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31 July 2011: Our summary of new and revised accounting pronouncements
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A new IAS Plus resource is now available to assist entities with their financial reporting at 30 June 2011. A new dedicated page provides a high level overview of new and revised accounting pronouncements that should be considered for financial reporting periods ending on or after 30 June 2011, indicating which are mandatorily applicable for various quarter ends. This information can be used to ensure that all new financial reporting requirements have been fully considered in the reporting close process.
Click to access our new page. The information reflects developments to 25 July 2011 and will be updated through to September 2011, after which we'll produce an edition for September 2011 reporting. We'll include a permanent link to the most recent edition of the resource in the left-hand panel of our home page.
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29 July 2011: Hans Hoogervorst speaks in China on IASB priorities
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In a recent speech in China, the IASB chairman, Hans Hoogervorst, laid out what he sees as the IASB's priorities for the future. Mr. Hoogervorst provided details on the following four priorities:
- Completing the convergence programme with the US
- Consulting on the post-convergence agenda
- Delivering global standards
- Strengthening institutional relationships
He noted that two factors largely determined his priority list: (1) the importance of maintaining public trust and (2) high quality, international financial reporting standards are important for economic progress. He stated, "As an organisation that serves the public interest and promotes economic progress, our main output, financial reporting standards, must be of the highest quality."
Additionally, Mr. Hoogervorst commented on the significant role the Chinese leadership has in international financial reporting.
Please click for
Hans Hoogervorst speech (link to IASB website). |
29 July 2011: ESMA issues statement disclosures related to sovereign debt
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a public statement on disclosures related to sovereign debt to be included in IFRS financial statements. In the statement, the ESMA points out the need for enhanced transparency in interim and annual financial statements for European listed issuers' using IFRSs. ESMA believes that "appropriate application of relevant IFRS is essential in order to ensure adequate disclosures by listed companies of their exposure to sovereign debt and related instruments". These disclosures should be provided on a country-by-country basis.
Please click for
ESMA press release (link to ESMA website).
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28 July 2011: Wayne Upton to chair IFRS Interpretations Committee
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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.
The appointment is effective immediately and Mr. Upton will chair his first meeting in September.
Wayne Upton is the IASB's director of international activities.
Since international implementation of IFRSs and interpretation are often
seen as two sides of the same coin, the Trustees feel that the
appointment of Wayne Upton will help the cause of consistent application
of IFRSs around the world.
Please click for
IASB press release (link to IASB website).
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28 July 2011: Staying up to date with the latest Deloitte publications
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We are introducing a new way of announcing the issuance of Deloitte publications. Starting from today, we are maintaining a summary of the latest publications on a
dedicated page. The page provides summaries of those recent publications issued by Deloitte's IFRS Global Office and member firms. The summary is sortable and the information shown can be customised, allowing publications of interest to be more readily identified.
Click to access our latest publications. We've included a permanent link to the recent publications in the left-hand panel on our home page. We hope you find the new resource useful - please check in regularly.
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28 July 2011: IFRS Foundation updates IFRS XBRL Taxonomy for IFRS 12 and IFRS 13
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The IFRS Foundation has published an eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) IFRS Taxonomy 2011 interim release incorporating the requirements of IFRS 12 Disclosure of Interests in Other Entities and IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement.
Click for more details (link to IASB website). Our dedicated XBRL page is Here.
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28 July 2011: Further changes to the agenda for the IASB special meeting on 28 July 2011
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The IASB has again updated the agenda for its special meeting being held in London on 28 July 2011. A session has been added to discuss sweep issues related to the exposure draft of the proposed change in the effective date of IFRS 9 Financial Instruments. The IASB will consider whether to extend comparative relief to the mandatory effective date of IFRS 9, and consider whether to clarify that the phrase 'beginning of the first reporting period' can mean an interim reporting period.
The meeting time has been extended to be 13:10 to 19:15 (London time). The full agenda for the meeting is available Here. We maintain details of the next meeting agenda Here.
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27 July 2011: EFRAG reports on the final part of its outreach on the Financial Statement Presentation project
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Between September and December 2010, the European Financial Reporting
Advisory Group (EFRAG) and the European National Standard Setters jointly organised meetings in ten European cities to assist the IASB in gathering the views of European constituents on the tentative decisions included in the IASB
staff draft of the Exposure Draft Financial Statement Presentation.
EFRAG has now issued a letter to the IASB on the comments on the Paper Financial Statement Presentation, which complements the feedback on the meeting with European constituents published in
February 2011 and completes the overall picture of the European views on the IASB's tentative decisions in respect of the Financial Statement Presentation project.
Please click for
EFRAG press release (link to EFRAG website) which contains a link to
the letter.
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27 July 2011: Changes to the agenda for the IASB special meeting on 28 July 2011
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The IASB has updated the agenda for its special meeting being held in London on 28 July 2011. In addition to the previously announced discussion on Financial Instruments — Hedge Accounting, sessions have been added on Revenue Recognition and Asset and Liability Offsetting. To accommodate the additional topics, the meeting time has been extended to be 13:10 to 18:30 (London time).
The full agenda for the meeting is available Here. We maintain details of the next meeting agenda Here.
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27 July 2011: IASB updates work plan to reflect recent decisions
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The IASB has published an updated work plan, reflecting recently issued documents and incorporating the effects of its recent decisions.
With the recent decisions to re-expose of the leases and revenue recognition proposals and developments in a number of other projects, the timetable for completion of many projects has been extended. The previous version of the work plan indicated a targeted completion date of an IFRS for the majority of the projects in the first half of 2012. The revised work plan states the finalisation of the various IFRSs is now expected sometime in 2012, with some projects now having no stated targeted completion date.
The following is a summary of the revised timing of projects:
- Revenue recognition – re-exposure remains expected in the third quarter of 2011 (as previously announced), final IFRS in 2012
- Leases – re-exposure is now expected in the fourth quarter of 2011 (previously third quarter), final IFRS in 2012
- Financial instruments:
- re-exposure or a review draft of the proposals on impairment remains expected in the second half of 2011, no stated target date for finalisation of an IFRS
- finalised IFRS on general hedge accounting remains targeted for the fourth quarter of 2011
- an exposure draft on macro hedge accounting is now expected to be published either late in 2011, or in 2012 (previously expected by the end of 2011), no stated target date for finalisation of an IFRS
- finalised IFRS on asset and liability offsetting now targeted for the fourth quarter of 2011 (previously third quarter, see also the discussion at the IASB's July meeting on this topic)
- an exposure draft on the proposed deferral of the mandatory date of IFRS 9 is expected during the third quarter of 2011. The IASB has stated an intention to allow a 60 day comment period on the exposure draft, but no expected date for finalisation of the proposals has been included in the work plan
- Consolidation – the timetable for the issue of the exposure draft on investment companies has been extended to August (on the same day as the FASB proposals, previously expected in July), no stated target date for finalisation of an IFRS
- Insurance contracts – the board now expects to re-expose the proposals or issue a review draft, either in the fourth quarter of 2011 or in 2012, no stated target date for finalisation of an IFRS (previously expected in the first half of 2012)
- Agenda consultation – the work plan has been updated to reflect the comment period for the agenda consultation document issued yesterday. The consultation document indicates the IASB is expected to start discussions in the first quarter of 2012, and expects to publish a comment summary and feedback statement during 2012.
Click for access to the updated workplan (link to the IASB website). We maintain a summary of all the IASB's projects on our agenda page.
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26 July 2011: IASB launches a public consultation on its future work programme
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The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) launched today a public consultation to seek broad public input on the strategic direction and overall balance of its future work programme.
The IASB has identified five key aspects that should be reflected in the strategic approach towards a future agenda:
- the IFRS community has become more diverse,
- the market environment has become more complex,
- there are a number of changes that require implementation,
- the quality and relevance of the standards needs to demonstrated,
- the risk that practices related to implementation and adoption will diverge.
Consequently, the IASB thinks that its future work
should fall into broad categories: 'Developing financial reporting' and
'Maintaining' existing IFRSs.
Below is an excerpt from the agenda consultation document concerning five strategic
areas driving the work of the IASB in those categories:
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Developing financial reporting
- Strengthening the consistency of
IFRSs by completing the update of
the conceptual framework, and
improving the usability of
financial reports through the
development of a presentation and
disclosure framework.
- Investing in research and
addressing the strategic issues for
financial reporting to aid future
standard-setting and to develop
further the IASB's vision of the
future shape of financial
reporting, including exploring the
interaction of IFRSs with
integrated reporting.
- Filling gaps in the IFRS literature
by undertaking standards-level
projects, i.e. developing new IFRSs
or making major amendments.
Maintaining existing IFRSs
- Obtaining a better understanding
of operational issues of new
IFRSs and major amendments
through conducting post-implementation
reviews.
- Improving the consistency and
quality of the application of IFRSs
by responding to implementation
needs arising from the revised set
of IFRSs, through the use of
targeted, narrow-scope
improvements to IFRSs, including
consideration of the completeness
and consistency of integration of
XBRL with IFRSs.
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The IASB makes the agenda consultation document and several
supporting documents available on its website (all links below to the IASB's
website):
There will also be a
live webcast on the IASB's agenda consultation
on 3 August 2011.
Comments on the consultation
document are required by 30 November 2011.
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25 July 2011: Deloitte comment letter on Trustees' strategy review
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Deloitte's IFRS Global Office has submitted a letter of comment on the IFRS Foundation Trustees' Report, IFRSs as a Global Standard: Setting a Strategy for the Foundation's Second Decade.
The comment letter highlights Deloitte's views on the issues relating to governance of the Trustees' review and the Monitoring Board's concurrent and independent review of the IFRS Foundation's governance. The following is an excerpt from the letter:
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It is important that the governance structure fosters high quality by achieving a proper balance between accountability, effective oversight and legitimacy of the IASB on one hand and its technical independence on the other. In our letter of 25 March 2011 to the IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board, we expressed support for the three tiers of governance, under which:
- the Monitoring Board provides political legitimacy and accountability by acting as the link, via competent market authorities and/ or regulators, to national governments in jurisdictions using or committed to using IFRSs and provides oversight of and pro-active advice to the IFRS Foundation;
- the IFRS Foundation Trustees oversee the day-to-day activities of the IASB and related standard-setting activities and promote the transparency of the organisation; and
- the IASB acts as an independent standard-setter, operating within a clearly defined and documented system of due process.
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In addition, we encourage the Trustees' to leverage experts in financial reporting from around the world throughout the standard-setting process. We, also, think the Trustees' should consider which issues might be dealt with by the enhanced governance structure proposed in the Report.
Click to Download our Comment Letter on Status of Trustees' Strategy Review (PDF 119k). All of our past comment letters are here. |
25 July 2011: Reminder – Upcoming Dbriefs webcast: Important IFRS Developments
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A Global Financial Reporting Dbriefs Webcast is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, 27 July 2011, discussing the unprecedented pace of standard-setting developments at the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
The topics to be covered include:
- The updated timeline for the issuance of new accounting standards
- The recent tentative decisions on the major convergence projects
- The new standard on Fair Value Measurements and revised standards on Post-employment Benefits and Presentation of Items of Other Comprehensive Income, with key insights for an effective transition.
Full details of the webcast are provided below:
| Topic: |
IFRS: Important Developments
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| Date and time: |
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
9:00-10:00am London time (GMT +1), which is 4:00-5:00pm Hong Kong Time (GMT +8)
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| Host: |
Joel Osnoss, Global Managing Director – IFRS Clients and Markets |
| Presenters: |
Randall Sogoloff, Leader – Global IFRS Communications
Kush Patel, Director |
| More information: |
Click Here |
| Registration: |
Click Here |
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Access to recordings and other materials from past webcasts is available on our IFRS Webcasts page.
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25 July 2011: Nigerian adoption of IFRSs signed into law
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The Nigerian Federal Minister of Trade & Investment, Dr. Olusegun Aganga, has announced the signing of the law necessary for Nigeria to implement International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs). The announcement was made at a Workshop on Attracting Investments into Nigeria held in Abuja on 20 July 2011.
On 28 July 2010, the Nigerian Federal Executive Council announced a 'Road Map' for Nigeria’s staged adoption of IFRS, commencing from 1 January 2012. The necessary law to enact the changes, the Financial Reporting Council of Nigeria Act 2011, had previously been passed by the Nigerian legislature, but had not been signed into law by the Nigerian President.
With the Nigerian President signing the act into law, the final processes for Nigeria's adoption of IFRS can now be put in place. The effect of the law is to create a new Financial Reporting Council, incorporating and replacing the existing Nigerian Accounting Standards Board (NASB), which will issue and regulate accounting, actuarial, valuation and auditing standards.
Click for:
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22 July 2011: Further notes from the July IASB meeting
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The IASB's regular monthly meeting is being held on 20-22 July 2011 in London, much of it a joint meeting with the FASB. We have posted Deloitte observer notes from some of the sessions held on Thursday and Friday (click through for direct access to the notes):
Thursday, 21 July 2011 (earlier sessions)
Friday, 22 July 2011
Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.
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22 July 2011: Breaking news – Mandatory application of IFRS 9 deferred
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The IASB has decided to postpone the mandatory application
of IFRS 9 until 2015. This decision will be communicated in an Exposure
Draft which will have a comment period of 60 days.
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22 July 2011: Scottish and New Zealand accounting bodies issue report on reducing the IFRS disclosure burden
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The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) and the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) have released a report from their project focused on reducing the volume of disclosure requirements in International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRSs).
The report, entitled Losing the excess baggage - reducing disclosures in financial statements to what's important, was prepared in response to a request from the IASB (see our earlier story) and outlines the recommendations of the Joint Oversight Group of the ICAS and NZICA on which existing IFRS disclosures can be amended, reduced or eliminated.
The project used the IASB's 2010 Conceptual Framework for Financial Reporting as a guide, and considered disclosure requirements in all existing IASB standards, other than those not dealing with annual financial statements or which are subject to review under current IASB projects.
The report provides a detailed summary of changes to various standards, which if implemented, would have the effect of substantially reducing the volume of disclosures in financial statements. The ICAS and NZICA estimate implementation of the recommendations in the report could result in a 30% reduction in the volume of disclosure.
The reduction of the complexity of financial statements have arisen in many contexts in recent times. In April 2011, the Accounting Standards Board (ASB) of the United Kingdom Financial Reporting Council (FRC) published a report Cutting Clutter: Combating clutter in annual reports, which in common with the ICAS/NZICA report, noted that difficulties in reducing disclosure and applying the 'materiality' concept in the context of disclosure. The International Integrated Reporting Committee (IIRC) is also seeking to simplify and streamline various aspects of reporting through its integrated reporting initiative.
The ICAS/NZICA report has been presented to the IASB and an education session on it is being held at this week's IASB meeting. Click for:
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21 July 2011: IASB and FASB announce re-exposure of lease accounting proposals
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The IASB and FASB have announced their intention to re-expose their revised proposals for a common leasing standard.
In a press release announcing the decision, the IASB and FASB noted that even through the boards have not completed all of their deliberations, the decisions taken to date were sufficiently different from those published in the exposure draft to warrant re-exposure of the revised proposals. Re-exposure is designed to provide interested parties with an opportunity to comment on revisions the boards have undertaken since the publication of the original proposals in August 2010.
In an updated work plan dated 30 June 2011, the IASB has previously indicated that the next step in the leases project would either be a review draft of the final IFRS, or re-exposure of the proposals. Given the boards had previously decided to re-expose the revenue recognition proposals, re-exposure of the leasing proposals is perhaps not unexpected.
The boards intend to complete their deliberations, including consideration of the comment period, during the third quarter of 2011 with a view to publishing a revised exposure draft shortly afterwards.
Click for IASB press release (link to IASB website). We maintain a history of the leases project Here.
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21 July 2011: Further notes from the July IASB meeting
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The IASB's regular monthly meeting is being held on 20-22 July 2011 in London, much of it a joint meeting with the FASB. We have posted Deloitte observer notes from some of the sessions held on Wednesday and Thursday (click through for direct access to the notes):
Wednesday, 20 July 2011 (earlier sessions)
- Leases (IASB-FASB)
- Lessor accounting - lessor accounting model, profit recognition under a 'receivable and residual' approach
- Accounting for variable lease payments
- Embedded derivatives
- Financial Instruments – Impairment (IASB-FASB)
- Transfers between impairment 'buckets'
- 'Bucket One' measurement
Thursday, 21 July 2011
Notes from the IASB-FASB additional sessions held on Thursday will be posted soon.
Agenda changes. Further changes have been made to the agenda, as follows: the joint discussion on asset and liability offsetting on Friday has been cancelled, the discussion on effective dates was brought forward to Thursday, and the order of the IASB-only sessions on Friday has been revised.
Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.
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21 July 2011: Agenda for IASB special meeting on 28 July 2011
21 July 2011: UK FRC reaffirms importance of 'true and fair'
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The Accounting Standards Board (ASB) and Auditing Practices Board (APB) of the United Kingdom Financial Reporting Council (FRC) have published a paper discussing the 'true and fair' requirement and its relevance to preparers, those charged with governance and auditors.
The purpose of the paper is to confirm the view of the ASB and APB that the true and fair requirement remains of fundamental importance in both UK GAAP and IFRS.
The paper discusses the need for professional judgement, the role of 'prudence' under UK GAAP, reflecting 'substance over form', how the true and fair concept is represented in accounting standards, and the approach to be taken by auditors.
Click for FRC press release (link to FRC website).
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21 July 2011: Notes from the July IASB meeting
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The IASB's regular monthly meeting is being held on 20-22 July 2011 in London, much of it a joint meeting with the FASB. We have posted Deloitte observer notes from the IASB only sessions held on Wednesday (click through for direct access to the notes):
Wednesday, 20 July 2011
Notes from the IASB-FASB sessions on financial asset impairment and leases held on Wednesday will be posted soon.
Agenda changes. A number of changes have also been made to the agenda for the meeting. Impairment will no longer be discussed on Thursday and asset and liability offsetting will be added to Thursday's discussions. The agenda for Friday 22 July also remains subject to change.
Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.
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20 July 2011: German Institute of Auditors expresses view on impairment of Greek sovereign debt
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The German Institute of Auditors (Institut der Wirtschaftsprüfer in Deutschland, IDW) has published a press release regarding the treatment of Greek sovereign debt in interim financial statements at 30 June 2011 in light of current developments.
The IDW met on 19 July 2011 to discuss the measurement of Greek sovereign debt in the interim financial statements of financial institutions, insurance companies and other investors, with particular emphasis on a need for the recognition of an impairment.
The IDW press release notes the IDW has concluded there is a need to recognise an impairment of Greek sovereign debt in financial statements at 30 June 2011.
The following is an extract from the IDW press release (Deloitte translation):
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From today's perspective, the IDW has identified a need for recognition of impairments. Considering the development of the political discussions over the last weeks, a bail-out of Greece without participation of private-sector creditors is deemed unlikely. Accordingly, the IDW does not find strong enough evidence for any approach that would avoid the recognition of an impairment loss. ... Subject to changes in circumstances before the authorisation of the interim financial statements as per 30 June 2011, auditors may only confirm accordance with GAAP within their review if the interim financial statements appropriately reflect the requirement to recognise impairments as mentioned above.
In the light of the increased risk in connection with Greek sovereign debt and the considerable uncertainties concerning the future political handling of the Greek debt crisis, the IDW continues to believe it is of vital importance that appropriate transparency is achieved through reporting within the notes and/or the MD&A. The key judgements applied when making accounting policy decisions and the risks involved in these judgements (risk of future need for participation of private-sector investors in a bail-out at yet unclear conditions, increasing exposure for investments in Greek sovereign debt) have to be disclosed appropriately by the reporting entity. Furthermore, quantitative disclosures about the amount of (direct or indirect) exposures are necessary.
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Click for full press release (link to the IDW website, PDF 24k, in German).
The European Federation of Accountants (FEE) has also issued
a general
alert on the consideration of sovereign debt exposures in the half-year financial reporting
(link to FEE website, PDF, 38k).
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20 July 2011: ESMA expresses revised view on IFRS Interpretations Committee agenda rejection statements
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The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has published a public statement on retrospective adjustments to financial statements following rejection notes published by the IFRS Interpretations Committee (Committee).
The Committee of European Securities Regulators (CESR), the predecessor of ESMA, issued a statement in April 2007 discussing the issue of whether or not rejection notes published by the Committee itself or the explanatory text included in such a rejection note, should result in an accounting change and, if so, whether the change should be regarded as the correction of an error or a change in accounting policy in accordance with IAS 8 Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors.
The CESR statement indicated such rejection statements should not lead to a retrospective adjustment in accordance with IAS 8, noting it had been argued by some that the conflicts of views on how IFRSs should be applied were transitional issues and would disappear over time as all stakeholders become more familiar with the interpretation and application of IFRS.
ESMA's statement issued today changes this view, noting the following:
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"ESMA believes that, 6 years after the implementation of IFRS, we are no longer in such a transitional period. Rejection notes published by the IFRS Interpretations Committee often provide clarification of the standards. There is an expectation on the part of the stakeholders in IFRS that rejection notes concluding that IFRSs are sufficiently clear will be carefully considered by preparers in determining their accounting policies. In the case of a change in a previous accounting treatment following the issue of a rejection note, an issuer should apply IAS 8 and provide proper and sufficient disclosure on the reasons for the change, having regard to the particular facts and circumstances of the individual case, including reference to the rejection note."
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Click for ESMA press release (link to the ESMA website).
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19 July 2011: Private sector task force interim report to G-20
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The Private Sector Task Force of Regulated Professions and Industries has published an interim report, Regulatory Convergence in Financial Professions and Industries, to the deputies of the G-20. The report focuses on the private sector's point of view in regards to global regulatory convergence. The report, at the request of the G-20 presidency, provides assistance to the G-20 in its goal of providing comparability and consistency for investors, regulators, and market participants. It also identifies some of the current gaps in global convergence and provides a method of minimising the systemic risk these gaps may cause. The final report is expected in September 2011.
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19 July 2011: EFRAG Update with meeting summary for the July EFRAG TEG meeting
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The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has released
the July 2011 issue of its EFRAG Update newsletter. The EFRAG TEG meeting
was held on 13 to 15 July 2011. Highlights from the meeting were:
- EFRAG finalised its draft endorsement advice and a draft effects study report on IAS 19 Employee Benefits, as revised in 2011, and on the Amendments to IAS 1
Presentation of Items of Comprehensive Income.
- EFRAG finalised its draft comment letter to the IASB on the
Exposure Draft Improvements to IFRSs 2009-2011 (the ED). The draft
comment letter supports the amendments proposed in the ED, however recommends
bringing further clarifications to IAS 12 in respect of taxes on distribution to owners.
Click for the
EFRAG Update (PDF
175k, link to EFRAG website).
Links to earlier issues are available
here. |
19 July 2011: IVSC issues updated valuation standards
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The International Valuation Standards Council (IVSC) has published new International Valuation Standards (IVS). The new IVS update the previous version published in 2007, and cover valuation of a wide range of assets for financial reporting and other purposes.
The IVSC published an Exposure Draft of the proposed changes in June 2010. The new IVS:
- focus on principles rather than prescriptive requirements – 'Technical Information Papers' (TIPs) will provide detailed guidance in the future (draft TIPs have been released on real property and business valuations and depreciated replacement cost)
- remove the code of ethics, which are currently subject to a separate consultation
- introduce new requirements, including for financial instruments (see our earlier story) and investment property under construction
- streamline a number of requirements – merging or eliminating guidance notes on particular topics (particularly where existing IVSC projects are underway or planned), eliminating repetition, and removing the glossary in favour of definitions in individual standards where required.
The new IVS will be effective from January 2012 and can be ordered via the IVSC's website at www.ivsc.org. The individual standards are expected to be made electronically available on the IVSC website in due course.
Click for IVSC press release (link to the IVSC website).
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18 July 2011: FASB assessment on differential standard-setting framework for private companies
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The US Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) has published FASB in Focus — Private Companies: The Path to a Differential Standard-Setting Framework. In the report, the FASB staff provides details about its initial assessment of "how and why the needs of those who use private company financial statements differ from those who use public company financial statements and how the cost-benefit considerations of financial reporting vary between private companies and public companies." The staff identified six key factors that differentiate private company financial reporting considerations from public. Those factors are:
- Types of users
- Access to management
- Investment strategies
- Ownership structures
- Accounting resources
- Education
This assessment is the first step FASB is taking in developing a 'differential framework' when deciding how to adjust the requirements for recognition, measurement, presentation, disclosure, effective dates and transition methods for financial accounting standards that apply to private companies. In January 2011, the 'differential framework' was a key recommendation suggested by the Blue-Ribbon Panel on Standard Setting for Private Companies in a report to the Board of Trustees of the Financial Accounting Foundation (FAF). In addition, the panel called for a creation of a new board, overseen by the FAF, to focus on U.S. GAAP for private companies.
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15 July 2011: Deloitte publications update
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The following Deloitte publications are now available:
Global Publications
Deloitte (Canada)
Deloitte (Columbia)
Deloitte (Japan)
Deloitte (Poland)
Deloitte (United Kingdom)
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15 July 2011: EBA publishes results of its 2011 EU-wide bank stress tests
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The European Banking Authority (EBA) published the results of its 'stress tests' of 90 European banks. The following documents are now available on its website:
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15 July 2011: Notes from Trustees' meeting
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The IFRS Foundation Trustees met in public session in New York on 14 July
2011. Topics discussed were
- Report of the Due Process Oversight Committee
- IASB Chairman's report
- IFRS for SMEs
- Advisory Council Chairman's report
- Executive Committee
Please click for the preliminary and unofficial
Notes taken by Deloitte observers at the meeting.
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14 July 2011: Further changes to meeting agenda for
upcoming IASB meeting
| The agenda for the IASB meeting in London on 20-22 July 2011 has been changed
again. There have been changes to the timing and running order on Wednesday 20 and Thursday 21 July.
A revised summary of the agenda for the meeting can be found
here. We maintain a summary of the agenda for the next scheduled IASB meeting, and details of future meeting dates,
here.
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14 July 2011: Notes from Monitoring Board meeting
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The IFRS Foundation Monitoring Board met in public session in New York on 13 July 2011.
Topics discussed were the Monitoring Board Governance Review, the IFRS Foundation Due Process Oversight Committee
and Budget and Financing. Please click for the preliminary and unofficial
Notes taken by Deloitte observers at the meeting.
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14 July 2011: Updated EFRAG 'endorsement status report'
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The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) has updated its report showing the status of endorsement, under the EU Accounting Regulation, of each IFRS, including standards, interpretations, and amendments. Click to download the
Endorsement Status Report as of 13 July 2011 (PDF 136k). Currently, the following
twelve IASB pronouncements await endorsement action:
- IFRS 9 Financial Instruments
- IFRS 10 Consolidated Financial Statements
- IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements
- IFRS 12 Disclosures of Interests in Other Entities
- IFRS 13 Fair Value Measurement
- IAS 27 Separate Financial Statements (2011)
- IAS 28 Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures (2011)
- Amendments to IFRS 7 Financial Instruments: Disclosures
- Amendments to IAS 12 Deferred tax: Recovery of Underlying Assets
- Amendments to IFRS 1 Severe Hyperinflation and Removal of Fixed Dates for First-Time Adopters
- Amendments to IAS 1 Presentation of Items of Other Comprehensive Income
- Amendments to IAS 19 Employee Benefits
You can always find the endorsement status report
Here.
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13 July 2011: IASB Chairman speaks at Zurich IFRS conference
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Hans Hoogervorst's first public speech since becoming IASB Chairman set out an agenda for resolute action and an aspiration to set financial reporting at the heart of global economic activity. Read our resident regular columnist, Robert Bruce, for his take on what the speech means for the future, and during this time of European financial upheaval.
Click for:
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13 July 2011: Two presentations from the Zurich IFRS conference
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The IASB has posted to its website two presentations from the
Zurich IFRS conference held on Tuesday 5 July 2011 and Wednesday 6 July 2011.
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13 July 2011: Proposed professional education standard
on practical experience requirements
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The International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB) has released for public exposure a proposed revision of International Education Standard (IES)
5, Practical Experience Requirements for Aspiring Professional Accountants.
The key changes concern
- allowing greater flexibility in measuring practical experience,
- permitting supervisors or mentors to direct an aspiring professional accountant’s experience, and
- requiring practical experience to be recorded in a verifiable and consistent form.
Comments on the document close on 8 October 2011. Click for
IAESB press release (link to the IFAC website).
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13 July 2011: Financial Instruments Working Group to meet 5 August
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The IASB Financial Instruments Working Group (FIWG) will meet at the IASB's offices in London on
5 August 2011 from 13:00am to 16:00pm London time. The meeting will be open to public observation
and will be webcast. An agenda for the meeting has not yet been announced. The IASB formed the FIWG in September 2004 to examine and question the fundamentals of IAS 39 within the context of the IASB's Framework, with the goal of
"improving, simplifying, and ultimately replacing IAS 39" but it has not met since
the beginning of December 2009 which is shortly after
IFRS 9 was first published. That means the members of the FIWG only met to
discuss phase I of the IASB's project for replacing IAS 39 (classification
and measurement of financial assets), however, there has been no working group
meeting so far during the phases II to IV.
Please click for
FIWG Meeting Info on the IASB's Website. |
12 July 2011: New New Zealand standard setting arrangements now in place
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As announced earlier, standard setting in New Zealand has been restructured. The New Zealand Accounting Standards Review Board (ASRB)
has been replaced by the External Reporting Board (XRB). The change became
effective 1 July 2011.
The new XRB Board held its first meeting on 1 July 2011 to consider some governance matters and to approve a number of standards for issue.
The XRB has also started producing a new communiqué. The first issue is
available
here (link to XRB website); it contains a summary of all decisions arrived
at during the first XBR board meeting.
Furthermore, a new XRB website has been developed and is now live at
www.xrb.govt.nz. The website has specific pages where accounting standards, and auditing and assurance standards, are available.
The XRB will not be publishing hard copies of standards.
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11 July 2011: Change to meeting agenda for current IASB meeting
| The agenda for the IASB meeting in London on 20-22 July 2011 has been changed. The session on Replacement of IAS 39 for Wednesday, 20 July 2011 has been moved to Friday, 22 July 2011.
A revised summary of the agenda for the meeting can be found here. We maintain a summary of the agenda for the next scheduled IASB meeting, and details of future meeting dates, here.
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11 July 2011: SEC roundtable discussions on IFRSs
 | The SEC held roundtable discussions with representatives from investors, smaller public companies, and regulators to discuss benefits and challenges related to potentially incorporating IFRSs in the United States financial reporting system. The investor panelists discussion supported a single set of globally accepted accounting standards. However, the investor panelists were concerned about the IASB's governance and funding, especially regarding the fact that financial reporting may be serving public policy interests rather than those of investors in some countries. Further concerns were raised on the uniform application of principles-based accounting standards and the IASB's interpretative mechanisms. Investors stressed the importance of the IASB's having a responsive interpretative mechanism subject to a formal standard-setting process, and they noted that local interpretation of IFRSs could lead to diverse application of IFRSs globally.
The smaller public companies panelists were concern about the lack of resources and the potential implementation costs. Some panelists viewed little or no benefits of implementing IFRSs. The panelists mostly supported a "big bang approach" versus a staggered approach for incorporating IFRSs into the U.S. system. A staggered transition was perceived as more costly. They also stressed the importance of the FASB and IASB completing its current convergence projects before the SEC sets the date for IFRS incorporation.
The regulatory panelists discussed the current use of U.S. GAAP financial information in the various regulatory activities they undertake, the steps required and potential timing to make changes in regulations, and costs and benefits of potential IFRS incorporation. The panelists believe that sufficient time should be provided for the transition to IFRS and that the needs of U.S. investors should be carefully considered.
Click for:
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11 July 2011: More than 70 jurisdictions apply ISAs
 | On June
30 2011, Prof. Arnold Schilder, the Chairman of the IAASB, delivered a speech on global progress in the use of the Clarified International Standards on Auditing (ISAs) at
the 2011 annual conference on Accounting and Accountability for Regional Economic Growth in Latin America and the Caribbean (referred to as CReCER after its Spanish/Portuguese acronym).
In his speech entitled International Auditing and Assurance Standards:
Implementation Challenges and Success Factors Schilder showed that during
the last year alone the number of jurisdictions that already are using the ISAs or have committed to using them in the near future
has more than doubled – a year ago, there were approximately 30 countries; today, there are more than 70.
The
transcript of his speech (link to IFAC website) contains a
reproduction of a slide showing which countries already apply
ISAs or will do so in the near future. |
9 July 2011: IFRS Foundation Annual Report 2010
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The IFRS Foundation under which the IASB operates has published
its Annual Report for 2010. Next to the section on 'Financials' the report
also contains sections on the 'Trustees of the IFRS Foundation' and the
'Activities of the IFRS Foundation'. The report can be downloaded
from the
IASB's website. |
8 July 2011: Notes from July IFRS Interpretations Committee meeting
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The IFRS Interpretations Committee met in London on 7-8 July 2011. We have posted Deloitte observer notes from the topics discussed at the meeting, as follows (click through for direct access to the notes for that particular topic):
Thursday 7 July 2011
Friday 8 July 2011
- New items for initial consideration (continued)
- IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements: Acquisition of an interest in a joint operation
- IFRS 8 Operating Segments: Aggregation of operating segments and identification of the chief operating decision maker
- Administrative session
- Committee work in progress
- Review of statistics of the Committee's activity
Click here to go to the preliminary and unofficial
Notes Taken by Deloitte Observers for the entire meeting.
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8 July 2011: Deloitte publications update
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The following Deloitte publications are now available:
Global Publications
Deloitte (Australia)
Deloitte (Canada)
Deloitte (Hong Kong)
Deloitte (Japan)
Deloitte (United States)
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7 July 2011: UK ASB issues Amendments to FRS 29
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The UK Accounting Standards Board (ASB) of the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has published Amendments to FRS 29 (IFRS 7) 'Financial Instruments: Disclosures': Disclosures — Transfers of Financial Assets. The goal of the Amendments is to improve the disclosures on transfers of financial assets. The Amendments incorporate new disclosure requirements that will help users of financial statements evaluate an entity's risk exposure arising from transfers of financial assets, as well as any resulting impact on its financial position. The ASB has issued these Amendments to keep FRS 29 aligned with IFRS 7, which the IASB amended in October 2010.
The Amendments to FRS 29 are effective for annual periods beginning on or after 1 July 2011.
Click for:
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7 July 2011: Upcoming Dbriefs webcast: Important IFRS Developments
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A Global Financial Reporting Dbriefs Webcast is scheduled to be held on Wednesday, 27 July 2011, discussing the unprecedented pace of standard-setting developments at the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB).
The topics to be covered include:
- The updated timeline for the issuance of new accounting standards
- The recent tentative decisions on the major convergence projects
- The new standard on Fair Value Measurements and revised standards on Post-employment Benefits and Presentation of Items of Other Comprehensive Income, with key insights for an effective transition.
Full details of the webcast are provided below:
| Topic: |
IFRS: Important Developments
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| Date and time: |
Wednesday, 27 July 2011
9:00-10:00am London time (GMT +1), which is 4:00-5:00pm Hong Kong Time (GMT +8)
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| Host: |
Joel Osnoss, Global Managing Director – IFRS Clients and Markets |
| Presenters: |
Randall Sogoloff, Leader – Global IFRS Communications
Kush Patel, Senior Manager |
| More information: |
Click Here |
| Registration: |
Click Here |
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Access to recordings and other materials from past webcasts is available on our IFRS Webcasts page.
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6 July 2011: ESMA chairman speaks at IFRSF conference
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Steven Maijoor, chairman of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA),
was a keynote speaker at the IFRS Foundation conference currently being held
in Zurich. He spoke about financial stability, investor protection, a level
playing field in financial supervision, the supervision of credit rating agencies and a
single rulebook for financial markets and showed the links between these
topics and financial reporting.
Following are a few short extracts from his speech, however, we
recommend reading the speech in its entirety. It can be found on the
ESMA's website (5
pages, 44k).
On financial stability
"How could financial reporting best contribute to financial stability? Let us not forget that there is no
unambiguous definition of financial stability. Nevertheless there seems to be a broad consensus that
financial stability refers to the smooth functioning of the key elements that make up the financial system.
In fact I believe that accounting standards do contribute to financial stability by providing clear principles
on how to account for complex transactions, such as financial instruments, and by favouring transparency:
transparency being key for good market functioning and good market functioning being an essential
component of financial stability."
On investor protection
"[F]inancial reporting was developed out of the
necessity to provide investors with adequate information on the financial performance and position on the
company they are investing in. High quality financial statements are important for the good functioning of
financial markets. It is therefore important that their views are heard and that they are involved in the
IASB's standard-setting process. I am really supportive of the many initiatives the IASB has taken to reach
out to investors and I believe the IASB should continue or even strengthen its efforts.
[...]
I acknowledge that the IASB has made significant steps in developing its outreach program. However, I
also believe that we have now arrived at a point in time where having a comprehensive look at the different
steps of the IASB's standard-setting process would have significant merit. This would include looking at
how the various steps of the due process link together in the cycle as well as looking at better defining
when the Board should re-expose. A full and transparent due process giving due consideration to market
participant’s comments is the best guarantee for a smooth adoption of IFRSs.
[...]
Post 2011 the IASB should strive for a period of calm in accounting standards. The winding-down of the
IASB-FASB convergence program, combined with a more rigorous agenda-setting activity could help
achieving this. This should enhance stability and comparability across time of the financial information
produced on the basis of IFRS, which should benefit all users of this information – investors, preparers
and regulators." |
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6 July 2011: Recommendations on Australian moves towards integrated and sustainability reporting
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CPA Australia, one of the professional accounting organisations in Australia, has released a report entitled The Social Responsibility of Corporations – Recent trends and future developments in the promotion of responsible business practices.
The report contains a number of recommendations in response to The social responsibility of corporations report by the Corporations and Markets Advisory Committee (CAMAC, a body constituted under the Australian Securities and Investments Commission Act 2001). The CPA Australia report provides views in light of developments since the issue of the CAMAC report in December 2006, and suggests a number of actions that should be considered in the areas of disclosure and promotion of responsible business practices.
Many of the recommendations relate to integrated and sustainability reporting, including that the Australian Government should actively pursue developments in integrated reporting and that appropriate funding be provided to the Australian Accounting Standards Board (AASB) to pursue this major development in the national interest.
More details on the recommendations are available on our Sustainability page.
The Australian Financial Reporting Council (FRC) has recently formed a taskforce on integrated reporting and the matter is also expected to be discussed at the July 2011 AASB meeting. Click for access to the CPA Australia report (link to CPA Australia website).
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5 July 2011: Questionnaire on accounting for Islamic
finance transactions
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The Islamic Finance Working Group of the Asian-Oceanian Standard Setters Group (AOSSG) is conducting a survey to collate information and receive feedback regarding the standards that would apply to the financial reporting of Islamic financial transactions in the standard-setting jurisdictions of Asia-Oceania.
Some entities involved in Islamic finance apply IFRS and some
apply different standards, such as those issued by the Accounting and Auditing Organization for Islamic
Financial Institutions (AAOIFI) or national standards which may or may not be based on AAOIFI standards. The
requirements of these other standards could either complement or contradict the IFRS.
Given that many jurisdictions in Asia-Oceania
have committed to converging with or adopting IFRS, as well as the rapid
growth of Islamic finance, the study aims at establishing how Islamic financial transactions would be reported by constituents in
the region.
Please click for
access to the
questionnaire (link to Malaysian Accounting Standards Board website). The questionnaire takes about 10
to 15 minutes to complete; the deadline is 31 July 2011.
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5 July 2011: UK Government will complete switch to IFRS in 2013
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The UK Government has announced that the application of IAS 27 will be
extended to all National Health Service (NHS) organisations from 1 April 2013. This application had been deferred since the adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards across central government on 1 April 2009.
The decision was reached following an advice of the UK Financial Reporting Advisory Board (FRAB). The FRAB had expressed concerns about a further delay to the application of the accounting standard,
while the Government considered that more time is necessary to apply this standard consistently and correctly in a resource efficient manner.
Please click for the
FRAB press
release (link to UK Treasury website).
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5 July 2011: Canada releases basis of conclusions on move to IFRSs
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With many Canadian companies currently in their first year of reporting under IFRSs, the Canadian Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) has recently released a publication setting out its rationale and process for adopting IFRSs, rather than alternative frameworks such as United States Generally Accepted Accounting Practices (US GAAP), or retaining a separate domestic Canadian GAAP.
Whilst much of the rationale included in the document is not new or unexpected, it does reveal the AcSB's rationale and is instructive on the issues facing countries when considering their own financial reporting frameworks.
An extract from the document dealing with the decision to adopt IFRSs over US GAAP follows:
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The AcSB observed that more Canadian than US publicly accountable enterprises have a small market capitalization... and were less willing to accept the expense and effort of applying detailed and extensive US GAAP. They preferred broad principles within which a company could determine how best to present its financial position and results of operations in a way that meets the needs of its shareholders and lenders...
The AcSB also noted the different nature and purpose of IFRSs compared with US GAAP. The IASB has a global mandate and its structure, due process and composition have been designed with a global perspective. However, US GAAP is not just the standards of the FASB. It is also whatever the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) requires, including a number of rules that are set directly by that organization, and can be costly to monitor and satisfy...
Further, concerns about the extent of rules-based requirements in US GAAP brought about by recent financial scandals had resulted in changes to the US system. These changes increased the active role of the SEC and the potential for regulatory interference in standard setting...
... It was likely that significant differences between US GAAP and other sets of standards would persist for some time while the FASB dealt with its large body of legacy issues. The AcSB concluded that selecting US GAAP would be a more difficult and indirect path to the ultimate goal of global convergence than direct adoption of IFRSs. More importantly, in light of recent developments, it made little sense for entities not already familiar with US GAAP to incur the considerable costs necessary to learn and apply it in its entirety.
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Click for access to the full document (link to the AcSB website).
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5 July 2011: New Zealand financial reporting surveys reveal disclosure increase, widespread use of additional profit measures
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Deloitte (New Zealand) has released two new publications in its Financial Reporting Survey series.
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Financial statements
Issue 5 in the series, Into the detail... Surveying financial statements in annual reports – 2010 (PDF 3,519k), is focused on the 2010 annual reports of a sample of 100 New Zealand companies complying with NZ IFRS and IFRS, with a separate sample of 30 companies taking advantage of New Zealand's differential reporting concessions.
Some of the highlights of the survey include:
- Financial statements are on average 42 pages long, up from 39 pages in 2009
- Accounting policies take up on average 14% of the financial statements (many of these policies repeat the requirements of accounting standards)
- The most commonly used market price sensitivity variations used is 100 basis points (1%) for interest rate exposures and 10% for foreign exchange exposures
- 326 major sources of estimation uncertainty were disclosed by 99 companies, although only 18% of the uncertainties disclosed included the impact of reasonably possible changes in assumptions
- The introduction of the new segment reporting standard, which requires disclosure on the same basis as internal management reporting, led to 18 companies changing their segments in 2010.
The report discusses the difficulties of keeping track of the increasing volume of disclosures and notes the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Scotland (ICAS) and the New Zealand Institute of Chartered Accountants (NZICA) project to review IFRS in order to determine where disclosures could be reduced (see our earlier story) and the 'Cutting clutter' report issued by the United Kingdom Accounting Standards Board (ASB) (see our earlier story). The report from the ICAS/NZICA project is expected to be discussed at the July IASB meeting (see the meeting agenda below).
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Underlying profit
Issue 6 in the series, Underlying profit revisited (PDF 1,080k), considers the practice of reporting underlying profit based on a sample of one hundred 2010 annual reports (finding 87 of which provided alternative earnings or profit measures), makes reference to guidance released in this area and considers what entities should think about when using underlying profit measures. The disclosure of alternate profit measures is contentious and is gaining increasing regulator interest in both New Zealand and Australia.
Earlier editions of the Financial Reporting Survey are available Deloitte (New Zealand) website.
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5 July 2011: Agenda for the regular July IASB meeting
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The IASB's regular monthly meeting is scheduled for 20-22 July 2011 in London, much of it a joint meeting with the FASB.
Set out below is the agenda for the meeting (links are our project summary for each topic). Times are shown in London time (GMT+1).
IASB Board Meeting Agenda
20-22 July 2011, London |
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Wednesday, 20 July 2011
IASB Meeting (08:00-10:45)
IASB-FASB Joint Meeting (11:15-17:25)
Thursday, 21 July 2011
IASB-FASB Joint Meeting (09:00-16:45)
Friday, 22 July 2011
IASB-FASB Joint Meeting (09:00-11:45)
- Asset and Liability Offsetting
- Offsetting model - IFRSs
- Unit of account and treatment of collateral
- Simultaneous settlement and intent criteria
- Right of offset: Unconditional and legally enforceable
- Effective dates
- General consultation
- Revenue Recognition
IASB Meeting (12:30-15:45)
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4 July 2011: Welcome message from the new IASB chairman
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The IASB has posted to its website a welcome message from the
new IASB chairman, Hans Hoogervorst. He speaks about
the "substantial legacy" Sir David has left the IASB with and his own "passion for transparency and investor protection". He sees
"an opportunity for global reform" and discusses the IASB's priorities
for the future. Please click for the
welcome message on the IASB's website. Hans
Hoogervorst became the new IASB chairman on 1 July 2011. To mark the changing of the guard at the IASB, IAS
Plus has brought its readers an exclusive and extensive
interview with Hans Hoogervorst, the new IASB Chairman, while Robert Bruce, regular resident columnist for IAS Plus, provided an
assessment of the prospects for change.
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4 July 2011: Updated agenda for July 2011 IFRS Interpretations Committee meeting
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The agenda for the IFRS Interpretations Committee in London on Thursday and Friday 7 and 8 July 2011 has been revised. A number of agenda items have been reordered and the length of the meeting on the second day extended to add a new administrative session topic. The updated agenda is reproduced in full below.
Agenda for the Interpretations Committee Meeting
Thursday and Friday, 7 and 8 July 2011 |
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Thursday 7 July (10:00h-17:30h)
- Introduction
- Active Committee Project: IAS 16 – Accounting for production phase stripping costs in the mining industry
- Items for continuing consideration [moved]
- IAS 37 Provisions, Contingent Liabilities and Contingent Assets and IFRIC 6 Liabilities arising from Participating in a Specific Market – Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment – Use of IFRIC 6 by analogy
- Review of tentative agenda decisions from the May meeting [moved]
- IAS 16 Property, Plant and Equipment – Cost of testing asset - element of cost
- IAS 19 Employee Benefits – Defined contribution plans with vesting conditions
- New items for initial consideration
- IFRS 3 Business Combinations – Business combinations involving newly formed entities: factors affecting identification of the acquirer
- IFRS 3 Business Combinations – Common control transactions
- IAS 27 Consolidated and Separate Financial Statements – Group reorganisations in separate financial statements
- IFRS 3 Business Combinations – Definitions of a business
Friday 8 July (09:00h-11:30h)
- New items for initial consideration (continued) [order of discussion changed]
- IFRS 11 Joint Arrangements – Acquisition of an interest in a joint operation
- IFRS 8 Operating Segments – Aggregation of operating segments and identification of the chief operating decision maker
- Administrative session
- Committee work in progress
- Review of statistics of the Committee's activity [new]
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2 July 2011: Business Accounting Council of Japan discusses IFRS
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Following on from remarks made by the Minister for Financial Services of Japan in June (see our earlier story), the Business Accounting Council of Japan (BAC) has resumed discussions on the possible adoption of IFRSs in Japan. In a two-hour meeting held on 30 June 2011, neither a clear consensus or a definite future plan were established.
In his opening remarks, the Minister mentioned the following points, supplementing what he stated previously on 21 June:
- The importance of internationalisation of accounting standards should not be denied. The Japanese Financial Services Agency (FSA) continues maximum effort toward harmonising accounting standards internationally
- On the other hand, such harmonisation is not necessarily the only goal and should not slow down the economy. International requirements and activating the economy are both important.
He also repeated his earlier statements, including confirming: 1) a five to seven year transition period will be provided if mandatory adoption of IFRSs is decided, and 2) the existing statutory limit on the use of U.S. GAAP (currently March 2016) will be removed.
The Minister also touched on a future process and matters to be considered by the BAC:
- It is necessary to develop and execute a comprehensive work plan as well as roundtable sessions on the subject
- The interim report issued by the BAC in June 2009 (see our previous story) is to be reconsidered fully in light of recent developments in and outside of Japan, in particular:
- matters listed up as "Issues Concerning the Application of IFRS" in the report
- the direction of convergence, which is being discussed at the BAC, rather than by the Accounting Standards Board of Japan (ASBJ)
- the relationship between consolidated financial statements and separate financial statements
- institutional matters, including a vision with regard to a variety of capital markets and the abolition of separate financial statements from Japan’s disclosure system.
After the remarks, newly expanded members of the BAC, consisted of approximately 40 people, expressed their views, in the presence of the Minister. Fairly diverse views were presented on many different subjects such as IFRS itself and its use in Japan, due process to be followed in deliberation/decision, a necessary period of conversion, and perception of this process by other countries and constituents of the IASB.
The next session of the BAC and the agenda is yet to be scheduled. Click for a transcript of the opening remarks by the Minister (link to the FSA site, in Japanese only).
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2 July 2011: Deloitte publications update
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The following Deloitte publications are now available:
Global Publications
Deloitte (Colombia)
Deloitte (China)
Deloitte (Japan)
Deloitte (Poland)
- MSSF dla spółek giełdowych — 2011/03 (PDF 493k), IFRS for Public Companies, a Polish language newsletter. This issue highlights IASB activities in the first quarter of 2011, and revenue recalculation for the technology industry.
Deloitte (United States)
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1 July 2011: Updated IASB work plan
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The IASB has published an updated work plan, outlining the expecting finalisation of its projects, with many of the major projects not expected to result in a finalised IFRS until 2012.
The following is a summary of the revised timing of projects:
- Revenue recognition – re-exposure in the third quarter of 2011 (as previously announced), target date for a completed IFRS in the first half of
2012
- Leases – also to be re-exposed in the third quarter of 2011, with a target date of completed IFRS in the first half of 2012
- Financial instruments:
- re-exposure or a review draft of the proposals on impairment in the second half of 2011
- finalised IFRS on hedge accounting expected in the fourth quarter of 2011
- an exposure draft on macro hedge accounting to be published by the end of 2011
- finalised IFRS on asset and liability offsetting targeted for the third quarter of 2011
- Consolidation – exposure draft on investment companies to be published in July (on the same day as the FASB proposals)
- Insurance contracts – re-exposure of a review draft expected in the fourth quarter of 2011, with a target date of a completed IFRS in the first half of 2012
- Agenda consultation – a Request for Views arising from the three-yearly public consultation on the IASB's future technical agenda is expected in the third quarter of 2011.
Click for access to the updated workplan (link to the IASB website). We maintain a summary of all the IASB's projects on our agenda page.
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1 July 2011: US SEC releases details of upcoming Roundtable on IFRS
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United States Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) has announced the panelists and final agenda for the International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) Roundtable to be held in Washington, DC on 7 July 2011.
The agenda indicates that three separate panels will be held:
- Panel 1: Investor Understanding and Knowledge of IFRS – including discussion on the extent, logistics, and timing necessary to undertake changes to improve investor understanding of IFRS and potential methods of incorporation
- Panel 2: Smaller Public Companies – including discussion on the nature and frequency of capital market activities, costs and benefits of potential IFRS incorporation, the potential methods of incorporation, and FASB’s convergence agenda
- Panel 3: Regulatory Environment – including discussion on the current use of U.S. GAAP financial information, steps required and timing necessary to undertake changes to regulation, benefits and challenges, and factors to reduce the costs and efforts of a potential transition to IFRS.
The roundtable discussion will begin at 10 a.m. (US Eastern time) and will be available by webcast on the SEC website. The webcast also will be archived for later viewing.
Click for more information (link to the SEC website).
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1 July 2011: Changing of the guard at the IASB
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Today sees the changing of the guard at the IASB. Sir David Tweedie's ten-year tenure as Chairman came to an end at midnight in London and a new Chairman took over. To mark this event IAS Plus brings its readers an exclusive and extensive interview with Hans Hoogervorst, the new IASB Chairman, while Robert Bruce, regular resident columnist for IAS Plus, provides an assessment of the prospects for change.
Hoogervorst talks of the need to strengthen the sense of ownership internationally in the IASB, in particular in Asia and Latin America. He emphasises the need for standards to be principle-based and rooted in economic reality. He talks of the problems of Other Comprehensive Income and the difficulties of the insurance industry. He says it is too early to tell whether outstanding differences with FASB over financial instruments can be resolved. And he is emphatic that 'ultimately there is only one accounting language. The world language is going to be IFRS', he said.
Robert Bruce argues that following the change in Chairmanship the fundamental qualities of independence, transparency and pragmatism will remain and with an emphasis on truly global objectives the embedding of IFRS securely around the world is likely to accelerate. But there are exceptionally difficult times ahead.
Click for:
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