financial Reporting Advisors, LLC, United States, and former Acting Chief Accountant and Deputy Chief Accountant, US Securities and Exchange Commission, United States Term expires 30 June 2014
Andrew Vials Partner, KPMG LLP, United Kingdom Term expires 30 June 2013
Andrew Watchman Executive Director, International Financial Reporting, Grant Thornton, United Kingdom Term expires 30 June 2016(1)(2)
Kazuo Yuasa General Manager, IFRS Office, Corporate Finance Unit, Fujitsu Limited, Japan Term expires 30 June 2015
  1. Term commences 1 July 2013
  2. This seat represents a single three-year rotating seat.  Andrew Buchanan, Global Head of IFRS, BDO, will replace Andrew Watchman effective 1 July 2016

Non-voting Chairman

  • Wayne Upton, Chairman, IFRS Interpretations Committee, IASB Director of International Activities

Official observers

Related news

  • IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2012

  • May 23, 2013

  • The IFRS Foundation (IFRSF) under which the IASB operates has published its Annual Report for 2012. The report is split into three sections: IFRS Foundation, Standard-setting activities, and Financials.

  • New Interpretation on accounting for levies

  • May 20, 2013

  • The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has released IFRIC 21 'Levies'. IFRIC 21 provides guidance on when to recognise a liability for a levy imposed by a government, both for levies that are accounted for in accordance with IAS 37 'Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets' and those where the timing and amount of the levy is certain.

  • IFRS Interpretations Committee membership update

  • May 09, 2013

  • The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have announced the appointments of Tony de Bell, Reinhard Dotzlaw, and Martin Schloemer as new members of the IFRS Interpretations Committee (IFRIC) and the reappointment of Feilong Li. Also, in an effort to broaden the number of accountancy firms represented in the IFRIC membership, the Trustees have appointed Andrew Watchman and Andrew Buchanan to serve on a single three-year rotating seat.

  • EMIR technical standards enter into force

  • Mar 17, 2013

  • The European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) was passed in 2012, but most provisions only apply after technical standards enter into force. Technical standards on OTC derivatives, reporting to trade repositories and requirements for trade repositories and central counterparties entered into force on 15 March 2013. EMIR gave rise to the IASB's project on the novation of derivatives as EMIR brings about hedge accounting questions.

  • IASB proposes urgent amendments to hedge accounting to respond to G20 OTC initiatives

  • Feb 28, 2013

  • The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) has issued ED/2013/2 'Novation of Derivatives and Continuation of Hedge Accounting'. The exposure draft proposes changes to IAS 39 and the forthcoming hedge accounting chapter of IFRS 9 to permit the continuation of hedge accounting where hedging instruments are novated to a central counterparty in accordance with laws or regulations introduced by jurisdictions to implement the G20's agreed reforms around over the counter (OTC) derivatives. As a number of jurisdictions are currently considering implementing these laws, the IASB is proposing an urgent amendment and has set a 30 day comment period.

  • Trustees publish revised IFRS Due Process Handbook

  • Feb 18, 2013

  • The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation have published a revised version of their IFRS Foundation Due Process Handbook. The Handbook describes the steps followed by the IASB and the Interpretations Committee in developing or revising International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs) and Interpretations.

  • ESMA calls for restarting the project on equity and liabilities

  • Sep 27, 2012

  • The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published to its website a comment letter to the IASB on Draft IFRIC Interpretation DI/2012/2 'Put Options Written on Non-controlling Interests'. In the comment letter ESMA suggests restarting the project on financial instruments with characteristics of equity.

  • Notes from the September IFRS Interpretations Committee meeting

  • Sep 20, 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.

  • Deloitte comment letter on written put options

  • Sep 05, 2012

  • Deloitte's IFRS Global Office has submitted a letter of comment to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) on Draft IFRIC Interpretation DI/2012/2 'Put Options Written on Non-controlling Interests'.

  • Deloitte comment letter on levies

  • Sep 05, 2012

  • Deloitte's IFRS Global Office has submitted a letter of comment to the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) on Draft IFRIC Interpretation DI/2012/1 — 'Levies Charged by Public Authorities on Entities that Operate in a Specific Market'.

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