The con­fer­ence will include an update by the IASB as well as its future plans. It will also have technical break-out sessions on IFRS 16, financial instruments with characteristics of equity, conceptual framework, primary financial statements, and rate-regulated activities.

For more information, see the conference page on the IASB’s website.

The Pocket Guide to IFRS Standards: the global financial reporting language can be downloaded free of charge from the IASB's website.

For more information, see the press release on the IASB's website.

Mr. Clayton was nominated by then-President-elect Donald Trump on January 4, 2017. Mr. Clayton replaces acting chairman Michael Piwowar, who has led the SEC since previous chair Mary Jo White’s resignation became effective in January 2017.

Mr. Clayton’s term will end on June 5, 2021. He is expected to be sworn in as soon as Thursday, May 4, 2017.

For more information, see the press release on the SEC's website.”

The call for research seeks applications to undertake a literature review, bringing together the existing academic literature on the effect of implementation of IFRS 13, Fair Value Measurement. The IASB expects to receive a full literature review and a summary, which highlight findings in the existing literature as they relate to the areas of focus in the Board’s PIR of IFRS 13.

Review the call for applications on the IASB's website.

The responses to ED/2017/3 seem to fall into three major categories:

• Those who believe that there never was an issue with IFRS 9;
• Those who believe that changes to IFRS 9 are needed, but the approach is wrong/might have unintended consequences; and
• Those who believe that changes to IFRS 9 might be warranted, but the timing is wrong.

The IASB is in the process of posting all responses to the exposure draft to its website.

Review the comment letters on the IASB's website.

In his speech, Mr. Bricker placed emphasis on controls and procedures around “other reporting” such as operating metrics and forecasts. His view is that companies have to be wary as they move beyond non-GAAP measures to report other kinds of supplemental information investors are interested in seeing.

Review the speech on the SEC's website.

The authors of the study found that companies still invested for the long term even after they were required to start reporting on a quarterly basis.

The new CFA Institute Research Foundation brief “Impact of Reporting Frequency on UK Public Companies” examines the time period between 2007, when UK regulators began requiring quarterly reports from companies, to 2014, when they dropped that requirement. They found several effects associated with the two different approaches to reporting frequency.

Effect of Requiring and Not Requiring Quarterly Reporting

• No difference in long-term investment activity
• Quarterly reports became more qualitative than quantitative
• More companies issued managerial guidance
• Analyst coverage increased

Policy Recommendations

• Going from quarterly to semi-annual reporting does not combat “short-termism”
• Quarterly reports should be streamlined and include relevant metrics

Review the article on the CFA Institute's website.

The topics discussed at the meeting included:

• Primary financial statements
• Rate-regulated activities
• Clarifications to IFRS 8 arising from the post-implementation review
• IFRS 3, Business Combinations: Definition of a business
• Disclosure Initiative — outreach planning for the Disclosure Initiative — Principles of Disclosure discussion paper and case studies
• Education session — insurance contracts

Review the meeting page and the meeting summary on the IASB's website.

The world of insurance has always been a difficult one for financial reporting. People talked of patchwork quilts and of black boxes. No one could quite see the proper picture, and comparability was difficult. All this dated back to the dawn of time, or at least twenty years ago. Everything had been stitched together or grandfathered into what was IFRS 4. Now we have IFRS 17. And as from accounting periods starting from January 1, 2021 that is what the industry, and investors, will have to deal with. Insurers will put old practices aside and apply the same rules and so this should be an aid to comparability. Whereas the old system was most definitely an obstacle to comparability.

It will be a big change to implement. But early planning for what is to come will make life easier in the long-term. Rather like insurance.

Review the entire column on our Global IAS Plus website.

The <IR> framework has become widely adopted and the UK’s guidance on the concept of a strategic report is seen as mainstream. In Hans Hoogervorst’s words: "They put more emphasis on interconnectivity among elements of an integrated report’" They look at "how developments in the external environment have affected a company’s business model and strategy’" he said. It is time for change. Now more than ever people need integrated reporting-style reporting.

Read the entire column on our Global IAS Plus site.