At the AcSOC meeting on February 21-22, 2019, the PSAB Chair advised that there had been a record high response rate of a total of 200 respondents for the Statement of Concepts and the Statement of Principles concept papers. A preliminary review of the feedback received indicated that there are diverse views on the proposals and a variety of issues raised that need to be considered to ensure acceptance of the new Conceptual Framework and Reporting Model.

During the year, PSAB will receive regular updates from its Concepts Underlying Financial Performance Task Force, which will further analyze the feedback received and will begin developing the exposure drafts, the bases of conclusions, and the proposed consequential amendments for the new Conceptual Framework and Reporting Model. In response to questions, the PSAB Chair informed the AcSOC that he hopes that PSAB will be able to release an exposure draft in the upcoming year, especially given that the Task Force will meet quarterly.

Review the meeting summary on the AcSOC's Web site.

At the AcSOC meeting on February 21-22, 2019, the PSAB Chair advised that there had been a record high response rate of a total of 200 respondents for the Statement of Concepts and the Statement of Principles concept papers. A preliminary review of the feedback received indicated that there are diverse views on the proposals and a variety of issues raised that need to be considered to ensure acceptance of the new Conceptual Framework and Reporting Model.

During the year, PSAB will receive regular updates from its Concepts Underlying Financial Performance Task Force, which will further analyze the feedback received and will begin developing the exposure drafts, the bases of conclusions, and the proposed consequential amendments for the new Conceptual Framework and Reporting Model. In response to questions, the PSAB Chair informed the AcSOC that he hopes that PSAB will be able to release an exposure draft in the upcoming year, especially given that the Task Force will meet quarterly.

Review the meeting summary on the AcSOC's Web site.

At the AcSOC meeting on February 21-22, 2019, the PSAB Chair advised that the third ITC, Employment Benefits: Non-traditional Pension Plans, had been issued on October 19, 2018 with a comment period end-date of February 1, 2019. He noted that Canada is at the forefront of non-traditional pension plans. These are plans that involve employers sharing different degrees of risk related pension benefits with other parties, including employees and other employers. 60 comment letters were received as of February 7, 2019 and further responses are expected because some stakeholders (including actuaries, pension plans and unions) have requested extensions of the comment deadline. Comments received indicate diverse views from different stakeholder groups.

The Employment Benefits Task Force is expected to meet quarterly in 2019-2020 to deliberate responses for the three ITCs that were issued. PSAB intends to review the draft Statement of Principles for Employment Benefits in March 2020. In response to questions, the PSAB Chair said that he shares the same concern in terms of the time-to-market issue. He also noted that he had several discussions with the PSAB Director and the Employment Benefits Task Force Chair to expedite the process in finalizing the standard.

Review the meeting summary on the AcSOC's Web site.

At the AcSOC meeting on February 21-22, 2019, re IFRS 17, the AcSB Chair noted that the AcSB is focused on the status of global and Canadian implementation. The Chair holds monthly calls with an IASB board member, who is also the official board advisor on the Insurance project, to receive updates on the Insurance standard. The AcSB Chair and the AcSB staff also hold regular calls with the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group and other national standard setters to receive updates on their respective endorsement processes. The AcSB Chair informed the AcSOC that the IASB is considering amendments to IFRS 17 based on stakeholder feedback, including those highlighted by Canadian stakeholders.

The IASB plans to issue an exposure draft by the end of the second quarter of 2019. Also, with regards to mutual entities, the AcSB Chair informed the AcSOC that mutual entities’ laws and regulations differ across jurisdictions. Canadian mutual entities are smaller in size and are formed under different legislation. The new IFRS 17 can be read to require the surplus in these entities to be treated as a liability whereas the Canadian mutual entities argue that it should be treated as part of equity. The AcSB has signaled to the IASB that it believes that the matter needs to be determined based on the underlying legal requirements for these entities. The AcSB will continue to meet with mutual entities to determine if the underlying support of the surplus would in fact be treated as a liability.

Review the meeting summary on the AcSOC's Web site.