General remarks

On moving to the new website, the IASB made several changes to the pre­sen­ta­tion of the work plan:

• The new format has gone back to in­di­cat­ing exact timing - by in­di­cat­ing the half year, quarter or even month a de­vel­op­ment is expected to occur. This is much to be lauded, since it makes tracking de­vel­op­ments (and progress and delay) much easier for users.
• The new work plan has slightly changed cat­e­gories: stan­dard-set­ting projects, main­te­nance projects, research projects, and other projects. Taxonomy projects have become "other"; post-im­ple­men­ta­tion reviews are now "research".
• The IASB has split up the annual im­prove­ment process into in­di­vid­ual "projects". Although the idea is still to treat certain im­prove­ments through the annual im­prove­ments process, it can no longer be traced on the face of the work plan whether a project is part of the annual im­prove­ment process and which cycle it belongs to. The ex­pec­ta­tion is that the IASB wants to allow itself more flex­i­bil­ity in deciding which im­prove­ment goes into which cycle.
• The IASB has stopped dating its work plan and there is no longer a PDF version of the work plan available. There a many minor changes between Board meetings (down to spelling) and to report on every little change would distract from the big picture. The intention is therefore to continue to analyze changes on a monthly basis i.e.,after each meeting.

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since the last update in May 2017. For this analysis, changes have been ignored where the "within three months" to "after six months" clas­si­fi­ca­tion trans­lated smoothly into the new format of fixed dates.

Stan­dard-set­ting projects

• Dis­clo­sure ini­tia­tive — Ma­te­ri­al­ity — both, the exposure draft on the de­f­i­n­i­tion of ma­te­ri­al­ity and the practice statement on ma­te­ri­al­ity, are now expected in September 2017 (was: June 2017)
• Changes in accounting policies and estimates — an exposure draft is now expected in September 2017 (was: June 2017)

Main­te­nance projects

• De­f­i­n­i­tion of a business — this project was to see a decision on the project direction within 3 months and will now see final amend­ments in H1 2018
• Clar­i­fi­ca­tions arising from the post-im­ple­men­ta­tion review of IFRS 8 — this project was to see a decision on the project direction after 6 months, however, as the next project step a feedback statement on the exposure draft in Q4 2017 has been inserted
• IFRS 9 — Pre­pay­ment features with negative com­pen­sa­tion — this project was to see a decision on the project direction within 3 months and will now see final amend­ments in Q4 2017
• IAS 16 — Proceeds before intended use — a feedback statement on the exposure draft is expected in Q4 2017

Research projects

• Goodwill and im­pair­ment — this project was to see a decision on the project direction after 6 months and will now see a dis­cus­sion paper in H1 2018
• Post-im­ple­men­ta­tion review — IFRS 13 — this project is now con­sid­ered a research project
• Post-im­ple­men­ta­tion review — IFRS 10-12 — this project is no longer appears in the IASB work plan (was supposed to be initiated after 6 months)
• Dis­clo­sure ini­tia­tive — Prin­ci­ples of dis­clo­sure — this project was to see a decision on the project direction after 6 months and will now see a feedback statement on the dis­cus­sion paper in H1 2018

Other projects

• proposed taxonomy update regarding common practice in con­nec­tion with IFRS 13 — expected in H1 2018
• proposed taxonomy update on IFRS 17 — this project was to see a final update is expected within six months, however, as the next project step a feedback statement on the proposed update in Q4 2017 has been inserted

The above is a faithful com­par­i­son of the IASB work plan at May 18, 2017 and at June 28, 2017. For access to the current IASB work plan at any time, please click here.

Some companies have shifted capital raising activities to the private markets, where many Main Street Americans have limited access. High-quality companies may choose to go public at a later stage, after much of their early growth has already been achieved. Other companies may choose to stay private. 

In his speech, Mr. Clayton remarks that under his direction and the direction of Bill Hinman, Director of the Division of Corporation Finance, the SEC staff is actively exploring ways in which they can improve the attractiveness of listing on our public markets, while maintaining important investor protections. He looks forward to hearing the views of the panelists – not only on the causes of the decline in IPO activity and the substantial decline in the number of public companies, but also on potential ways to reverse those trends. He expects that the Committee will have valuable recommendations on this topic.

Review the speech on the SEC's website.

The webinar — hosted by insurance contracts team members Joanna Yeoh and Andrea Pryde — discusses the scope of IFRS 17.

The webinar and slides are available on the IASB's website.

IAS 16 establishes principles for recognizing and measuring items of property, plant and equipment as assets.

The proposed amendments would prohibit deducting sales proceeds from the cost of an item of property, plant and equipment while that asset is being made available for use. Instead, the company would recognise those sales proceeds and related costs in profit or loss.

The proposed amendments are put forward following discussions of the IFRS Interpretations Committee on accounting for proceeds and costs of testing.

This Exposure Draft ED/2017/4 Property, Plant and Equipment—Proceeds before Intended Use (Proposed amendments to IAS 16) is open for comment until October 19, 2017.

Review the press release and Exposure Draft on the IASB's website.

Review the press release on the IASB's website.

The report makes the following points:

• Traditional paper-based reporting is still perceived by many as the principal form of communication;
• There are increasing demands for a range of information to be provided in corporate reports and companies seem willing to provide it; and
• This leads to fears that the traditional reports are becoming too long (information overload) and therefore less useful.

ICAEW suggests that inclusion of digital and technology specialists in reporting discussions could highlight opportunities for companies to use technology in reporting as part of the solution to this problem, which might consist of presenting additional information outside of the annual report, in a digital format that is user-friendly and easy to access.

ICAEW believes that it would important to address these problems as soon as possible as the demand for more access to information is likely to continue to grow. However, ICAEW also notes that there needs to be further research into the implications of digitalization and that key policy decisions on the issues would need to be taken if real progress is to be made in advancing the quality of corporate reporting.

Review the full report on the ICAEW's website.

Also, read our series on the future of corporate reporting:

• Exploring a new world — Part 1: Plotting the course
• Exploring a new world — Part 2: Beyond the status quo
• Exploring a new world — Part 3: Looking to the future
• Exploring a new world — Part 4: Raising the game

The report — prepared by the Chair of the IFRS Advisory Council, Joanna Perry — notes the following discussions:

• Financial stability and the IFRS Foundation — The presentation from the Secretary General of the Financial Stability Board and discussion related both to a macroeconomic perspective of financial stability and to the key role of financial reporting standards as a foundation of financial stability.
• Wider corporate reporting — The Council advised that it should be acknowledged that wider corporate reporting is becoming more important and that there is a role for the Board in this area although that role is not yet clear.
• Materiality — Advice on the communications strategy for the Materiality Practice Statement included that the Board should be cognizant of the significant extent to which financial statements are likely to require revision as a result of the practice statement and should consider the communications strategy as a promotion and marketing exercise.

The full report on the council’s April meeting is available on the IASB's website.

The new website follows a strict access to projects through the work plan. The work plan itself can be filtered by kind of project (research, standard-setting, maintenance) and by project name, project type and projects with documents that are open for comment. Under each project you can then filter for project stage, news, meeting notes, published documents etc.

Here is a list of links to the most frequently sought after sub pages on the IASB's website:

• Homepage (same address as before)
• IASB structure and bodies (overview with links)
• IASB consultative groups (overview with links)
• News
• Work plan (with access to all project information)
• List of issued standards (degree of access is determined by registration/subscription)
• Translations of standards

For historical information, the IASB has also set up an archive. However, that archived information will not be updated anymore and it is not clear how long the archive will remain available.

The IASB has currently set a 2014 cut-off date for its new website.

With the IASB moving to a completely restructured website, most of the links and bookmarks you have saved will be broken. We have replaced our links with links to the IASB archive for all historical information. However, on the both sites you might come across broken links.

Review the IASB press release and the 'getting started' page, which will give you more information about how to use and navigate the new site.

The IASB completed redeliberations of the May 2015 Exposure Drafts in March 2017 and expects to publish the revised Conceptual Framework in the second half of 2017.

Review the press release and the decision summary on the IASB's website.

The publication of the Practice Statement and the Exposure Draft, Definition of Materiality will be postponed until after the sweep issues have been discussed by the Board.

The Exposure Draft proposes minor amendments to IAS 1, Presentation of Financial Statements and IAS 8, Accounting Policies, Changes in Accounting Estimates and Errors.

Review the press release on the IASB's website.