To ensure that all Canadians pay their fair share of taxes, and to safeguard the Government's ability to invest in the programs and services that help the middle class and people working hard to join it, the Government of Canada is taking the next step in the fight against aggressive international tax avoidance.

Review the press release on the Department of Finance Canada's website.

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since our last analysis on April 30, 2018.

Maintenance project

• Classification of Liabilities (Proposed Amendments to IAS 1) [ED] – The IASB now expects to decide the project direction in Q3/2018. Previously the final amendments to IAS 1 were to have been issued in the second half of 2018.
• Definition of a Business, proposed amendments to IFRS 3 [ED] – The IASB now expects to issue the final amendments to IFRS 3 in the second half of 2018. Previously they were to have been issued in June 2018.
• Lease in­cen­tives (amend­ments to IFRS 16 Il­lus­tra­tive Ex­am­ples) — Added pro­ject to work plan as part of the Annual Improvements to IFRSs 2017-2019 Cycle [Research]; previously no mile­stone or ex­pected date was listed.

Research project

• Discount Rates [Research] – The IASB now expects to issue the research summary in Q3/2018. Previously it was to have been issued in June 2018.
• Goodwill and Impairment [Research]  - The IASB has removed the expected date of issuing a discussion paper or exposure draft. Previously the date was shown as the second half of 2018.
• Management Commentary (Wider corporate reporting) [Research] – The IASB now expects to issue an exposure draft in 2020. Previously no expected date was listed.
• Share-based payments, potential amendments to IFRS 2 [Completed] – The IASN now expects to issue a research summary in Q3/2018. Previously it was to have been issued in June 2018.

Other pro­jects

• IFRS Taxonomy Update – Common Practice (IFRS 13) – The IASB now expects to issue the proposed update in Q3/2018. Previously, it was to have been issued in June 2018.

The re­vised IASB work plan is avail­able on the Board's web­site.

The topics discussed at this meeting include:

• Contract boundary for premium allocation approach
• Reinsurance contract boundary
• Educational materials
• Boundary of reinsurance contracts held with repricing mechanisms
• Combination of insurance contracts
• Determining the risk adjustment for non-financial risk in a group of entities
• Cash flows within the contract boundary
• Determining the quantity of benefits for identifying coverage units
• Implementation -challenges outreach report
• Reporting on other questions submitted to the IASB Transition Resource Group for IFRS 17

Review the summary on the AcSB's website.

CSA staff will undertake initiatives to codify exemptive relief that is routinely granted, and to use web-based technology to provide certain information about investment funds. Other areas of focus include the removal of redundant information in select disclosure documents and minimizing the filing of documents that may contain duplicative information, such as Personal Information Forms. The CSA anticipates publishing proposed rule amendments for comment, as appropriate, to address these initiatives by March 2019.

The proposed four initiatives are part of the CSA Rationalization of Investment Fund Disclosure project, which was established in 2017. This project identifies opportunities for reducing regulatory burden for investment fund issuers. To identify the focus areas for the project, staff conducted a comprehensive review of the current investment fund disclosure regime. Other efforts that helped inform the proposals included evaluating disclosure elements borrowed from the non-investment fund reporting issuer regime, gathering information on relevant regulatory reforms conducted by other regulators internationally, and receiving feedback from stakeholders.

Review the press release on the CSA's website and the Staff Notice on the CSA members' website.

Discussion points included:

• Professional Skepticism
• Non-assurance Services
• Future SWP
• Inducements
• Fees
• Technology and Innovation
• eCode
• Rollout Initiatives Restructured Code

Review the highlights and the podcast on the IESBA's Web site.

Few, if any, analysts have questioned financial executives about their lease plans during the Q&A sessions of recent earning calls, where a majority of the accounting discussions revolved around revenue recognition issues.

And even once implementation begins in earnest as the 2019 deadline grows nearer, equity analysts admit they see fewer ramifications on their buy/sell decisions and models.

Review the full article on FEI's website and an article on how companies are still unprepared for leasing standard on Accounting Today's website.

On April 24, 2018, the SEC announced that Altaba Inc. had agreed to pay a USD$35 million penalty to settle disclosure charges relating to a December 2014 cyberincident. Altaba settled without admitting or denying any wrongdoing. Among other things, the SEC settlement noted:

• Altaba failed to properly investigate the circumstances of the breach.
• Altaba did not share information regarding the breach with its auditors or outside counsel in order to assess the company’s disclosure obligations in its public filings.
• Altaba did not include information regarding the breach in its quarterly or annual public filings in 2015 or 2016 even though it learned that cyberattack attempts by the same hackers continued.

Review the full article on McCarthy Tetrault's website.

In response to regulatory and other stakeholder feedback on the topic, the paper explores:

1. The behavioral characteristics comprised in professional skepticism;
2. Whether all professional accountants should apply these behavioral characteristics; and
3. Whether the International Code of Ethics for Professional Accountants (including International Independence Standards) should be further developed to address behaviors associated with the exercise of appropriate professional skepticism.

Through this initiative, the IESBA also aims to reinforce the effective exercise of professional skepticism by auditors.

The consultation paper was developed following close coordination with the International Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (IAASB) and the International Accounting Education Standards Board (IAESB), and with advice from the IESBA Consultative Advisory Group.

Review the press release and consultation paper on the IESBA's website.

The article is intended to provide a non-exhaustive, high-level comparison between: (i) the GDPR; (ii) Canada's Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA); together with (iii) the Personal Information Protection Acts of Alberta and British Columbia (collectively, the PIPAs).

Review the article on Bennett Jones' website.

The proposed amendments would introduce a new threshold that requires a company to consider the expected benefits to users of financial statements and the cost to the company of applying accounting policy changes that result from IFRS Interpretation Committee agenda decisions retrospectively.

Review the press release and the overview on the Board's website.