The interpretive guidance will “assist companies in their efforts to comply with the pay ratio disclosure requirement mandated by Section 953(b) of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act.” In addition, the SEC’s staff has issued guidance on the pay ratio rule that includes “hypothetical examples of use of sampling and other reasonable methodologies.”

He spoke exclusively to Dimensions about the SEC's commitment to XBRL, examples of how XBRL is proving beneficial to the SEC, data quality concerns and more.

Review the speech on the Merrill Corporation's website.

The study notes that the potential benefits of using structured data have not been realized yet, even though the use of such data can potentially improve the way financial information can be consumed by investors, regulators, and other users. The authors argue that this is primarily the case because companies mainly see structured data and reporting as a cost burden.

Therefore, the study looks first at what companies are saying about the costs associated with their XBRL filings and then goes through several case studies to demonstrate how, with proper implementation, companies can benefit from structured data. The authors conclude that if companies:

• bring structured reporting in-house instead of using outside vendors to prepare their regulatory filings,
• implement inline XBRL so that the data is both human and machine readable, and
• curtail the use of company-specific tags

they can reduce costs, allowing both companies and users to benefit from structured reporting.

Review the full study on the CFA Institute's website.

The topics covered during the meeting were the following:

• Disclosure initiative — Principles of disclosure
• Goodwill and impairment
• Accounting policy changes
• Post-implementation review of IFRS 13
• Primary financial statements
• Property, plant and equipment
• Project updates and agenda planning
• Wider corporate reporting
• Amendments to IFRS 8 and IAS 34
• Rate-regulated activities

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

The report notes that by mid-2017 there were 32 stock exchanges providing formal guidance to issuers on reporting environmental, social, and governance (ESG) information and that stock exchanges, through their ability to influence the reporting behaviour of their listed entities, are successfully generating a rapid uptake in sustainability disclosure.

Review the report on the WFE's website.

The top 10 issues include:

Corporate Reporting

• Member preparedness for implementation of new complex financial reporting requirements
• Continued evolution to a more challenging and demanding reporting environment in a cost-conscious world:
• Corporate reporting — More than accounting

Governance and Risk

• Ensuring governance keeps pace with growth and improving risk management capabilities/practices
• Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility and ESG:

Treasury and Capital Markets

• Cash flow best practices, treasury risks, and raising money/financing

Taxation

• Income tax simplification

Information Technology

• Cybersecurity and business continuity
• Disruption through digital transformation and block chain technology
• Data analytics and big data

Review the publication on the FEI Canada's website.

Below is an analysis of all changes made to the work plan since our last analysis on July 21, 2017.

Standard-setting projects

• Conceptual Framework — the revised version of the Conceptual Framework is now expected in the first quarter of 2018 (was: fourth quarter of 2017)
• Disclosure initiative — Materiality — an ED on the definition of materiality and a practice statement on materiality were issued on 14 September; accordingly, the project on the practice statement was removed from the work plan; the ED is open for comment until 15 January 2018

Maintenance project

• Changes in accounting policies and estimates — the work plan reflects that the ED has been published
• Annual improvements 2015-2017 — final amendments are now expected in December 2017
• Clarifications arising from the post-implementation review of IFRS 8 — a feedback statement on the ED is expected in December 2017 (was: Q4 2017)I
• IAS 19 — Remeasurement at a plan amendment, curtailment or settlement — final amendments are now expected in December 2017 (was: first half of 2018)
• IAS 16 — Proceeds before intended use — a feedback statement on the ED is expected in December 2017

Research projects

• Business Combinations under Common Control — a discussion paper is now expected in the second half of 2018 (was: first half of 2018))
• Financial instruments with characteristics of equity — a discussion paper is now expected in the first half of 2018
• Post-implementation review — IFRS 13 — a feedback statement on the PIR is expected in December 2017

Other projects

• IFRS Taxonomy update for IFRS 17 — now expected in December 2017

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