At its meeting on December 11, 2019, the AcSB received an update on research activities on related party combinations. This included a summary of the input from the Related Party Combinations Working Group and feedback from the PEAC. The AcSB decided to consult with users to further understand their information needs when a related party combination occurs. The AcSB discussed the merits of amending the guidance in Section 1582, Business Combinations, relating to the definition of a business to assist stakeholders in determining whether a related party combination involves a business or a group of assets.

In particular, the Board considered whether the definition of a business should be addressed concurrently with the Related Party Combinations project or as a standalone project. The Board decided to consider the definition of a business as part of its other domestic standards priorities as these projects are not interdependent. The AcSB further considered PEAC’s recommendation to clarify the definition of a related party. The Board decided that clarifying the definition of a related party is beyond the scope of this project and, therefore, will not be considered at this time. The AcSB will discuss additional research on this project at its March 2020 meeting.

Review the Executive Summary on the AcSB's Web site.