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.

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.

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

In this podcast, Sue provides an overview of implementation and maintenance activities discussed at the May Board meeting – including the IFRIC Interpretation on IAS 12, Income Taxes and an upcoming amendment to IAS 28, Investments in Associates and Joint Ventures. She also talks about the ongoing Post-implementation Review of IFRS 13, the fair value measurement Standard.

Darrel provides an overview of IFRS 17, which was issued in May, before Sue summarises some of the other activity during the month – including the activities during the Trustees meeting in Tokyo, Japan, and a new agreement the IFRS Foundation has signed with the World Bank.

Listen to the podcast 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.

Content of IFRC 23

Scope

The interpretation is to be applied to the determination of taxable profit (tax loss), tax bases, unused tax losses, unused tax credits and tax rates, when there is uncertainty over income tax treatments under IAS 12.

Issues and consensus

Whether tax treatments should be considered collectively

An entity is required to use judgement to determine whether each tax treatment should be considered independently or whether some tax treatments should be considered together. The decision should be based on which approach provides better predictions of the resolution of the uncertainty.

Assumptions for taxation authorities' examinations

An entity is to assume that a taxation authority with the right to examine any amounts reported to it will examine those amounts and will have full knowledge of all relevant information when doing so.

Determination of taxable profit (tax loss), tax bases, unused tax losses, unused tax credits and tax rates

An entity has to consider whether it is probable that the relevant authority will accept each tax treatment, or group of tax treatments, that it used or plans to use in its income tax filing.

• If the entity concludes that it is probable that a particular tax treatment is accepted, the entity has to determine taxable profit (tax loss), tax bases, unused tax losses, unused tax credits or tax rates consistently with the tax treatment included in its income tax filings.
• If the entity concludes that it is not probable that a particular tax treatment is accepted, the entity has to use the most likely amount or the expected value of the tax treatment when determining taxable profit (tax loss), tax bases, unused tax losses, unused tax credits and tax rates. The decision should be based on which method provides better predictions of the resolution of the uncertainty.

Effect of changes in facts and circumstances

An entity has to reassess its judgments and estimates if facts and circumstances change.

Disclosures

The interpretation does not contain any new disclosure requirements. Instead it highlights existing disclosure requirements in IAS 1 and IAS 12.

Effective date and transition

An entity applies IFRIC 23 for annual reporting periods beginning on or after January 1, 2019. Earlier application is permitted.

The requirements are applied by recognizing the cumulative effect of initially applying them in retained earnings, or in other appropriate components of equity, at the start of the reporting period in which an entity first applies them, without adjusting comparative information. Full retrospective application is permitted, if an entity can do so without using hindsight.

Review the press release on the IASB's website.

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 AcSB stated that it is taking a phased approach to adding non-authoritative material issued by the IASB to the Handbook.

CPA Canada Standards and Guidance Collection is available to members on knotia.ca.

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.

There is a time when every­thing suddenly comes into focus. This is what appears to be happening in the field of social and human capital accounting. The business benefits are becoming clear and the practical ways to achieve them are moving into the main­stream. Social and human capitals are, in­evitably, seen as more sub­jec­tive than other capitals like financial, natural and man­u­fac­tured capitals. It was always going to take more time before they reached broad ac­cep­tance and ease of practical usage. But the launch and pub­li­ca­tion of the CFO Lead­er­ship Network’s Essential Guide to Social and Human Capital Accounting, under the aegis of the Prince of Wales’ Accounting for Sus­tain­abil­ity project, looks to be the long-awaited catalyst. It provides the tools and the guidance but, more im­por­tantly, it details case studies of what busi­nesses have already achieved. This is the body of practical ex­pe­ri­ence that or­gan­i­za­tions and business need.

It is a question of recog­niz­ing the role of social and human capital accounting, measuring its effects, and bringing it forward into de­ci­sion-mak­ing. Done properly this creates a rev­o­lu­tion. Pre­vi­ously unseen figures and factors change the thinking around a business. Examples abound in the Guide. British Land tackled skill shortages. National Grid invested in employee wellbeing and found that for every £1 invested it was getting back more than £2 return in reduced sickness absence costs. The Crown Estate set up a part­ner­ship to help job­seek­ers into sus­tain­able em­ploy­ment. It produced some £40m of societal value through savings on welfare and tax credits, increased tax and national insurance payments, and boosting local economies. All of these came from looking at the business from a different stand­point, through a new lens.

Read the entire column on our Global IAS Plus website.

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.