While approval was unanimous in the end, questions of DPOC members included if the IASB had been slow in developing the proposed amendment and what timeframe the IASB had in mind when declaring the proposed exemption would be "temporary".

The IASB Chair explained that the IASB rather than being slow to react had in fact been as fast as possible. While the OECD released the rules in December 2021, the IASB had little alternative to monitoring developments until jurisdictions began implementing them. The developments suddenly picked up speed and the IASB reacted by, in one meeting only, discussing the required amendments holistically and developing the proposals.

The dependency on external developments also became clear in the answer regarding the meaning of "temporary" - until jurisdictions have finished implementing the rules, the IASB cannot consider the implications. The IASB Chair acknowledged, however, that it might be a good idea to consider including a review clause when finalising the amendments around the temporary exemption- to keep the perceived "vacuum" of information as short as possible.

While DPOC members finally agreed to shortening the comment period from 120 to 60 days ("a short, but sufficient comment letter period"), they also stressed that their decision was supported by the fact that the IASB's proposed amendments would help the OECD in getting the Pillar Two rules implemented in jurisdictions.

Listen to a recording of the session on the IASB's website.

At least once a year, public companies have to disclose the amount of cash taxes they pay. They must also provide their total pretax net income for U.S. and foreign operations, as well as their tax expense or benefit. But businesses don’t have to break out their tax and profit data by country. Companies must also disclose their effective tax rate, or the ratio between their tax expense and their pretax income.

Under Wednesday’s proposal, both public and private companies would have to break out the income taxes paid to authorities at the federal, state and foreign levels for the year to date in both their quarterly and annual financial reports. If a particular jurisdiction represented more than 5% of these taxes for the year to date, businesses would need to specify that amount in their financial reports.

The proposal would also require public companies to share more detail on how they reconcile their domestic statutory rate with the rate they actually paid. Businesses would also have to present a table showing how categories such as state and local income taxes, foreign taxes, tax credits and the enactment of new tax laws contribute to the difference between the two rates—the statutory rate and the actual one—by providing the percentages and dollar amounts.

Review the full article.

Ms. Mezon-Hutter was appointed IASB Board member in September 2022. Before that, she served as a member, Vice-Chair and ultimately Chair of the Canadian Accounting Standards Board (AcSB). She has also served on the IASB’s Accounting Standards Advisory Forum. Before joining the AcSB, Mezon-Hutter served as the Chief Accountant at Royal Bank of Canada.

Effective January 1, 2023, this appointment comes at a pivotal time as connectivity between accounting and sustainability disclosure standards is built – both globally and in Canada.

Review the press release on the IASB's website.

The IPTF's discussion document for the 9 November 2022 meeting is now available and states the following view of the Task Force:

Countries with three-year cumulative inflation rates exceeding 100%:

• Argentina
• Ethiopia
• Iran
• Lebanon
• South Sudan
• Sudan
• Suriname
• Turkey
• Venezuela
• Yemen
• Zimbabwe

Countries with projected three-year cumulative inflation rates exceeding 100%:

There are no countries in this category for this period.

Countries where the three-year cumulative inflation rates had exceeded 100% in recent years:

There are no countries in this category for this period.

Countries with recent three-year cumulative inflation rates exceeding 100% after a spike in inflation in a discrete period:

There are no countries in this category for this period.

Countries with projected three-year cumulative inflation rates between 70% and 100% or with a significant (25% or more) increase in inflation during the current period

• Angola
• Ghana (new entry)
• Haiti
• Moldova (new entry)
• Sierra Leone (new entry)
• Sri Lanka (new entry)
• Ukraine (new entry)

The IPTF also notes that there may be additional countries with three-year cumulative inflation rates exceeding 100% or that should be monitored which are not included in the analysis as the necessary data is not available. Examples cited are Afghanistan and Syria.

Review the full list, including exact numbers, detailed explanations of the calculation of the numbers, and observations of the Task Force on the CAQ's website.

The recent failures of several companies involved in crypto-asset activities may signal a need for companies engaged in crypto-asset activities to reassess the adequacy of their financial statement disclosures. Preparers may not always consider the need to provide additional disclosures beyond the specific disclosure requirements in IFRS Accounting Standards. Additional disclosures are needed when the accounting and minimum disclosures required do not enable the users of financial statements to understand the impact of particular transactions, other events, and/or conditions on the company’s financial position and performance.

Review the publication on the AcSB's website.

In the first part of his speech, Mr. Barckow looked back over the 21 years of collaboration between IASB and EFRAG and called them "21 years of shared success". When, in 2002, Europe adopted the IAS Regulation requiring companies listed on regulated securities markets to prepare their consolidated financial statements in accordance with International Accounting Standards from 2005 onwards this encouraged most of the rest of the world to follow suit. Mr. Barckow pointed out that, therefore, the IASB's success is also Europe’s success.

Mr. Barckow also noted EFRAG’s ongoing contribution to the technical work of the IASB and praised it as being well informed and immensely helpful. He noted that at times EFRAG may bring different perspectives to the table than does the IASB, but be also stressed that the discussions and debates have always been conducted with the aim of enhancing financial reporting and over the years the IASB and EFRAG have collectively resolved many reporting challenges.

In the second part of his speech, Mr. Barckow looked at the future. He noted as key priority for both the IASB and EFRAG the necessity to balance the varied needs of a wide range of stakeholders. The standard setters need to carefully choose areas to concentrate on and to be mindful of stakeholders’ capacity to cope with changes. As overall aim of the collaboration between the IASB and EFRAG Mr. Barckow stressed "maintaining and further enhancing a global financial reporting language and [...] fostering one global capital market".

Mr. Barckow's overall message at EFRAG's 21^st anniversary conference was:

The IASB and EFRAG certainly have a special relationship. It spans many years of collaboration, debate and discussion. We have always shared a common goal, regardless of our stances on various matters. That goal is to create a global passport in financial reporting for multinational companies — with EFRAG from an EU perspective, and the IASB as the international standard-setter.

Review the full speech on the IASB's website.

Review the video and the IFRS 17 supporting materials webpage on the IASB's website.

The project report and feedback statement provides the IASB’s conclusions on the PIR which included the following:

• “stakeholders have no fundamental questions about the clarity or suitability of the objectives or principles in the new requirements.
• “in general, the requirements can be applied consistently and provide useful information to the users of financial statements. However, clarification is needed in some areas to improve the understandability of the requirements.”
• “stakeholders encounter no unexpected costs when applying or enforcing the classification and measurement requirements of IFRS 9, nor when using or auditing information the Accounting Standard requires a company to provide.”

In addition, the IASB has identified two issues that will need further research. These issues are:

• “the assessment of the contractual cash flow characteristics of financial assets with ESG-linked features.”
• “electronic cash transfers as settlement of a financial asset or liability.”

Review the press release and report on the IASB's website.

The IPSASB’s immediate action will be to establish a Sustainability Task Force to lead the first critical phase of research and scoping. The Board’s prioritised research topics are:

• General requirements for disclosure of sustainability-related financial information,
• Climate-related disclosures, and
• Natural resources – Non-financial disclosures.

Review the press release on the IPSASB's website.

Dr. Barckow began his speech by discussing convergence between the IASB and FASB standards. He discussed that there are two angles related to convergence: product-related view (compatibility of standards) and process-related view (maintenance). He noted that by ‘bringing the two boards together for education and information-sharing sessions, by talking regularly to our colleagues at FASB at all levels, and by alerting each other of new information and developments arising’, the IASB and FASB can continue to keep their converged standards converged.

Next, Dr. Barckow highlighted areas that the IASB will focus on over the next five years. This includes finalizing current projects in its work plan, working with the ISSB to make sure both boards collaborate where possible, and three new projects on intangible assets, statement of cash flows, and climate-related risks. In addition, he discussed why a project on cryptocurrencies was not added to the work plan but suggested that the IASB will continue to monitor any developments in this area and connect with the FASB on their project.

Review the full speech on the IASB’s website.