January 2021

AcSB issues updated Covid-19 resource on assessing going concern

Jan 06, 2021

On January 6, 2021, the Ac­count­ing Stan­dards Board (AcSB) issued an Updated Covid-19 Resource in respect of Assessing Going Concern and Liquidity Risk under IFRSs.

Re­view the updated resource on the AcSB's web­site.

AcSB Response – Business Combinations—Disclosures, Goodwill and Impairment

Jan 13, 2021

On January 13, 2021, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) published the comment letter submitted by the Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) in response to its Discussion Paper issued in March 2020. The IASB’s proposals are aimed improving the accounting for goodwill and enhancing the relevance of information about acquisitions.

While the AcSB is supportive of the IASB’s objectives in developing the Discussion Paper, they encourage the IASB to consider areas where additional guidance is needed to address possible application challenges that may arise, should it decide to advance the proposals in the Discussion Paper. Their suggestions are made in order to strike an appropriate balance between users’ needs for better information about acquisitions, the effort and level of professional judgment required of preparers to generate that information, and the interaction of the proposals as a package of views.

Review the comment letter on the IASB's website.

Blockchain and cryptoassets – Insights from practice

Jan 20, 2021

Linda Mezon, Accounting Standards Board Chair, and Ken Charbonneau, Auditing and Assurance Standards Board Chair, and other leaders from Canadian practice share their insights, on how they are getting involved to support business and protect the public interest in a blockchain enabled world.

These leaders share the challenges and opportunities they see, and the role accountants can play, including how educators and researchers can help.

Read their insights in the CAAA’s journal Accounting Perspectives’ special issue on Blockchain and Cryptoassets, Vol.19, Issue 4.

Board and Oversight Council responses to IFRS sustainability consultation paper

Jan 21, 2021

On January 21, 2021, the Accounting Standards Board (AcSB), Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB), Public Sector Accounting Board (PSAB) and Auditing and Assurance Standards Oversight Council/Accounting Standards Oversight Council (AcSOC/AASOC) released their comment letters responding to the IFRS Foundation Trustees Consultation Paper on Sustainability Reporting.

The letters responded to its Consultation Paper on Sustainability Reporting, which sought to assess demand for global sustainability reporting standards. The Trustees’ proposals included creating an international sustainability standards board and focusing initially on climate-related financial disclosures.

Review the article with key takeaways from the comment letters submitted by Canadian standards Boards and Councils.

Review the full comment letters:

Close call going concern assessments

Jan 25, 2021

On January 25, 2021, the Accounting Standards Board (AcSB) and Auditing and Assurance Standards Board (AASB) issued this joint resource on accounting and auditing considerations relating to close call going concern assessments.

Did you conclude that your company did not have material uncertainties associated with its ability to continue as a going concern? Would small changes to the assumptions you used change that assessment?

COVID-19 continues to impact Canada and the world. Some companies have closed or experienced declines in their operations, which may cast significant doubt on their ability to continue as a going concern. When preparing their financial statements, management needs to assess whether there are material uncertainties about the company’s ability to continue as a going concern. This assessment will involve the use of judgment and numerous assumptions to support management’s conclusion.

Sometimes management’s current assumptions may result in the determination that there are no material uncertainties that the company will continue as a going concern. However, small changes to these assumptions may give rise to the determination that there are material uncertainties. In these situations, management should consider the disclosure requirements in paragraph IAS 1.122 associated with the judgments used when preparing the company’s going concern assessment.

If the financial statements are subject to audit, the auditor will need to consider the adequacy of disclosures included in the financial statements and the audit reporting implications.

Review the press release and resource on the AcSB's website.

Consultation paper on international financial reporting by non-profit organizations

Jan 28, 2021

On January 28, 2021, The International Financial Reporting for Non-Profit Organisations (IFR4NPO), an initiative to develop the first internationally applicable financial reporting guidance for non-profit organizations, published a consultation paper to give non-profit organizations the opportunity to contribute to the development of the guidance for their sector.

The guidance will apply to the unique sector-specific aspects of the annual general purpose financial reports, considering accounting issues as well as narrative reports that accompany financial statements. It will improve the clarity and consistency of non-profit organizations' financial reports, resulting in greater credibility and trust in the not-for-profit sector globally. The International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) and the International Public Sector Accounting Standards Board (IPSASB) are aware and actively observing the development process.

The consultation paper has two parts:

  • PART 1: General NPO financial reporting issues
  • PART 2: NPO-specific financial reporting issues

Comments on part 1 are requested by July 30, 2021, on part 2 by September 24, 2021.

Review additional information on the IFR4NPO's website:

Deloitte Global launches enhanced IFRS e-learning website

Jan 15, 2021

We are pleased to announce a major redesign to our Global IFRS e-learning platform. The site allows external users to complete over 40 of Deloitte’s IFRS e-learnings free of charge with 6 million+ uses in recent years.

Deloitte Global has developed its high quality e-learning modules to help users develop their knowledge and application of the basic principles and concepts of IFRS and IAS Standards. Our e-learning on IFRS has been a leading educational and training resource on IFRS since it was initially released in 2004, with a range of corporate, educational and professional organizations using the content as their primary tool for IFRS education.

Access our redesigned and enhanced e-learning platform here. Of course you can also continue to access the individual modules through the IAS Plus e-learning page.

Educational material on going concern requirements

Jan 13, 2021

On January 13, 2021, the IFRS Foundation issued educational material, "Going concern — a focus on disclosure", which intends to supports companies in its implementation of the requirements related to the preparation of financial statements using IFRS Standards on a going concern basis.

IAS 1 requires management to make an assessment of an entity's ability to continue as a going concern. If management has significant concerns about the entity's ability to continue as a going concern, the uncertainties must be disclosed. In the current stressed economic environment arising from the covid-19 pandemic, deciding whether the financial statements should be prepared on a going concern basis may involve a greater degree of judgement than usual.

Review the press release and publication on the IASB’s website.

Hyperinflationary economies - updated IPTF watch list available

Jan 06, 2021

IAS 29 'Financial Reporting in Hy­per­in­fla­tion­ary Economies' defines and provides general guidance for assessing whether a par­tic­u­lar ju­ris­dic­tion's economy is hy­per­in­fla­tion­ary. But the IASB does not identify specific ju­ris­dic­tions. The International Practices Task Force (IPTF) of the Centre for Audit Quality (CAQ) monitors the status of 'highly in­fla­tion­ary' countries. The Task Force's criteria for iden­ti­fy­ing such countries are similar to those for iden­ti­fy­ing 'hy­per­in­fla­tion­ary economies' under IAS 29.

The IPTF's dis­cus­sion document for the November 10, 2020 meeting is now available and states the following view of the Task Force:

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

  • Argentina
  • Iran
  • Lebanon
  • South Sudan
  • Sudan
  • Venezuela
  • Zimbabwe

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

  • Suriname

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
  • Haiti
  • Liberia
  • Yemen

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. An example cited is Syria.

The full list, including exact numbers, detailed ex­pla­na­tions of the cal­cu­la­tion of the numbers, and ob­ser­va­tions of the Task Force is available on the CAQ website. Deloitte Global also offers the overview of the IPTF's as­sess­ment of hy­per­in­fla­tion­ary ju­ris­dic­tions at the end of our summary of IAS 29.

IASB issues presentation on IFRS Standards and academic research opportunities

Jan 29, 2021

On January 29, 2021, the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) issued a presentation given by Board member Ann Tarca that discusses opportunities for academic researchers to aid in standard-setting activities.

Specifically, the presentation focuses on how the IASB uses research during the post-implementation review process and notes the research opportunities in the PIR of IFRS 9, IFRS 15, and IFRS 16.

Review the press release and presentation on the IASB’s website.

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