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
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
Sara York Kenny Principal Accounting Adviser (Retired), International Finance Corporation, World Bank Group, United States Term expires 30 June 2012
Feilong Li Executive Director, Executive Vice President & CFO, China Oil Services Limited, China Term expires 30 June 2013
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
Ruth Picker Global Leader IFRS Services, Global Professional Practice, Ernst & Young Global Limited, United Kingdom Term expires 30 June 2012
Charlotte Pissaridou Managing Director, Head of Accounting Policy for Europe, Middle East and Africa, Goldman Sachs International, United Kingdom Term expires 30 June 2014
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 2012
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
Kazuo Yuasa General Manager, IFRS Office, Corporate Finance Unit, Fujitsu Limited, Japan Term expires 30 June 2012

Non-voting Chairman

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

Official observers

Related news

  • Notes from the May IFRS Interpretations Committee meeting

  • May 17, 2012

  • The IFRS Interpretations Committee met in London on 15-16 May 2012. In its active projects, the Committee decided to issue a draft Interpretations on put options over non-controlling interests and levies charged to operate in a specific market, explore a limited scope amendment to IAS 12 in relation to single-asset entities, develop a possible Interpretation on contingent pricing based on the conclusions in the IASB's leasing project, and develop possible amendments to IFRIC 12 in relation to accounting for contractual costs to be incurred by an operator in a service concession arrangement. The Committee also discussed a number of other issues.

  • Discussions at the joint IASB-ASBJ meeting

  • Apr 05, 2012

  • Representatives of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ) held their fifteenth biannual meeting in Tokyo on 2 April 2012.

  • IASB publishes an interview with Wayne Upton

  • Dec 14, 2011

  • The IASB has posted on its website an interview with Wayne Upton, Chairman of the IFRS Interpretations Committee and the Director for International Affairs of the IASB.

  • Deloitte comment letter on the IFRS Interpretations Committee's tentative decision

  • Dec 05, 2011

  • Deloitte's IFRS Global Office has submitted a letter of comment to the IFRS Interpretations Committee on its tentative decision not to take onto the Committee's agenda requests for Interpretations of IAS 19, Employee Benefits, with respect to providing guidance on the classification of 'Altersteilzeit' (ATZ) plans under the revised version of IAS 19 issued in June 2011.

  • Near Final Draft of IFRIC 20 published

  • Aug 10, 2011

  • A near final draft of IFRIC Interpretation 20 'Stripping Costs in the Production Phase of a Surface Mine' has been posted to the IASB's website.

  • Wayne Upton to chair IFRS Interpretations Committee

  • Jul 28, 2011

  • The Trustees of the IFRS Foundation, the oversight body of the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB), today announced that Wayne Upton will take over as Chair of the IFRS Interpretations Committee from Robert Garnett.

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