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31 January 2003: Europe-Africa edition of IASPlus newsletter is posted
The January 2003 Europe-Africa edition of our IAS Plus newsletter can be Downloaded Here. This edition includes all of the general IASB/IFRS update information plus country updates for recent standard-setting activities in the following countries: France, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Turkey, South Africa, and the United Kingdom. Special sections include summaries of ED 2 (on share-based payment) and ED 3 (on business combinations and intangibles) plus a detailed update on IFRIC agenda projects. We had previously posted the January 2003 Asia-Pacific edition.
30 January 2003: IFRIC will meet in London 4-5 February
IFRIC – the IASB's interpretations committee – will meet at the IASB offices in London on 4 and 5 February 2003 to discuss the following agenda topics:
- Decommissioning Funds
- Emission Rights
- IAS 19, Employee Benefits - Money Purchase Plan with a Minimum Guarantee
- IAS 19 - Multi-employer Plan Exemption
- IAS 37 (Provisions) - Changes in Decommissioning and Similar Liabilities
- Linkage of Transactions
- Presentation - Operating and Ordinary Activities
- Rights of Use
Click for:
29 January 2003: IASB announces the agenda for its February meeting
The IASB has announced the agenda for the Board's Meeting on 19-21 February 2003 in London. The Board will also meet with the Standards Advisory Council (SAC) on 24-25 February 2003. A portion of the SAC meeting will involve a roundtable discussion of the Proposed Amendments to IAS 32 and IAS 39.
28 January 2003: January meeting notes combined, project pages updated
We have combined our notes from the IASB meeting on 22 and 23 January 2003 onto a Single Page. Also we have updated the following project pages to reflect the Board's deliberations at that meeting:
27 January 2003: Special edition – Sarbanes-Oxley update
We have posted a special edition (dated 24 January 2003) of Accounting Roundup, a newsletter published by Deloitte & Touche (US). This Special Edition (PDF 159k) focuses on recent actions of the US Securities and Exchange Commission to adopt rules implementing provisions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002.
26 January 2003: Hong Kong GAAP moves closer to IFRS
A new Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu publication, Implementing Hong Kong GAAP: Moving Towards IFRS, reviews Hong Kong Standards and Interpretations effective in 2002 and later, focusing on likely implementation issues. In addition, the 72-page book includes a discussion of current Hong Kong Exposure Drafts and IASB projects and their anticipated impact on Hong Kong GAAP. Six new standards took effect in Hong Kong in 2002, and two others will take effect in 2003 and 2004. The book also includes a comparison of Hong Kong SSAPs and IFRS at December 2002. Click to Download (PDF 920k).
26 January 2003: Deloitte & Touche study of expensing stock options
Deloitte & Touche (US) has surveyed 120 Fortune 1000 companies regarding expensing employee stock options. While a few companies currently expense stock options or have plans to do so, the majority of respondents (53%) are taking a 'wait-and-see' approach. A significant minority (35%) will not expense options unless mandated by legislation and/or regulatory change. Synopsis of the Report (PDF 53k).
26 January 2003: SEC adopts additional Sarbanes-Oxley rules
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted additional rules to implement portions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Click below for SEC press release on each topic:
25 January 2003: Asia-Pacific country summaries are updated
We have updated our summaries of accounting standards activity in:
25 January 2003: Pages on IFRS in Europe are updated
We've created a new page for 2003 to continue our
Chronological Tracking of Adoption of IFRS in Europe.
24 January 2003: Accounting board in New Zealand recommends adoption of IFRS
Following consultation with many interested parties, New Zealand's Accounting Standards Review Board has recommended to the Government the compulsory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards by listed issuers by 1 January 2007. The ASRB has also recommended that both the public and private sector entities have the option to adopt IFRSs from 1 January 2005. Press Release (PDF 12k).
24 January 2002: Russia to begin requiring IAS in 2004
Russian Vice-Premier and Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin has announced government approval of a plan to require all listed holding companies in Russia to prepare consolidated financial statements using IFRS starting in 2004. The individual company financial statements of members of the group would continue to be prepared using Russian GAAP. For banks, not only would consolidated statements under IFRS be required starting in 2004, but also individual banks will have to prepare IFRS financial statements in addition to Russian GAAP statements. IFRS reporting would be extended to additional classes of companies in stages through 2007, though not to small companies. At the same time, the Finance Ministry will work to bring Russian GAAP more in line with international accounting standards.
24 January 2003: Notes from the second day of the two-day IASB meeting
We have combined all of our notes for the January 2003 IASB meeting onto a Single Page.
23 January 2003: SEC adopts additional Sarbanes-Oxley rules
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted additional rules to implement portions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. Click below for SEC press release on each topic:
23 January 2003: Notes from the first day of the two-day IASB meeting
We have combined all of our notes for the January 2003 IASB meeting onto a Single Page.
20 January 2003: January 2003 issue of our IASPlus newsletter is available
The January 2003 edition of our IAS Plus newsletter can be Downloaded Here. This is the Asia-Pacific edition, which includes all of the general IASB/IFRS update information plus country updates for the Asia-Pacific region. Our Europe-Africa and Americas editions will be published soon. Special features of this edition include summaries of the exposure drafts on share-based payment and business combinations and a four-page update of IFRIC agenda items and discussions.
20 January 2003: IASB will meet this week
The IASB will discuss the following issues when it meets at its offices in London on 22-23 January 2003:
19 January 2003: New Deloitte & Touche (US) Accounting Roundup
We have posted the 20 January 2003 edition of Accounting Roundup, a newsletter published by Deloitte & Touche (US). Topics covered in this issue include SPEs, stock compensation, governmental accounting standards, proposed SEC rules on audit committees, the December 2002 IASB meeting, and PCAOB news.
17 January 2003: SEC adopts additional Sarbanes-Oxley rules
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has adopted additional rules to implement portions of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act. The new rules, which apply to foreign as well as domestic issuers, address:
- Conditions for use of non-GAAP financial information.
- Form 8-K amendments.
- Disclosure requirements regarding audit committee financial experts.
- Disclosure of adoption of a code of ethics.
SEC Press Release (PDF 69k).
17 January 2003: FASB adopts new VIE (ex-SPE) consolidation rules
The US Financial Accounting Standards Board has approved a new Interpretation (No. 46) that requires more consolidation of special purpose entities – entities whose activities are predetermined by law, charter, or contract and whose voting equity holders do not have a controlling financial interest regardless of the percentage owned. The sponsor creates such an entity for a single specified purpose, for instance, to facilitate securitisation, leasing, hedging, research and development, reinsurance, or other transactions or arrangements. FASB's new rules call these entities Variable Interest Entities (VIE) rather than Special Purpose Entities (SPE). Under the old US rules, companies did not consolidate VIEs if an outside investor put up all the equity, so long as that equity amounted to at least 3 percent of the total assets. Under Interpretation 46, the threshold is 10 percent, and even then the auditor must assess whether any level of equity capital is enough to support the VIE, given the nature of its assets, or whether a guarantee from the sponsor is necessary for it to borrow the money it needs. If the guarantee is needed, then the sponsor must consolidate the VIE. The Interpretation also expands the disclosure requirements for unconsolidated VIEs, including disclosure of potential maximum loss that the VIE could cause. The IASB has a project on its agenda on Consolidation, Including SPEs. Currently, SIC 12 provides guidance. Click for FASB Press Release (PDF 15k).
16 January 2003: European Parliament approves amended accounting Directives
The European Parliament has approved amendments to the European Accounting Directives that would complement the Accounting Regulation adopted in June 2002. The Regulation requires virtually all 7,000 listed European companies to follow IFRS starting in 2005. The amended Directives would remove inconsistencies of the existing Directives with IFRS and would address accounting by the estimated 5 million European companies that are not subject to the IFRS Accounting Regulation. The amended directives are scheduled for final vote by the Council of Ministers in March. Click for EC Press Release.
15 January 2003: International responses to SEC independence proposals
Both the Federation of European Accountants (FEE) and the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC) (PDF 80k) have responded to the SEC's auditor independence proposals.
15 January 2003: Statistics page updated
We have updated the data on our Statistics Page about cross-border listings on the NY Stock Exchange (474 non-US companies from 51 countries, roughly one-third of total market cap); NASDAQ (379 non-US companies from 40 countries); and London Stock Exchange (470 non-UK companies from 61 countries, roughly two-thirds of total market cap).
15 January 2003: EFRAG seeks comments on its draft letter on ED 3
Click here to Download EFRAG's draft comment letter ED 3, Business Combinations, and Proposed Amendments to IAS 36 and IAS 38. EFRAG needs comments by 7 March 2003.
14 January 2003: EC will move to IPSAS and accrual accounting
The European Commission has indicated that it is going to move its own accounting system from a cash basis to a new accounting framework that will be based on International Public Sector Accounting Standards (IPSAS), including accrual accounting. Click for EC Press Release (PDF 40k). IPSAS are developed by the Public Sector Committee of IFAC and are based on International Financial Reporting Standards. The OECD and NATO have also adopted IPSAS for their financial reports.
13 January 2003: Public discussion of ED 2 in Germany
The German Accounting Standards Board (DRSC) will hold a public discussion of IASB ED 2, Share-Based Payment, in Berlin on 10 February 2003. Details on the DRSC Website.
12 January 2003: Process of endorsing IFRS for use in Europe has started
Adoption of an Accounting Regulation by the European Union in June 2002 did not, of itself, legally require the 7,000 European listed companies to follow IFRS starting in 2005. Two further steps are required: (1) translation of IFRS into the European languages and (2) endorsement of the IFRS by a new Accounting Regulatory Committee established by the European Commission to give them legal standing in Europe. Both the translation and endorsement processes are now under way. A recent Commission Announcement (PDF 18k) indicates that their goal for completing both steps is Spring 2003.
12 January 2003: US panel proposes reforms in auditing and accounting
The Commission on Public Trust and Private Enterprise, a blue-ribbon panel appointed by the Conference Board (an American business research group), has recommended a wide range of actions to improve corporate governance, auditing, and accounting practices. In the area of accounting, the Commission urged more timely response by accounting standard-setters and encouraged convergence between US and global accounting standards:
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Global capital markets could be made more efficient if accounting standards were harmonized on
a world-wide basis. We strongly support both the emphasis on convergence between U.S. and
the global standards and significant improvement in both bodies of standards. We applaud the
efforts of the leadership of FASB and the IASB toward finding common ground on higher
quality standards so that the infrastructure of our global economy can advance towards an
integrated international capital market.
In this regard, we further recommend that the SEC, the new Public Corporation Accounting
Oversight Board, and the Financial Accounting Foundation find a way to
finance the American share of the International Accounting Standards Board Foundation
through the issuer assessments established under the Act. The international financial
community is encouraged also to adopt such a funding mechanism.
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Click to Download the Report (PDF 582k).
11 January 2003: IAS: Guía Rápida (IAS in your Pocket: Spanish)
Esta segunda edición de "IAS: Guía Rápida" es una guía excepcional para ayudarle a conocer y entender cómo las normas contables continúan convergiendo a nivel mundial. Con el mayor énfasis en las Normas Internacionales de Contabilidad y el número creciente de empresas que deben adoptarlas en los próximos años, usted puede encontrar que IAS: Guía Rápida (PDF 1,883k) es una guía muy útil. Al resumir la información clave sobre las NIC y sus interpretaciones, esta guía constituye una excelente introducción a un nuevo lenguaje que, en breve, será parte de su actividad profesional.
11 January 2003: Las páginas web: IASPlus Spain (new website)
En http://iasplus.deloitte.es podrá obtener toda la información necesaria para entender nuestra metodología y enfoque de cara a la integración a las normas contables y para estar al día de todas las novedades en cuanto a reglamentos, normativas, noticias, y eventos de las IAS.
10 January 2003: SEC proposes delisting for violation of audit committee rules
The US SEC has proposed a rule that would direct the US securities exchanges and associations to prohibit the listing of any security of an issuer that is not in compliance with the audit committee requirements established by the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. The proposed rule would apply to both domestic and foreign listed issuers. Several provisions have been included that seek to address the special circumstances of particular foreign jurisdictions. SEC Press Release (PDF 45k).
10 January 2003: Charles Niemeier is named acting chairman of PCAOB
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has designated Charles D. Niemeier as the Acting Chairman of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board. Prior to his selection as a member of the PCAOB, Mr. Niemeier was the Chief Accountant in the Commission's Division of Enforcement and co-chairman of the Commission's Financial Fraud Task Force. SEC Press Release (PDF 34k).
10 January 2003: Special Edition of our Newsletter, IFRS: Year 2002 in Review
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We have published a special global edition of our IAS Plus newsletter, IFRS: Year 2002 in Review. It includes a five-page chronology, lists of various types of documents published by IASB, IFRS resources published by Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu, national adoptions of IFRS during 2002, and an IASB calendar for 2003. Click to download IFRS: Year 2002 in Review (PDF 95k). |
10 January 2003: All domestic companies in Estonia may use IFRS starting in 2003
A new Estonian law allows domestic companies to use either Estonian GAAP or International Financial Reporting Standards for accounting periods beginning 1 January 2003. Listed companies have already been using IFRS, generally complying at the same time with Estonian GAAP by choosing the accounting policy prescribed by Estonian GAAP where IFRS allows a choice. Estonian credit institutions and insurance companies, as well as listed companies, will be required to apply IFRS as of 1 January 2005.
9 January 2003: Use of IAS/IFRS in new EU member states and Singapore
Ten countries have been approved for EU membership as of 1 May 2004: Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic and Slovenia. IAS/IFRS are already required in Cyprus and Malta and permitted in several others. If the EU finalises the memberships of these countries, listed companies in all 10 countries will have to adopt IAS/IFRS in 2005. We have updated our Table of Use of IFRS for Domestic Reporting to reflect these and several other recent national adoptions. Please note that we have amended the table to classify Singapore as not permitting IAS. We had reported in December 2001 that all Singapore listed companies would be required to follow IAS starting in 2003. However, the final Regulation adopted in December 2002 by the new Council on Corporate Disclosure and Governance requires all Singapore-incorporated companies to follow Singapore Financial Reporting Standards "which are closely modelled after the International Accounting Standards and International financial Reporting Standards issued by the International Accounting Standards Board".
8 January 2003: IASB's January meeting dates changed
The IASB has announced that the public portion of the Board's January 2003 meeting will take place only on 22 and 23 January, at the IASB's offices in London. The following topics are on the agenda:
7 January 2003: Three former SEC Chief Accountants urge strong PCAOB actions
Three former Chief Accountants of the US Securities and Exchange Commission have written a Joint Letter to the new Public Company Accounting Oversight Board proposing a three-point program to restore investor confidence in the US capital markets. They describe the accounting scandals that surfaced in the past year as "cataclysmic events [that] have changed the world's view of a system that we have often proclaimed to be 'the best in the world.' Understandably, the damage to the reputation of our financial reporting system and its critical guardians has been so severe that the investing public has lost confidence and now demands real reforms."
The pillars of the three-point program proposed by former Chief Accountants Walter P. Schuetze, Michael H. Sutton, and Lynn E. Turner are:
 PCAOB must exercise its mandate to establish independence guidelines that will ensure that auditors embrace a role that is fully consistent with high public expectations.
PCAOB must insist that the profession tackle financial reporting failures as a distinct issue with a distinct goal - disaster prevention. "We understand that, in life, 'zero defects' are almost never realized. Nevertheless, the public expects that the profession will pursue that end - and with greater energy than in the past - and with more success. To this end, the PCAOB should establish auditing standards, rather than delegating that role to the auditing profession."
PCAOB should establish necessary regulatory processes that give comfort to investors and the public that the profession is doing all that it can do to prevent future episodes of failed financial reporting. Those processes should include independent inspections of the audits performed by auditors of the financial statements of public companies. Inspections should be performed by staff of the PCAOB and not 'outsourced' to the auditing profession.
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2 January 2003: International Standards on Auditing on-line at no charge
As of 1 January 2003, IFAC is making all International Standards on Auditing available for electronic download without charge. Also available are International Public Sector Accounting Standards, the IFAC Ethics Code, International Management Accounting Practice Statements, International Education Guidelines, International Information Technology Guidelines, and other items in the IFAC Handbook. You do need to register and create a username and password.
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