Extractive Activities: IASB reviews academic literature at its July 2020 meeting

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Jul 22, 2020

On July 22, 2020, the In­ter­na­tional Ac­count­ing Stan­dards Board (IASB) discussed a literature review of academic evidence relevant to the Extractive Activities project. The review indicates that there is considerable diversity in current accounting policies and disclosures.

The IASB’s agenda paper for the meeting summarizes the academic evidence on extractive activities obtained by its staff after a comprehensive search for papers on topics relevant to IFRS 6, Exploration for and Evaluation of Mineral Resources.

While the number of international comparative studies on extractive companies’ accounting practices is very limited, the IASB’s review found that:

  • there appears to be considerable diversity of accounting policies for exploration and evaluation expenditures. Accounting policies varied by country, by sub-industry sector (oil and gas, and mining) and by company size; and
  • there appears to be considerable diversity in the disclosure of information about reserves and resources. Many companies disclosed information required by their local jurisdiction or local stock exchange and a few companies disclosed additional information.

For further information, refer to the agenda paper discussed at the IASB’s meeting.

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